June 11th, 2024Wine notes with Clive Hartley
Tour Europe via Canberra – a capital with wine
The Canberra District is a wine region that often flies under the radar but is well worth visiting. Most of the vineyards are actually in NSW.
It has an eclectic array of grape varieties but is known for shiraz viognier blends made famous by Clonakilla.
It is a region blessed with characters and engaging winemakers. It was established by a band of highly educated researchers and academics who initially worked in the nation’s capital and then went on to buy country properties and plant grapes.
Two such early pioneering families were Ken and Judith Helm in the Murrumbateman sub-region and Sue and David Carpenter at Lark Hill.
Ken has notched up an impressive 47 vintages and specialises in riesling, having been inspired by the wines of Germany. Putting your nose into a glass of his wine transports you to the Mosel immediately.
They are floral, perfume-driven and have a softer green apple acid profile as opposed to the lemony, lime, citric acid of say, Clare Valley.
Try his 2023 Helm Classic Dry Riesling to see the difference. He also does a superb 2023 Premium Riesling that is more intense and has a longer palate length and lovely minerality, with a touch more acidity and built to age. There is also a Half-Dry Riesling and a pleasant Riesling Rose.
Sue and David have been joined by their winemaking son Chris and are perched at Bungendore overlooking Lake George. It’s the highest vineyard in the area and in their white portfolio they produced an excellent Grüner Veltliner.
It all started in 2002 when wine writer Jancis Robinson visited from the UK and suggested planting
Grüner.
There were none planted commercially in Australia at the time but they finally found a few vines being grown by Tasmanian winemaker Graham Wiltshire.
Lark Hill 2022 Grüner Veltliner is a beautiful intense wine with touches of tropical fruits, struck match and minerality. It has a nutty, textured and fleshy palate with slight creamy notes.
At the Carpenters’ vineyard in the Murrumbateman region they grow shiraz and sangiovese. Their 2022 Scuro is a 50/50 blend of the two grapes and is a lovely cherry and sweet, oak-driven wine with a textured, velvety, medium-bodied palate.
For more on Helm and Lark Hill go to my website.
Clive Hartley is an award-winning wine writer, educator and consultant. His 305- page full colour book Australian Wine Guide (7th ed) is available for purchase from Paradise Books in Daylesford or via his website – www.australianwineguide.com.au
