Gemtree, a producer from McLaren Vale in South Australia, was in town promoting the several shirazes any respectiable Aussie winery should have plus a good chardonnay - but they also had a (pretty good) white wine made from grapes purchased in northwestern Spain a few years back.
They grew the grapes, fermented and bottled them and it was a success: "Jancis Robinson and other top UK critics who taste albarino all the time said it was a great representation of albarino," said Andrew Buttery (pictured), Gemtree's manager for North America. Well it turns out Gemtree just recently received notice from the Australian wine quality control people that they couldn't call the wine albarino because there was no albarino in it.
"We were allowed to call it either savagnin or traminer. For the Canadian market we’re calling it savagnin," Buttery told me in August. By September, however, it seems that the LCBO, which had been offered a choice of how it should be labeled, settled on traminer. But "if the wine is successful in Ontario," said Buttery, "I would be hopeful that we could convince the LCBO to label the next vintage as savagnin."
Although the cuttings used in Australia were purchased from Galicia in Spain, savagnin's home is in Jura in eastern France. It's a viticultural mystery and Buttery maintains that there must "definitely be savagnin growing amongst the albarino in Spain."
Seeing savagnin on the label - before hearing the story - I felt it was very different from the French savagnin I tried for the first time in April, but I didn't think "gee this is awfully like an albarino". I guessed the fuller and fruitier profile was due to McLaren Vale being substantially hotter and drier than the marginal Jura. However, once I knew the story behind it, there did seem to be some albarino flavours, and even some familiar aromatic notes on the nose, so it was easy to mistake .
Gemtree also had some other wines on offer, including the excellent Citrine chardonnay, which had a lighter, fresher and more lemony profile than most Australian chards. It's done in a Burgundian style, but the richer riper fruit of the hotter climate definitely shows through.
There was also a selection of sparklers, including Yellow Tail's "Bubbles" The five low-priced ones were pretty mediocre, but the Skillogalee Sparkling Riesling NV (pronounced, quickly, "skilla-ga-LEE" - very Gaelic sounding) was terrific - muted nose with more ripe white/peach fruit than aromatic or floral notes, and there was also some honey and toast. It was fresh, dry and lemony on the palate, and I noted that "you'd be hard pressed to identify it as a reisling". There was a slight sweetness on the finish. Good sparkling value at $20.
With chatting, the interview and time limitations, I didn't get to try many of the reds or whites, but my few tries confirm that Australia offers reliable quality at a higher price point than some other New World competitors - and that producers are definitely paying more attention to Old World styles and toning down some of the super ripe and super oaky styles of the Aussie past - the Gemtree Citrine chardonnay being a great example.
Watch out for Australian promotions this fall - check in with wineaustralia.com to see what's coming up.
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