They’re in no hurry to do so, but the many Australian classics from 2010 are now beginning to reveal their class.
There’s no doubting we were spoiled by the 1990s, when Australian wine could hardly put a foot wrong. In case you’re unaware, this extraordinary decade produced exceptional vintages in 1990, 1991, 1994, 1996, 1998 and 1999, with very honorable mentions given to 1995 and 1992. And, by the way, I’m attempting the near-impossible here by trying to summarise a national vintage in a country the size of Australia with a single descriptor, which is always a dangerous thing. Proof lies in the exemplary vintages experienced by Margaret River and McLaren Vale in 1995.
Then, by extreme contrast, we had the unusual heat of the naughties, which despite the over-hyped vintages of 2006 and 2008, failed to deliver much by way of classic wine. 2004 was however a great season, while the outlier 2002 vintage – which flew against the trend of the time by being the coolest on record in most of southern Australia – did produce some solid, if indeed rather different wines of true quality. Of course there were some stellar seasons in the west – and indeed in the Hunter – but this was largely a decade driven by heat and drought. I even remember a conversation with Elva Laughton of Jasper Hill after her having watched a number of ancient gum trees on the property succumb and fall to the big dry, in which she seriously raised the possibility of introducing irrigation to her family’s dryland vineyard. Things were that extreme!
2010 was for many regions the drought-breaking vintage and a return to some kind of climatic normalcy. While stopping well short of the standards set by the 1990s, the coming decade experienced very strong vintages in 2010, 2012, 2014, 2015 and 2018. Western Australia and New South Wales also did very well in 2011 and 2019.
Since this decade, winegrowers have faced a sequence of vintages that remind me of the cooler decades of the 1970s and 1980s. We saw the cool but stressed 2020 followed by the brilliant but later seasons of 2021 and 2022, before the even cooler seasons of 2023 and 2024. The good news is that with more flavour to play with as well as superior levels of natural acidity at harvest, winemakers are generally making better wines than they were in the first two decades of this century, or at least, have the potential to do so.
Nearly fifteen years down the track, the early promise shown by the wines of 2010 is starting to reveal itself in wines of flavour, depth and balance. Given the relative paucity of great vintages either side of it, 2010 is worth taking very seriously. Speaking again in very general fashion, they seem to be showing plenty of development to reward those who have cellared them, but clearly retain the vigour and balance to continue their progress for decades to come. In other words, you’ll be very happy to enjoy them now, but if you really enjoy pushing the boundaries with long-term cellaring, the best are unlikely to disappoint.
I’ve just republished my Vintage Report for 2010 (taken from the 2011 edition of The Australian Wine Annual), which covers the country’s main varieties and regions. You’re welcome to read it here. I gave scores of 19+ (out of 20) to 69 Australian wines from 2010, which contrasts to the 35 from 2009 and the mere 23 from the cool, wet (in southeastern Australia) 2011.
The chart-stopping reds from 2010 included incredible wines under the Penfolds Grange and Wynns John Riddoch labels (both 19.5), narrowly ahead of the Main Ridge Estate Half Acre Pinot Noir and the Penfolds St Henri Shiraz blend (both 19.4). Other notables included the Clarendon Hills Astralis, Clonakilla Shiraz Viognier and Penfolds Bin 170 Kalimna Shiraz (each at 19.3). Due credit to Penfolds for such a fine collection from 2010.
The 2010 whites were led by a remarkable Giaconda Chardonnay and a stellar Jim Barry The Florita Riesling (both 19.5), with the Cape Mentelle Chardonnay and the Grosset Rieslings of Springvale and Polish Hill each at 19.3.
A Who’s Who of Australian wine follows down to 19.0 and many excellent wines were rated between 18.5 and 18.9. Rockford’s very elegant and complex Basket Press Shiraz is a fine example. What stands this list apart from most seasons is that the top wines from 2010 are evenly spread around the country’s top regions. It was that kind of a year.
At Oliver’s Wines we’re offering you three different means of connecting with classic 2010 reds. In our Old and Rare section we have access to a significant number of perfectly cellared bottles of the stellar 2010 Penfolds St Henri, a wine I rate as the high point in this label’s history. Typical of this vintage, it’s doing precisely what you’d hope for as a 14-year-old red – it’s revealing some development and has moved on from the more primary expression of its youth, so it’s drinking wonderfully right now. Of course it could be kept for many, many years to come.
We’re also staging a wonderful online tasting on November 13 featuring six wines including Rockford’s Basket Press Shiraz 2010 and my recent 100-pointer red wine from Australia, the Neldner Road Kraehe Shiraz 2021. We’re also showing the stunning Peccavi The Estate Merlot 2019 and the 2018 Riesling made by a winemaking icon in Victoria by the name of Ros Ritchie. I’ll be hosting the tasting and I’ll be joined by Dave Powell from Neldner Road, Jeremy Muller from Peccavi and Ros Ritchie herself, plus Thibaut Caumont from Le Cavist, our partners for the event. Learn more about the tasting and book your places here.
Over the last week or so I have tasted a couple of reds from the re-emergent Hungerford Hill stable, which also includes the brands of Dalwood and Sweetwater. Sam Arnaout purchased the brand and winery in December 2016, adding the excellent Sweetwater and historic Dalwood vineyards to his folio shortly afterwards.
Through its several previous incarnations, the Hungerford Hill brand had been spread around the countryside by its owners in a bid to find its home and its place in the market, I’m delighted to report that it’s again 100% focused on the Hunter Valley, the location listed on its birth certificate. It’s more than a little weird to think that perhaps its most famous wine released to date was a marginally sweet botrytis affected riesling made from Coonawarra fruit after the nearby bushfires were being doused by rain in 1983.
The good news here – and one of my biggest wine surprises of the year to date – was to discover that thanks to the fact the previous owner of Sweetwater had hardly sold any of the wines the estate had produced over the previous 15 years, the company is now releasing two exceptional Hunter reds from 2010 whose harvest was clearly managed around the rains that affected many Hunter growers that season. Made under contract by the exceptional talents of Andrew Thomas, the Sweetwater Shiraz 2010 and Sweetwater Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 are delicious, alluring wines with the balance and precision to continue to evolve.
The Shiraz is something very special indeed, while the Cabernet Sauvignon makes the point that Lake’s Folly has become famous for – if you get the right site in the Hunter and a vaguely sympathetic season, this region can deliver cabernet with the capacity to surprise. Further proof of that is amply found in the arresting 2022 edition of the Sweetwater Cabernet Sauvignon made by Brian Currie, group winemaker and GM. It’s an astonishing wine that should be compulsory tasting for all members of the blinkered cohort who think cabernet lacks charm and appeal.
Oliver’s Wines will shortly have the 2022 and 2010 Sweetwater reds in our Shop. If you’d like to register some advance interest in the 2010 Shiraz and/or 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon, please click here and we’ll get back in touch.
The 2010 Australian vintage will be one to watch over coming decades and I’ll do my best to find myself in front of its many classic wines – both to monitor their progress and to experience the joy that you can only find from well-cellared wines from the finest of seasons. If you’re new to this concept and haven’t tasted many wines that have been given the chance to evolve in the bottle, you’re in for a very happy surprise.
