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A Taste of Australian Wine
'Sparkling Reds'
by Gavin Trott
Sparkling red wines, or as they used to be known in Australia - Sparkling
Burgundies, are a particular love of mine. I’m not sure about the US experience,
but many in Australia were turned off these wines due to drinking light red
concoctions tasting like sweet lolly water sold here in the 1960’s and 1970’s
with names like "Cold Duck". These usually tasted like a blend of cough mixture
and boiled lollies and have put a generation off what are very traditional
Australian wine styles that are indeed world class.
So what are we talking about with Sparkling red wines from Australia? Well, we
are talking about quality red wines made in the same way as Champagne - that is,
bottle fermented, aged on lees, then liqueured and left to develop in the
bottle. However, instead of using Chardonnay and Pinot as the base wines, they
use quality red wines.
These styles exist elsewhere in the world, notably in the Burgundy and Loire
regions of France, but not in any quantity, or with the same quality. Only here
in Australia do these tend to be taken seriously, indeed they are very much in
fashion currently, and the range and variety are now truly exceptional.
What should you expect from these wines?
Well, imagine tilting an empty glass and pouring ... down the side runs a frothy
liquid, vivid purple in color with violet and purple froth. Roaring out of the
glass comes the smell of blackcurrants, blackberries, chocolate, cherries,
strawberries and more. You finish pouring and slowly the froth settles into
purple red wine with a steady mousse. Another sniff now shows hints of oak,
sweet fruit and firm acid. Try some .... powerful fruit, dry yet seeming sweet,
some acid and tannin on the finish as the flavours run over your tongue,
berries, mushroom, spice, cherries and more. Makes me thirsty just writing about
it!
What are these wines made from?
Well these days just about anything red. Most, and I think the best, are
made from Shiraz. All that chocolate and rich smoky blackberry fruit just seems
to suit the wine style. At one extreme we have the almost impossibly rare
Rockford Black Shiraz. In the early days at least this wine started off life as
a quality 10 year old Barossa Shiraz before Rocky took to it with the fizz. Also
try the Rumball which uses 100% Coonawarra Shiraz, or the Leasingham, using the
same Clare Shiraz as their classy table wines do.
Some people are making this wine from Cabernet too, notably Yalumba, and most
successful it is too, lighter in style than the Shiraz, but not light. After
this we have some beautiful Sparkling Merlot, notably the Irvine. One or two
make a sparkling Pinot Noir like McWilliams and then we have the something
different wines, Tatachilla make a brightly coloured Sparkling Malbec and
D'Arenberg have just released their Sparkling Chambourcin.
How do we drink these wines?
These Sparkling Shiraz wines should be served slightly chilled. Naturally this
depends on the conditions. If its summer and you want them with a barbeque for
example, 30 – 40 minutes in the refrigerator helps them, it stops them seeming
flabby and over alcoholic. However, if its mid winter then room temperature will
do fine. In short, don’t overchill, or serve warm.
What do we drink these wines with?
Well, they are fantastic with your favorite pizza, served slightly chilled. They
also drink wonderfully with Turkey particularly the sparkling Cabernet, and
naturally also for barbeques where they hold their own. Added to this are any of
the meat dishes that Shiraz style wines go with.
If you like experimenting, then try them also with Duck, char grilled Tuna, in
fact, most meats char grilled. The lighter styles also make excellent aperitifs
particularly on colder nights.
What sparkling red wines should I try?
Inexpensive
Andrew Garrett
Hardys Sparkling Shiraz
Middle range
Mt Prior Sparkling Durif
Tatachilla Sparkling Malbec
Rumball
Premium
Rockford Black Shiraz
Great Western
Charles Melton Sparkling Shiraz
Leasingham Classic Clare
Irvine Sparkling Merlot
Henrys Drive Sparkling Shiraz
Gavin is the manager of the
Australian Wine Centre (a large
collection of affordable, rare and cult Australian wines) and hosts the very
popular Auswine Forum (An online
discussion forum about Australian wine) . You may reprint this article either on
a website or in print but you must maintain this resource section naming the
author. Please email the author with
details on
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