I hoped to say,"folks you read it here first", but I was scooped: http://www.theage.com.au/news/Epicure/N ... 00825.html
Giaconda, Rick Kinzbrunner’s ultra premium cult winery recently enjoyed a magnificent celebration of 21 years. Guests were fêted with a vertical tasting of every wine Giaconda has made followed by a lavish dinner orchestrated by Neil Perry of Rockpool to the accompaniment of intimate chamber music. The following morning a barrel tasting of the forthcoming 2004’s was conducted.
The usual suspects were in attendance such as Jeremy Oliver, Campbell Mattinson, Max Allen, Philip Rich, Ralph Kyte-Powell, Peter Forrestal, Andrew Caillard among others so I expect you will read more about it in due course. I was flattered and privileged to be a punter among what was a celebration of a journey that has taken this tiny Beechworth winery to the elite level of Australian winemaking.
Verticals of this nature really bring focus to a wine. You see how a wine acclimatises over the years to its site. You see vintage variation and wine making tricks. The chardonnays were magnificent. The cabernets demonstrated how undervalued this variety has become. It is the forgotten Giaconda. The early years did show some greenness issues but overall these wines had nobility and sophistication written all over them.
Just as the spotlight can unearth gems it can also dim the reputation of some wines. The pinot noir deserves serious reconsideration.
If the press don't reappraise its status they are doing a misservice.
The future red wine of Giaconda is definitely the Warner vineyard shiraz. Each successive vintage showed silk, depth, intensity, quiet restraint and long satisfying Northern Rhone style expression.
What was fascinating was seeing the terroir of Giaconda. It is not as wine-making driven as the Kinzbrunner mythology teases. Great wine is made from a great site by a great winemaker. It is an inextricable relationship. One sees the pink granite laden in the soil. It is all rock. One of the loyal friends of Giaconda recounted how she hauled all these rocks from the terraces as the vines were being planted. Giaconda has pole position on a steep outcrop of granite. The roots strain into the granite subfloor. The wines taste lean, minerally and intense because it is an expression of the site. Nearby neighbour Amulet has a similar aspect but lacks the steep south facing terrace Giaconda enjoys. However all things being equal one would expect good wines from this ridge of Beechworth.
Rick is a perfectionist. His winery does not smell like a winery. It is inert. The vines are sculpted. Not a hair is out of place. There are no weeds. The captain is very much in control of the ship.
At dinner Rick said along the way there are many decisions you can make which in themselves make very little difference: maybe 1 per cent. However ten decisions of accumulated compromise diminishes significantly the year in the vine and the vinification process to bottle.
The chardonnays reigned supreme.Perhaps only the very oldest- the brace of 1986-1988 showed fading and senility. The mid 90's really saw a great change. On this occasion the 1996 stood out as the crowning glory; 2002 was second, 2000 again showed very well. They showed in general an ability to age beautifully, hold their structure and retain acid. This is as good an Australian wine style as you can get. And yes 2004 is not just a bit of spin. It looked superb.
Shiraz. Watch this space. No.2 with a bullet as the music charts would say.
I could say a lot more. Others will.
Neville K
21 years of Giaconda: a Celebration
Neville,
Agree on 1996 Giaconda chardonnay drinking superbly at present....
Also on the CS - longterm underated but now secondary market has caught onto "Giaconda name".
Only style which has not appeled - despite hype - is the shiraz: nto that it is bad, merely not of the same quality as the other wines and - for me - not deserving of the price attached (considering the competition for the $).
I have always rated the pinot as in Oz top 5 - and usually in top 3 in any given vintage.
fred
Agree on 1996 Giaconda chardonnay drinking superbly at present....
Also on the CS - longterm underated but now secondary market has caught onto "Giaconda name".
Only style which has not appeled - despite hype - is the shiraz: nto that it is bad, merely not of the same quality as the other wines and - for me - not deserving of the price attached (considering the competition for the $).
I have always rated the pinot as in Oz top 5 - and usually in top 3 in any given vintage.
fred
Neville,
Giaconda chardonnay: Telling someone that Giaconda chardonnay is damn good is just stating the obvious. Our vertical (Rory's) amply proved that point.
Giaconda shiraz: This is where the money is! I agree with you that the Giaconda shiraz in a short space of time has fostered many more friends than the pinot over a much longer duration. A recent horizontal tasting of Beechworth shirazes from 2002 vintage clearly showed that Giaconda "Warner" shiraz was in a league of its own. Castagna "Genesis" and Battley were decent drops but paled when directly compared to Giaconda.
Cabs: In generous years that cabs can be very good but can be lean and mean in lesser years. It is a even bet although quality has improved of late (past 6 -7 vintages). How were they travelling as per your assessment?
sanjay
Giaconda chardonnay: Telling someone that Giaconda chardonnay is damn good is just stating the obvious. Our vertical (Rory's) amply proved that point.
Giaconda shiraz: This is where the money is! I agree with you that the Giaconda shiraz in a short space of time has fostered many more friends than the pinot over a much longer duration. A recent horizontal tasting of Beechworth shirazes from 2002 vintage clearly showed that Giaconda "Warner" shiraz was in a league of its own. Castagna "Genesis" and Battley were decent drops but paled when directly compared to Giaconda.
Cabs: In generous years that cabs can be very good but can be lean and mean in lesser years. It is a even bet although quality has improved of late (past 6 -7 vintages). How were they travelling as per your assessment?
sanjay