The Auswine Forum

Bought this on a whim on the way to a party last night and I'm glad I did.Nice peach and citrus fruit drive, palate slightly off dry, but good, crisp, acidity to balance it. Slightly herbaceous on the finish, which was a decent length.
Great overall balance and a great wine for the meagre $16 paid.

I've never really paid much attention to Trentham, but I've read good things about them and on the basis of this will keep an eye on them.

I've also read that some of the plantings of the Albarino may not actually be albarino - anyone got more info on this?

Trentham is great - every wine they produce is good value, even their $16 Pinot is drinkable.

Well this could well have been savagnin blanc!

Second the Trentham is good thought.

Short version of the albarino story:
- The Spanish albarino vineyards include different albarino clones, plus two other white grapes, one of which is savagnin blanc (which has a lot of other names as well).
- CSIRO sourced albarino clonal material from Spain, which then went into a bunch of source blocks for all or nearly all of the current Australian albarino plantings that have produced fruit
- Genetic testing of the CSIRO 'albarino' material has confirmed it is identical to the 'savagnin blanc' material CSIRO also holds
- This does not necessarily guarantee that all Australian albarino is savagnin blanc, but much of it will be
- Regardless of what the vines are, the fruit has been good and it is a promising prospect across multiple regions (warm and cool)
- People with 2008 and 2009 material in bottle and/or tank are having to make serious decisions about labelling, naming, marketing etc
- It's not clear yet what the bigger growers/makers will do
- People are testing the genetics of the actual vines in their vineyard, against albarino and savagnin blanc to confirm or otherwise what happened
- There is a backlog for getting through these tests
- It is very likely that authenticated albarino clonal material will be pushed into the vine market by at least Yalumba Nursery, if not other vinegrowers, to complement the 'albarino' material already here.
- There may be legal action taken against CSIRO, but the AWBC don't want to see this discussed yet, and the original error is likely to be Spanish.

pstarr wrote:Short version of the albarino story:
- The Spanish albarino vineyards include different albarino clones, plus two other white grapes, one of which is savagnin blanc (which has a lot of other names as well).
- CSIRO sourced albarino clonal material from Spain, which then went into a bunch of source blocks for all or nearly all of the current Australian albarino plantings that have produced fruit
- Genetic testing of the CSIRO 'albarino' material has confirmed it is identical to the 'savagnin blanc' material CSIRO also holds
- This does not necessarily guarantee that all Australian albarino is savagnin blanc, but much of it will be
- Regardless of what the vines are, the fruit has been good and it is a promising prospect across multiple regions (warm and cool)
- People with 2008 and 2009 material in bottle and/or tank are having to make serious decisions about labelling, naming, marketing etc
- It's not clear yet what the bigger growers/makers will do
- People are testing the genetics of the actual vines in their vineyard, against albarino and savagnin blanc to confirm or otherwise what happened
- There is a backlog for getting through these tests
- It is very likely that authenticated albarino clonal material will be pushed into the vine market by at least Yalumba Nursery, if not other vinegrowers, to complement the 'albarino' material already here.
- There may be legal action taken against CSIRO, but the AWBC don't want to see this discussed yet, and the original error is likely to be Spanish.

Thanks for the info and I'm sure most wine lovers won't care what it's labelled as long as it's good.

The problem will come if they're forced to adopt the 'savagnin blanc' label - it's going to confuse an awful lot of consumers. Hell, even I'm confused.

Trentham Estate make a very good range of wines and have been heavily involved in the development of quite a few alternative varieties. It's a shame that the controversy over the Albarino has hit as they had geared up to take on the Sauvignon Blanc craze with this variety and hopefully they still will.
Other Trentham wines worth a try are their Petit Verdot / Tannat as well as their straight Petit Verdot. They have recently released a regional collection and two that are worth a try are their Heathcote Shiraz and Mornington Peninsula Pinot Noir.
I think Anthony Murphy and his team should be congratulated. As a Mildura resident I've had some enjoyable times at Trentham Estate.
MilduraBob.

I think that part of the push behind planting albarino was that it is meant to be a warm climate variety that requires less irrigation. Savignin originates from a cool climate area. Talking with a few winemakers and people ITB it would seem that the cool climate regions will keep their 'albarino' vines, where as those in warmer climates will probably rip them out and start again.

I drink an albarino from the King Valley and it is fantastic wine, sounds similar to the Trentham. The one I tried from Mudgee was not so good and they are going to rip theirs out. Jacob Creek have planted about 4 hectares in the Barossa and it will probably have to go.

Sharkey wrote:I think that part of the push behind planting albarino was that it is meant to be a warm climate variety that requires less irrigation. Savignin originates from a cool climate area. Talking with a few winemakers and people ITB it would seem that the cool climate regions will keep their 'albarino' vines, where as those in warmer climates will probably rip them out and start again.

