Pembroke party to Pinot progress

Tasmania's Coal River Valley is fast developing an enviable international reputation for the quality of its cool climate wines. That's hardly surprising, given the valley's abundant summer sunshine, long dry autumns and world-class viticulture.

Yet, as remarkable as it may seem nowadays, this small wine industry sub-region in the State's south was once considered unsuitable for grape-growing. Indeed, viticulture across the whole island was actively being discouraged by Tasmania's Department of Agriculture until well into the 1960s

It's been 40 years since Coal River Valley winegrowers Peter McKay and Damon Hawker began their Pembroke Wine Company at Cambridge. Recollections of those disparaging industry predictions still raise wry smiles across their faces.

"We began our partnership in September 1980," Hawker told the dozen or so participants at last week's vertical tasting of 23 different vintages of Pembroke Estate Pinot Noir.

"We started out by actually doing some trial work with the Department of Agriculture. We planted all sorts of things in our vineyard – Siegerrebe, Chasselas – you name it, we had it. Eventually, we ended up converting all 1.3 hectares to Pinot Noir.

"Why Pinot Noir? Having heard so many times we'd never get our grapes to ripen properly, we decided we'd hedge our bets. We thought if we couldn't get our Pinot Noir to ripen for red table wine, we could always pick it early and make sparkling wine instead."

"Today, this valley is producing some of the best cool climate wines in the world," McKay chimed in.

The four decades-long partnership is certainly unique within the context of the Tasmanian wine industry. McKay and Hawker continue to enjoy a life-long friendship that dates back to 1959 and their earliest days together as a couple of young, knockabout school kids.

Born and raised at Cambridge, McKay says his family's valley connections began in the first half of the 19th century with the arrival of convict William McKay. The Scottish petty criminal may not have been a successful pickpocket but he was an ambitious 17-year-old, keen to get ahead in the wild colonial days of Van Diemen's Land.

By 1848, he had gained his freedom and created sufficient wealth to purchase the 1560-acre Richmond Road property of ferry entrepreneur, John Petchey. Known as Uplands as well as Petchey Estate, it became home for six generations of McKays. By the early 20th century, the site had become a valley focal point for annual ploughing competitions. 

Today, it's a far more tranquil location, with Zoe and Peter McKay hosting only occasional visitors at their vineyard cellar door and nearby ornamental gardens.

Pembroke's two hours of retrospection at Frogmore Creek provided valuable and instructive opportunities for industry players to unravel 40-years of viticultural history in the valley. 

There are few places on the planet that can produce cool climate Pinot Noir that is truly varietal in nature and genuinely consistent in wine style and quality. For the most part, you can attribute that to the challenges associated with finding suitable vineyard sites that have growing seasons long enough, cool enough and dry enough to allow wine grapes to develop true expressions of the variety. 

Issues relating to soil type, vineyard aspect, clonal selection, canopy management and crop yield all serve to confound the hapless grower. And having a mind-boggling array of processing options to draw upon doesn't make the job any easier for seasoned winemakers either.

"Pembroke was among my first clients when I returned to Tasmania to start my contract winemaking business," recalled retired industry figurehead, Andrew Hood.

"I rarely get the chance to re-taste those very early wines. Pembroke was also one of my first Pinot Noir vineyards. It was an exciting time in the industry. I had no previous experience making Tasmanian wine, so it was also a little bit scary. Back then, there were very few people you could call upon who could give you good advice in the vineyard or in the winery."

"Looking back over the history of Tasmanian wine more generally, it's pretty remarkable to think this State had one of the first commercial Pinot Noir vineyards anywhere in Australia, and that was back in the 1820s," said Bream Creek Vineyard's Fred Peacock.

The 2018 Gourmet Traveller Wine Viticulturist of the Year noted that while Tasmanian Pinot Noir growers and winemakers have learned a lot over the past 40 years, the variety's occasionally wayward responses to seasonal factors can still set producer pulse rates soaring as harvest draws near.

"For example, the ideal growing conditions leading up to vintage 2001 helped create really beautiful wines," Peacock added.

"Meanwhile, just a few years later - in early 2004 - most growers across the State found themselves carrying huge crops of Pinot Noir. They soon realised they were going to have difficulty ripening their fruit if January's unwelcome rainfall continued and the weather cooled off during late summer. Those that didn't carry out the drastic bunch-thinning that was required at the time got caught out really badly. Some vineyards took ages to harvest their Pinot Noir. The resulting wines were often very light-bodied and really green and unripe in flavour."

The retrospective nature of Pembroke's tasting highlighted some of the earliest observations on Coal River Valley Pinot Noir made by leading industry players. Hood and Peacock were among those back in the 1990s that noted that the district's Pinots often seemed to display subtle but characteristic minty/eucalypt aromas and flavours, in addition to their hallmark notes of cherry and dark plum.

"I remember identifying that character very early on in my winemaking here," Hood explained.

"I've often likened it to the smell of sassafras leaves, which I've always found really attractive. That's often criticised when it's found in Pinot Noir. But I think it gives these wines a lovely forest floor or rain forest character, something that is truly Tasmanian. 

"It's also something that allows them to age really beautifully over a long time."

Hood could be onto something there. Wines from 1991, 1998 and 2001 figured among the tasting's best wines, according to a show of hands around the table. Pembroke moved from natural corks to screwcaps with the bottling of the 2006 vintage and there was a distinct freshness noted among the wines produced thereafter.

My top wines on the day? Those made in 2014, 2018 and 2019. The latter two vintages are current releases. See for yourself.

First published 19 September 2020: tasmaniantimes.com