The country in question is Ireland and the western here is Western Australia. On the Sean Moncrieff afternoon show on News Talk 106FM on Friday 28^th May at about 2.40pm Martin looks at the unlikely Irish influence on the burgeoning wine scene in Western Australia. 

A gaggle of wine producers from Western Australian, one of the world’s most remote regions, were in town this week and put on a fine show. Standards were generally very high and if it’s not an area that you are familiar with it’s well worth investigating. 

While there is a long history of grape growing in Perth’s warm Swan Valley research and trials into the possibility of growing grapes further south in the cooler and hence more interesting Margaret River area only started in the sixties. Early pioneers were mostly hobbyists from the professional classes, doctors and lawyers and the like. It turned out that they were on to something and some wonderful wines were produced. Cabernet seems particularly successful in Margaret River, as seen in terrific wines from Vasse Felix, Xanadu, Cullens, Leeuwin Estate and Millbrook but Semillon / Sauvignon’s can be superb too and what just may be Australia’s best Chardonnay from Leeuwin. 

Spurred by this success, modern pioneers have headed further south to even cooler climates such as Mount Barker, Pemberton, Manjimup and Denmark. In these cooler climates grapes that hate the heat such as Pinot Noir and Sauvignon blanc are starting to come into their own and Shirazes such as Plantagenet’s wonderful 2001 have a remarkable concentration yet elegance. 

Yet what struck me when meeting the winemakers and flicking through reference books such as Ray Jordan’s guide to the region was how often Irish surnames crop up. 

Two 1970s pioneers were Belfast doctor, John Lagan who started Xanadu (imported by O’Briens) and Leeuwin Estate, founded by the Horgan brothers (an old Irish Perth family) after famous Californian producer Robert Mondavi came knocking on their farm door to tell them he wanted to buy the place as it had fantastic potential for grapes. He was right and on air we’ll taste the stunning Leeuwin estate Art Series Chardonnay 2000, €50, rating 94/100 and arguably Australia's finest expression of the grape.

A more recent blow in is the Lynch family, the family behind the Chatsfield label imported by Mitchells. Ken Lynch was a doctor in Dublin before leaving Ranelagh for Mt Barker in 1963 where he set up a medical practice. He and wife Joyce became a serious wine enthusiasts and in the 80s joined a vineyard owning consortium called Waterman’s. Feeling he could do better alone he bought out his partners in 1988, renaming it Chatsfield after the chat, a native bird depicted on the label. We’ll be tasting their lovely lime and mineral flavoured Chatsfield Riesling 2001, €14.50, 90/100. 

Wine Reviews | Wine of the week | Free Run | Events | Articles
Book | Talk Back | Links | Polls | About Martin | Privacy | Terms | Contact |