I drink an albarino from the King Valley and it is fantastic wine, sounds similar to the Trentham. The one I tried from Mudgee was not so good and they are going to rip theirs out. Jacob Creek have planted about 4 hectares in the Barossa and it will probably have to go.

Not quite sure I'd agree here. The Tscharke plantings in the Barossa of 'albarino' are doing well and producing good fruit. The McLaren Vale plantings (eg Gemtree) are also worth persisting with, IMHO.

For me, the acid retention of albarino across regions and higher temperatures was a key reason for plantings in the warmer zones (and robust skins for sunburn resistance).

I'm really happy with how our Canberra District plantings (2006 and a bit more in 2007) show real promise. I probably picked the 2009 fruit a bit too early, but we should have a decent amount next vintage.

pstarr wrote:

Sharkey wrote:I think that part of the push behind planting albarino was that it is meant to be a warm climate variety that requires less irrigation. Savignin originates from a cool climate area. Talking with a few winemakers and people ITB it would seem that the cool climate regions will keep their 'albarino' vines, where as those in warmer climates will probably rip them out and start again.

I drink an albarino from the King Valley and it is fantastic wine, sounds similar to the Trentham. The one I tried from Mudgee was not so good and they are going to rip theirs out. Jacob Creek have planted about 4 hectares in the Barossa and it will probably have to go.

Not quite sure I'd agree here. The Tscharke plantings in the Barossa of 'albarino' are doing well and producing good fruit. The McLaren Vale plantings (eg Gemtree) are also worth persisting with, IMHO.

For me, the acid retention of albarino across regions and higher temperatures was a key reason for plantings in the warmer zones (and robust skins for sunburn resistance).

I'm really happy with how our Canberra District plantings (2006 and a bit more in 2007) show real promise. I probably picked the 2009 fruit a bit too early, but we should have a decent amount next vintage.

Paul – You would have had a lot more experience with this, seeing as you are growing it. My perception was from just one warm climate and one cool climate vineyard. The warm climate one (from Mudgee) was average wine and the wine maker is going to rip them out. The cool climate one (King Valley) is a great wine and they will continue to make it – and I will continue to buy it – whatever it is labelled as.

I look forward to trying yours next time I am at your winery. I am hoping to come down that way in the next month or so and I love the way you do tastings at your CD.

Sharkey, I help out at Quarry Hill, and we don't have a cellar door. Happy to give you a steer to local stockists when you are down though. The very small make of the 2009 'albarino' will get hand bottled a bit later this year when it has settled down - no exact time worked out yet.

pstarr wrote:Sharkey, I help out at Quarry Hill, and we don't have a cellar door. Happy to give you a steer to local stockists when you are down though. The very small make of the 2009 'albarino' will get hand bottled a bit later this year when it has settled down - no exact time worked out yet.

I don't know why Paul, but I thought you helped out at Mount Majura.

Happy to spruik Frank, Julia and co.'s gear at Mount Majura, but no connection there

The place I help out at is called Quarry Hill. We don't have a cellar door, but the vineyard is at Murrumbateman, just off the Barton Highway between Canberra and Yass. You can get some information about our site and what we do via www.quarryhill.com.au.

Basically we have a few hectares on a steeply sloped site, with granite and limestone soils, planted to shiraz, pinot noir, sauvignon blanc, 'albarino' and tempranillo. We sell fruit to Clonakilla, Collector Wines, Capital Wines, Lake George Wines and occasionally to Ravensworth and others a bit further afield. There are also smallish makes under our own label of pinot, pinot rose, shiraz, sav blanc, and soon-to-be-released vintage sparkling shiraz. I've also got an 80 case or so make of amarone-style sagrantino sitting in barrel which we've not yet sorted out for release under whatever label.

In the past the wines were made by Greg Gallagher and Rob Howell (Canberra Winemakers) out at Jeir Creek, but since the 2008 vintage Alex McKay (of Collector Wines and the winemaker for Lake George) has made the Quarry Hill wines (with the exception of sparkling shiraz).

Thanx 4 the link Paul. Want to visit canberra one day and also would like to try your wines. I've bookmarked it now. (The first step is the hardest )

ok, Quarry Hill & Wine by Brad are now next on my "to try" list after I've gotten my 2006 Curly Flat Pinot Noirs. That may mean 2 months or more but I'll get there, especially at the price. Need to buy more Blue Poles too for that matter. Aarghh! Must win lotto without entering!

Actually, Lazy Ballerina after CF then others...

The Lazy Ballerina wines are well worth a look, I reckon. Definite buys for me.

Cheers mate. James Hook cracks me up too! Have to visit one day.