Down Under is down no more.
Australian wine exports last year grew for the first time since 2007, when a global recession delivered a kangaroo kick to the backside of one of the world's most formidable foreign marketers. It was a modest gain, just 1.9 per cent in both volume and value, but enough to put a shiraz-purple glow in the cheeks (facial cheeks in this case) of Aussie producers.
Total export volume in 2014 rose to 700 million litres, accounting for $1.82-billion Australian ($1.78-billion Canadian), according to the Australian Grape and Wine Authority, a research and marketing body. Part of the gain was driven by a lower Australian dollar relative to key markets, which put more buying power in the hands of foreigners. But currency was not the sole factor.
Most encouraging for the industry, growth was also spurred by a thirst for higher-profit premium and luxury products. Although Australia remains a huge supplier of cheap bulk wine purchased for bottling under private-label supermarket brands (as well as non-VQA "Canadian" blends) in destination countries, it registered a significant gain in prices for wine bottled at the source. Average value of bottled exports advanced 7 per cent as consumers in Canada – Australia's fourth-largest export market – and elsewhere pulled the cork on luxury spending.
The rosiest categories have in fact been the mid and top ranges. The segment above $10 a bottle (prior to import, tax and retail markups) grew 15 per cent in volume, while the $50-and-up level destined for the tables of Oscar winners and people who invested in Apple stock a decade ago jumped 55 per cent. That latter category accounts for just 0.8 per cent of total volume, yet delivers 8 per cent of the country's bottled-export value, according to grape and wine authority acting chief executive Andreas Clark.
Numbers fail to capture another story that could help keep the wind at Australia's back as it emerges from years of dead calm (to borrow the title of an excellent Australian thriller starring Nicole Kidman). The industry's concerted effort to play up the diverse microclimates of its many regions has no doubt begun to pay dividends among consumers who had unfairly come to view the land of Oz as one big swath of easy-drinking Yellow Tail-style shirazes concocted in a corporate boardroom.
The best Australian bottlings tend to come with regional designations listed prominently on labels versus the catch-all "South Eastern Australia" or "South Australia" – from the bold shirazes of Barossa Valley to the spicier shirazes of Mclaren Vale, the savoury cabernets of Coonawarra and the relatively crisp reds of the Yarra and Clare valleys and beyond.
If you want to add a luxurious splash of red to Sunday night's red-carpet craziness (or at least to a dinner involving thick cuts of red meat), I've got suggestions.
Yangarra Shiraz 2012 (Australia)
SCORE: 92 PRICE: $32.95
With precious old dry-farmed vines first planted in 1946, Yangarra Estate in McLaren Vale was taken over in 2000 by the late, great Californian Jess Jackson and his wife, Barbara Banke, of Kendall-Jackson Fame. With state-of-the art growing practices and a spanking new winery, Yangarra is producing excellent offerings, including this 2012 shiraz. It's full-bodied and even hints at good-quality Napa cabernet, with its concentrated blackcurrant fruit and harmonious structure, enriched by chocolate, black pepper and a coffee-mocha quality framed by bright acidity. Various prices in Alta., $33.50 in Que. The excellent Old Vine Grenache is available in B.C. at $28.99 (less than the winery-direct price), as well as in Alberta.
Heartland Directors' Cut Shiraz 2012 (Australia)
SCORE: 91 PRICE : $35.95
This shiraz from Heartland in the Langhorne Creek district shares a name, sort of, with a cabernet from Francis Ford Coppola (his is called Director's Cut, with the apostrophe before the final consonant). This one's not made by actual film directors, but rather by a committee at the winery that determined the final, and presumably best, components for the high-end blend. One of those people is co-owner and winemaker Ben Glaetzer, an accomplished young talent in his own right who also happens to be nephew to John Glaetzer, Heartland's grape buyer and the former wunderkind at Wolf Blass. Get ready for some Blass-style oak. The nose offers up a blast of Starbucks latte aroma, while on the palate it tastes as though it were aged in Jim Beam bourbon barrels (in a good way, though the wood here is in fact all-new French oak), with concentrated berry fruit and plum jam lavished with vanilla and toffee, lifted by spice. Available in Ontario and at Richmond Hill Wines in Calgary.
Penny's Hill Cracking Black Shiraz 2012 (Australia)
SCORE: 91 PRICE: $22.95
Soil scientists will get the reference in the name. "Cracking black" is a colloquialism for vertisol, clay soils that expand and form cracks. If you're from Texas, you may know it as "black gumbo." Such infertile soils do wonders for grape concentration. The wine is marvellous for the money. From McLaren Vale, it's a creamy, rich red showing luscious currant-like fruit supported by a roasted espresso note, bitter chocolate and lively acidity. A few years ago, Cracking Black took home best full-bodied red wine honours at the Sydney International Wine Competition. Available in Ontario.
Dutschke 80 Block St. Jakobi Vineyard Merlot 2012 (Australia)
SCORE: 90 PRICE: $23.95
We don't hear much about merlot from Australia, odd given that some of it could give Californian merlot a run for its money. This one, from the warm Barossa Valley, is full-bodied but mercifully unheavy. Aromatic in a way that hints at good hotel soap, it's rich with blackberry jam and plum, smooth tannins, bright acidity and spice. Available in Ontario.
Schild Estate Grenache Mourvèdre Shiraz 2012 (Australia)
SCORE: 89 PRICE: $19.95
Yes, there are many family wineries in corporate-dominated Australia, and this is one. The GM S blend here genuflects toward the grenache-mourvèdre-syrah blends of the southern Rhône Valley, with its invigorating herbal essence, but it's sweeter and more concentrated than most French examples, as one would expect of the hot Barossa Valley. Well done. $24.96 in B.C., $19.70 in Que.
Kilikanoon Killerman's Run Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 (Australia)
SCORE: 88 PRICE: $19.95
Better known for riesling, Clare Valley's relatively cool climate tends to make lively reds with brisk acidity. Not here. This cabernet is thick and almost syrupy, with sweet flavours of cassis liqueur and plum jam that nonetheless derive ample lift from cedar and acidity.