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
Back to the future for Giaconda's Pinot Noir
30 April 2015A decade or so ago Rick Kinzbrunner was dismayed at the quality of the pinot noir he was producing from his Giaconda vineyard near Beechworth. So dismayed that this figurehead of the Beechworth wine industry actually made several pinots between 2008 and 2012 in which Yarra Valley fruit from the Toolangi Vineyard (for whom he makes its Reserve Chardonnay) was the dominant fraction. This despite the still memorable qualities of estate-grown pinot noir vintages such as 1989, 1991 and 1992, not to mention the first-ever Giaconda wine I tasted, the 1988. I remember this wine as if I tasted it an hour ago. I was with my father, who was equally seduced, and I was immediately convinced Kinzbrunner was a genius.
I’ve just had rather a profound flashback to that very moment, 25 years or so ago. Why? I ripped the top from the 2013 Giaconda Pinot Noir, a wine that is again 100% estate-grown but which is taken from relatively recent plantings at a significantly higher – and therefore cooler – location at the Giaconda site. Here’s a truly stellar pinot noir, but one that talks its site as much as its variety. Having followed the 1989 very closely – and this is the vintage the 2013 most resembles – I speak with genuine confidence that this wine will age superbly, for the long term. It will become more complex and ethereal – which it is already to an extent – and will become firstly more powerful and then more delicate. It will remain elegant and savoury, will retain its effortless natural balance and freshness, and will please many a Burgundian collector, not just because it will age into something more Burgundian than many a Burgundy.
If you have the chance to taste this wine, do so. It has an Old Worldliness and a reserve that takes my breath away. For me it ticks the most important boxes: it’s about the place, the vintage and the maker. And most importantly, no other maker in the world could have created it. I hope Kinzbrunner is as satisfied as I am with his latest creation.
Jeremy Oliver
https://www.jeremyoliver.com