The Katnook Founder’s Block Sparkling Shiraz story
6th June 2008
Robert Hicks is a leading Australian wine educator and shares his vinous views on his website www.grapeexpectations.com.au. After talking with winemaker Wayne Stehbens, Robert penned this piece on the recently released 2005 Katnook Founder's Block Sparkling Shiraz.
Many years ago, Katnook winemaker Wayne Stehbens was involved in a series of Master Classes at the Hyatt Coolum, on Queensland's Sunshine Coast. At one of the dinners, during the event, Seppelt's Ian Mckenzie called Wayne over to his table and suggested he try a particular wine. That wine was a Seppelt Sparkling Burgundy from the early sixties. Wayne thought the wine sensational. The two discussed the style and the ins and outs of production. And that wine remained in Wayne's thoughts under the heading of 'remarkable tastings'.
Some years later Katnook joined the resurgence of interest in sparkling shiraz and began to make its own as did a number of his Coonawarra peers. The Balnaves family makes a sparkling red from cabernet sauvignon while, at Majella, the Lynn family chose shiraz.
More recently, Wayne decided to change the style of the wine. He says, "I wanted to make them a little drier than I had been making them. Firstly, the style did not have to be as sweet and then there's the question of balance between tannins, sugar, acidity and fruit flavour." The current release has a residual sugar of about 15 grams per litre, rather than a figure in the mid-20s. This sees the wine at a sweetness level similar to most non vintage Champages. And like those French counterparts, the wine is more of an apéritif. Wayne points out that, "with less sugar, the tannins really leap out of the glass and it's particularly difficult to get balance on the palate. It is a challenging and enjoyable process at the blending bench."
The current Katnook Founder's Block Sparkling Shiraz reminds me of the classic Australian style. More about a unity of flavours from the melding of fruit and technique than something more ebullient; more about subtle complexities than fruit pop. Some of this comes from those components that receive oak maturation. As well, the wine has nine per cent cabernet sauvignon, in the blend, a further departure from what has gone before. Wayne sees that addition as, "bringing a leaner, longer structure to the wine. Good shiraz sometimes lacks that little bit of fruit complexity. Cabernet can add another dimension to the raspberry and licorice of shiraz, while building on the palate structure."
Katnook Founder's Block Sparkling Shiraz is a fine wine and adds to the lore of this unique, Australian style. The intrinsic quality of the region shines through defined and focussed by long-term expertise.
Many supporters of our sparkling reds chill the wines as you would sparkling whites. I suggest serving these delights as you would a red wine, at least during the cooler months. This very satisfying style, from Coonawarra's heartland, will cost you about $19 a bottle.
