Tall Poppy Syndrome
Following on from last year's newsletter,
I am very pleased to say that the International distribution of our Estate Vineyard Chardonnay, by Établissements Jean-Pierre Moueix, has been a great success. This has put the wine before a much wider international audience with some great reviews by overseas journalists – however I have some more to say about that below.
Although this chardonnay is now reaching a broader audience, we have not forgotten you, our loyal and faithful mail order clients. Even with the increased demand for export we will continue to make the majority of our production available for domestic customers.
Even better news is that the price from our winery is not going up, even with many people commenting that this is still well under-priced. I feel the prices of some wines are getting out of hand and there are many more expensive Chardonnays on the Australian market. On tasting some of these, we believe Giaconda Chardonnay offers comparatively better value and complexity!
My thoughts on the paucity of SOME Australian wine journalism and Tall Poppy Syndrome:
Recently I was informed... "In a blind tasting with Antonio Galloni and the international Vinous team, the wine of the night among serious global competition was Giaconda Chardonnay 2017, which everyone had marked as white Burgundy from an iconic producer."
A few years ago in Adelaide, industry professionals gathered to taste 43 chardonnay wines from renowned Australian and French producers. All were tasted blind and ranked and Giaconda Chardonnay 2017 was ranked first.
Yet local journalists' scores were as low as 95 pts!
Jane Anson, author of 'Inside Bordeaux' gave 100 points to Giaconda Chardonnay 2021 (along with 4 other international and 2 local journalists) and said "This is as good as Chardonnay gets and then some."
Local scores were as low as 97 points here in Australia.
James Sucklings tasted the 2019 Giaconda Nebbiolo and rated this wine alongside other producers such as Gaja; “Yum. This is real nebbiolo, with cherry, black-truffle, earth and walnut aromas and flavours. It’s full-bodied with a solid center-palate and chewy tannins. Powerful finish. Real deal here.” Score: 97 Points.
Again, local scores go as low as 90 points!
Enough said here, however it's disappointing to be the subject of the tall poppy syndrome and to be considered fair game for not playing mates to some very inflated industry egos. I'll let my wines do the talking instead.
However, there is still some excellent wine journalism to be found here in Australia and the wine consumer always has the final say. Giaconda wines sold out in the blink of an eye last release and this gives me confidence to keep focus on what we are currently doing in the vineyard and winery. Giaconda is now a world wine, to be judged by a much wider audience whom appears to greatly appreciate our style of wine.
A summary of the 2024 vintage:
This year saw an early season even though it was not at all hot. An early spring, with moderate weather and vines in excellent condition has made for very good quality fruit. It's early days yet, but the Chardonnay is powerful, refined and complex: the reds have excellent colour, body and tannin.
All of our reds have been fermented in terracotta amphorae this year. I really like these vessels as they do not give a lot of heavy extraction and require no artificial cooling - lovely natural ferments being the result.
Some comments regarding the 2022 wine releases:
Our new plantings of Roussanne are proving to love their new site on the Estate Vineyard. If you are interested in Rhône whites, then don't miss the 2022 Estate Vineyard Roussanne about to be released. This new wine follows on (and probably surpasses) our original 'Aeolia' Roussanne, which was produced up until the 2009 vintage. This new wine is an exceptional pairing with Asian food and will only grow in stature with more bottle age.
I should add that the current release represents another very good batch of wines, which demonstrates how complex each varietal can be when grown here in the foothills of the Victorian Alps. You can read more detail in the release tasting notes linked below.
View wine offer and read the tasting notes >
Sincerely,
Rick Kinzbrunner
Beechworth's Granite Cave
18 September 2013The granite cellar at Giaconda Vineyard is the latest project of exceptional winemaker, Rick Kinzbrunner. Nick Stock travels to Beechworth in search of chardonnay, a granite cave and a vision for the future of Giaconda.
Rick Kinzbrunner has an enigmatic presence. Tall, slim and considered, he also has a reputation as a bit of a recluse. It may seem unsurprising then that his latest construct at his Giaconda property in Victoria’s Beechworth, happens to be a cave.
“My goal was always to grow the wine in granite soil,” Kinzbrunner says of his newest cellar, drilled and blasted into the granite rock at Giaconda. For him, it is the last link in the chain of a terroir to which he is deeply endeared: vines grow in granite, their grapes fermented and matured in a granite cellar.
Underground, the physical conditions are vastly better for wine maturation than the previous above ground facilities. Naturally cooled, the air is humid and alcohol is more likely to lower over time in this high humidity than concentrate in the arid, evaporative environment up on the surface.
Kinzbrunner calculates that there will be an average nett loss of around 0.5% in finished alcohol in wines made in the cave rather than a gain of around 0.5% in above ground conditions. This means he is able to deliver full, rich and powerful chardonnay at levels of around 13% alcohol by volume, instead of the previous norm that fell around 14% and without employing mech-anical climate control.
“I’ve stuck to my guns, refined my style and the wines I’m making now are the result. It’s the traditional stuff that’s probably closer to what they were doing hundreds of years ago rather than what many people are doing now.” RK
He has seen instant results in terms of refining wine style and quality. The first wine to emerge having been totally vinified inside the granite cave is the 2010 Giaconda Chardonnay and if this wine is anything to go by, the assessment is accurate.
Kinzbrunner is not prone to exaggeration and as one of Australia’s most capable and experienced winemakers; he has little need to stretch the truth. “It’s the first wine I’ve made that I’ve been truly happy with,” he says, “the culmination of everything I’ve tried to do and wanted to achieve.” The 2010 chardonnay is easily the best rendition of his signature white wine to date and the 2011 is developing handsomely in its shadow.
The inspiration for the cave project stems from Kinzbrunner’s time working in California. However, the impetus to embark on its construction is born of his regard for the granite terroir at Giaconda and the desire to chase down the very best and most unique quality in the wines grown and made there. His focus in terms of winemaking is both narrowing and deepening.
Nick Stock, Alquimie, Edition One