Wine school part I

Wine appreciation classes can be hit or miss.

Winestein | Uncorked

Wine appreciation courses can be hit or miss.

If you've ever been to one, you'll know that you can only learn what your wine master - the person running the course - allows.

I've been attending one recently with some friends, more as a social get-together than anything else.

Which is sort of lucky, because our wine master has a penchant for 1980s wine videos and 34cm black and white TVs.

His approach to teaching the ins and outs of the fine grape are rather interesting. When he told us last week that renowned British wine critic Jancis Robinson would be stopping by to talk to us about pinot noir, we all got very excited.

Then he turned on the television, and we all met Jancis via VHS.

But it's a lovely environment, run in the elaborate underground cellars of Lionel Samson & Sons in Fremantle.

So for the next few weeks I'm going to share with you some of the information garnered from the information sessions and tastings - and not just that VHS is still in use.

Burgundy wines

The Burgundy wine region in eastern France produces mostly pinot noir and chardonnay grapes and is home to some of the most expensive wines in the world.

Any wine you drink in the 'Burgundy style' will be either a pinot, chardonnay or unwooded chardonnay, otherwise known as chablis (unoaked chardonnay).

Some pinots from the region can cellar for up to 50 years but, because the grape is so delicate and hard to master, here in Australia they age for only up to about five years. Pinot grapes are also very young in Australia.

Monks and monasteries of the Roman Catholic Church had an important influence on the history of Burgundy wine.

It was the monks who first discriminated between different sub-regions of wine in the Burgundy region.

They worked out first that grape quality changed depending on the terroir they were grown on, and some areas in Burgundy deserved different classification.

The limestone underneath the rolling vineyards in Burgundy give their wines an incredible ability to age. The soil, stones and rock underneath the grapes date back to BC.

Though the size of the Burgundy region is close to 30,000 hectares, the average Burgundy grower owns just 10sq acres of land.

Oak barrels

We also learnt a little about oak and its effect on wine.

We know wine is stored in barrels, because it is the best vessel in which the wine can soften, mature and develop different characteristics. It can also breathe in the barrels, without any air getting in.

Barrels are usually American or French. A brand new oak barrel costs around $1600 and is reserved for storing only high-quality grapes. The barrels are lightly toasted to add character to the wine.

They are then re-used next vintage for slightly lower-cost wines.

WINESTEIN | UNCORKED

Below are three Burgundian wines we tried as part of the wine course this week.

Castle Rock Great Southern Pinot 2009
$27, 91pts, 13.5%
When you get pinot right it can sell for a lot of dollars. This is a Burgundy-style wine though a very different sort of pinot from the Porongurup region in the Great Southern. This one is rich and dirty - the sort of filth you crave. Refined, delicate, with the French oak coming through. Needs time so the many characteristics can mellow. A lovely mid-palate though, with fine silky tannins.

Plantagenet Omrah Unwooded Chardonnay 2008
$18, 89pts, 13.5%
This is made in the chablis style (unwooded), with the extremely sweet aroma belying a dry, steely finish. A lovely clean minerality on the nose but a slightly acidic, bitter aftertaste. On the whole it's got great structure and balance.

Hollick Bond Road Reserve Chardonnay 2007
$25, 93pts, 14%
Coonawarra has one of the longest growing seasons for chardonnay in the world, allowing the fruit to develop and ripen slowly. This is a ball-tearer, with a true chardy aroma of powerful fruit and butter up front. The oak is slightly hidden but it will come through as the wine ages, with old Coonawarra vines ensuring this will last. A lovely thick texture, a very serious chardonnay that spent 12 months on oak.

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