Rick Kinzbrunner, the winemaking and viticultural genius behind Giaconda, sent out a press release this morning that of his range of 2003 vintage wines, he was only going to sell the Cabernet Sauvignon; it being the only wine that made the grade. I assume that the relative newness of the Aeolia Roussanne and the Nantua Les Deux white blend led Rick to ignore these wines in the media release (and indeed my first placing of this article). Nevertheless, the 2003 Aeolia, the only one of these wines I have yet seen, was actually rather good when tasted several months ago. 2003 was however a very hot vintage and many wines I have tasted from the Beechworth area have been adversely affected by smoke taint from the nearby bushfires. Smoke was seen to hang around this region for well over a week, thanks to the direction of prevailing winds, which were unable to push it over some of the mountain ranges in the area. While I have not tasted any of Giaconda’s 2003 wines, I would not be surprised if this was a factor. In many cases, the effect of smoke taint does not become apparent until after some time, so despite Rick’s initial enthusiasm for these wines, it might have become part of the reason not to release them. I applaud this decision from Giaconda, and while I have only a limited expectation that other producers of highly-priced wines will take any real notice, it does wonders for the respect that the marketplace will vest in this small, high-quality operation. The other significant piece of news from Giaconda was the decision to release the highly-anticipated 2004 vintage en primeur. Furthermore, buyers of these wines will have the opportunity to place their orders for bottles either sealed by cork or by screwcap. I have two separate words of warning for those intending to order their Giaconda Chardonnay 2004 under screwcap. Firstly, Giaconda does not have much experience with this seal, and in my experience, problems with application are more likely to occur in the instances when producers are using screwcaps for the first time. Secondly, and I rate this warning very much more importantly than the first, Giaconda’s Chardonnay is unashamedly made in a reductive style, which potentially makes it a significant risk when sealed under screwcap. My experience with other deliberately reductive expressions of chardonnay under screwcaps has not been a happy one, to say the least. Screwcaps tend to exacerbate any reductive influences present at bottling, as well as flattening out the fruit qualities present in such wines. The more I learn about screwcaps, the more I realise that there is much winemakers need to learn about the preparation of wines sealed in this fashion before bottling. I have a huge respect for Rick Kinzbrunner’s artistic and technical abilities, but it will be a challenge indeed for him to get everything right the first time around. I am looking forward to ordering some Giaconda Chardonnay 2004, but I will only order bottles sealed under cork for this reason.
