By Jen Barwick
Did you know McLaren Vale is one of the most geographically diverse regions in the world?
Under those rolling hills, vineyard vistas and vegie patches is a smorgasbord of clay, sandstone, shale, quartzite, siltstone, and limestone – some of it dating back 600 million years.
About five years ago, a group of McLaren Vale winemakers and viticulturists banded together to try and find a way to better understand the influence this geology has on their wines – in particular, on Shiraz, one of the region’s key varieties.
With the help of the McLaren Vale Grape, Wine and Tourism Association (MVGWTA) they created ‘Scarce Earth’ – a sort of annual competition for single-site one-year-old McLaren Vale Shiraz.
In doing so, they found a unique way to show consumers that Shiraz not only changes from one region to another but Shiraz grown in the foothills of the Mount Lofty Ranges, or with beach views to Port Noarlunga or even, in many cases, just a few metres apart throughout the Vale, can deliver some surprising and quite identifiable differences in style.
MVGWTA general manager Jennifer Lynch said Scarce Earth was not a traditional competition in the sense that there’s no one winner and the judging criteria focus isn’t on typical wine quality parameters.
“Its chief aim is to identify those one-year-old Shiraz that best reflect the geology of a single site – and that includes soil, climate and topography,” Jennifer said.
Though Scarce Earth stemmed from a genuine self-interest of winemakers to better understand the influences of their environment, it didn’t take long for the concept to capture the attention of wine traders and consumers.
“I don’t think it was initially meant as a marketing concept but it’s provided the ability to have a selection of wines that can quite simply tell the story of McLaren Vale’s unique geology. It’s become another way for our wineries to deliver that important sense of place… another connection to site and McLaren Vale,” Jennifer said.
Given its strong ties to the environment, it’s not surprising that the criteria to enter the program also insists wineries must be a member of Sustainable Australia Winegrowing, and the wine must reflect minimal winemaking intervention, including minimal oak influences.
The Scarce Earth wines are judged by a panel of three local winemakers, a high profile wine journalist, an Australian Master of Wine and a prominent member of the Adelaide wine trade.
“It’s quite a rigorous selection process, as the integrity of the program and criteria are essential in its success. This year 23 wineries entered 44 wines from the 2013 Vintage, and just 15 Shiraz were selected,” Jennifer said.
“There’s an annual selection tasting by the full panel, and then the winemaker panel conduct a second pre-bottling tasting a few months later, and then a post-bottling tasting.
“It doesn’t mean that all 44 wines weren’t amazing wines – the vast majority will be outstanding wines – but the chief focus of the program is to find those examples that best reflect the environment they came from.”
The list of the 2013 Scarce Earth wines is available here.
To learn more about the unique geology of McLaren Vale download this fantastic map.