Wine prices are getting out of hand
This year I’m going to start with a raised eyebrow about pricing. Many people, including our own customers, comment that the price of Giaconda Estate Vineyard Chardonnay is well undervalued. This wine has a proven track record and is considered one of the few grand cru alternatives that is available from the new world (at this price and quality). However, we have resisted the push towards higher pricing and there will be only a small increase this year, which considers inflation and rising costs. I think wine prices are generally getting out of hand, and I speak about chardonnay in particular, having seen one Australian example for $600! There is now a spate of chardonnays above $200 heading towards $350. These prices simply encourage other producers to be cavalier with their pricing, regardless of the quality.
I do a lot of blind tasting with friends and family and we see a very mixed bag out there. There are lots of people, especially some new younger vignerons who are making good and interesting wines at fair prices. On the other hand, some egos seem apparent with people making too many wines at too high prices and quality that is, in my opinion, questionable. I hope my longstanding policy of not bowing to fashion and only making the wines that I like to drink, continues to be appreciated. I do worry that our wines are no longer accessible to some of our longstanding customers. If any of you are in this situation, please feel free to discuss with me.
Continuing with Chardonnay, we have had a great run of vintages since 2010 with the recent succession of three La Niña seasons probably the best of all. Pointing to this, Antonio Galloni (of www.vinous.com) has given our 2022 vintage the best white wine in the world but admittedly only 35,000 were tasted! I consider 2023 to be an exceptional release from a cooler vintage and you’ll find a link to the tasting notes below. The input from my son, Nathan and Vineyard Manager, Casey, has been invaluable in lifting the overall quality of our wines. This frees me up to concentrate on creative ideas to further improve both our viticulture and winemaking.
I'm also very encouraged by the 2023 Estate Vineyard Roussanne, which is an exceptional follow on from its maiden 2022 vintage. This variety is planted on our warm north-facing amphitheatre block and is steadily improving as we learn how to manage the new site and experiment a little with the fermentation and barrel regimes. We are gradually finding the best vineyard management practices and crop level for this vineyard, to bring power and concentration while maintaining refinement.
Our secondary vineyard site in Beechworth is dedicated to Nebbiolo and this is going from strength to strength. The majority of this vineyard is now 15 years old and I consider the new release from 2022 to be our best to date. A well-known wine critic (considered an expert on Nebbiolo) has reinforced this opinion and you will find more information on this in the tasting notes linked below. As with all the red wines, this is now fermented entirely in terracotta amphorae and benefits from a component of extended maceration.
While the La Niña vintages have been beneficial for most of our varieties, there will be no Estate Vineyard Shiraz offered this year. The 2023 season was much too cool for this variety. In addition, we experienced record low yields across all varieties. This mostly effects Chardonnay and Pinot Noir and our offering in terms of quantities will be greatly reduced during the release this year. Please expect all the wines to sell out very quickly on April 15th.
The Future:
All this has led me to review what we do and play to our strengths. This vineyard, and in fact much of this area, really excels for white wine. We have planted more chardonnay here at the Estate Vineyard with the express purpose to produce our second label Nantua Chardonnay entirely from estate grown fruit. There will be one final release of this wine next year from fruit bought in from neighbouring vineyards and blended with a small component of Giaconda fruit. After this, Nantua Chardonnay will be sourced solely from the estate.
There is also a small plot of Pinot Noir in the cooler and more humid part of our vineyard which has been inter-row planted this season which doubles the vineyard planting density. The intention is that this should foster more competition amongst those vines and lead to greater quality. Look out for some interesting pinot noir wines from us in future years.
In other news we are considering to finish making shiraz here at the Estate and graft those vines over to more Roussanne and Chardonnay. This is not a fait accompli, however we will keep you updated on this project in future newsletters, once those decisions have been made.
Read the current release tasting notes.
Salut,
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