There are a lot more high profile wineries in Australia, but not many can match the pedigree of the wines being made at Hentley Farm in the Barossa Valley.
Australia’s Winery of the Year: Hentley Farm with also its award winning restaurant
The beauty of Australian wine is that it means so many things to different folks. What one wine drinker will happily drink every (other) day of the week, another would not even drink a sip of.
But at the higher end of the Australian wine market. The choice is a little more limited. The winemakers and wineries that have built up a reputation, a prestige, a must have appeal that are now very well known to those…well in the know.
So much so it can be hard for all premium producers to find their own niche. Their own place at the table.
But for the more modest, quite and unassuming producers like Hentley Farm, they are quite happy to let their wines do their talking for them. Well up to a point. Receiving accolades such as Winery of the Year from James Halliday means the level of demand for its wines and to hear first hand how they are made has been ratcheted up a few knots.
Particularly when Halliday refers to it “as producing what is as close as you’re ever going to find in Australia to a grand cru Burgundy or first-growth Bordeaux”. A point reflected in the fact the winery received the highest scores across all its wines, from Halliday, for the second year running.
Right place, right time
Hentley Farm was established on the red brown soils of the Barossa Valley when Keith and Alison Hentschke acquired the 150 acre vineyard in the 1990s. But this was not just a case of finding any property that was available.
Keith Hentschke, whose family have grown up in the region since the 1840s, did his homework and used soil records dating back to the 1950s to identify an area around the Valley’s Seppeltsfield area that he knew was right to make their own distinctive single estate only premium wine. The neighbouring Clos Otto block was acquired more recently in 2004.
Initially it worked the land and sold on its grapes until it was ready, in 2002, to start releasing its own wines.
“All our grapes come from our own winery,” stresses winemaker, Andrew Quin. “You can see the influence of terroir and microclimates across our140 hectare property.”
It is the quality of that terroir and the uniqueness of that micro climate that has made Hentley Farm’s stand out, claims Quin. “We think we have found the best sub region in the Barossa Valley.”
Attention to detail
But it is one thing having potential, quite another making premium wines that can build a reputation on their own.
“We are looking for attention to detail,” explains Quin. If he had to characterise his style of winemaking it is to “pair things back on the fruit” so that you get as true an expression of the grape. “We have come back from the Parker style,” he adds.
It has meant making some changes in the vineyard and at harvest. “We are picking earlier. Yes, we have to wait for phenolic ripeness, but we want to pick at lower sugar levels so that we get better overall balance in the wines.”
That way, he believes, they can still have the fruitiness they are looking for, the rich density, but with more natural acidity and vibrancy of fruit. A style that makes the wines good to drink now, but also ideal for ageing. “Picking earlier is definitely part of it,” he adds.
“We have also cut back on the oak influence. We used to only use new French oak, but will now us older, second or third use oak in our vintages.”
Beauty and the Beast
Hentley’s wines: received the highest set of overall scores by James Halliday for the second year running
Quin’s attention to detail is very evident in the premium single block wines he makes. As he is only ever working with the estate’s own grapes he has been able to build a deep understanding of the different plots of vines and the styles of grape they produce.
Hentley Farm includes a wide range of separate blocks and sub-blocks including: Shiraz (27, using three ancient and three modern clones), Cabernet (6), Grenache (3), Zinfandel (1), and Viognier (2). With a grape breakdown of Shiraz (70%), Grenache (17%), Cabernet Sauvignon (10%), Zinfandel (2%), and a small parcel of Viognier (1%).
Quin’s attention to detail is particularly evident in the stark contrast between its Beauty and Best wines that are only made 300 to 400 metres apart from each other.
Its Beauty wines are two to three degrees cooler thanks to the gum trees that help provide some shade. This lighter style only has 35% new French oak and a recommended cost of £48. This compares to the 60% of new oak to be found in Beast, which also has dryer tannins, and a recommended price tag of £65 a bottle.
It is the Clos Otto that many will like too see on their lists. A wine, stresses Quin, you can easily age for 20 to 30 years. Or just as happily drink now.
The key to be able to do that comes in making a truly balanced wine. “By balanced I mean a wine that when it is young still has roundness, softness and good tannins,” he explains.
Turning heads
Hentley Farms’ wines has already turned enough heads in the UK on-trade to have key listings at a number of key accounts. It is also on the books at Harrods and Berry Bros & Rudd and a number of leading independent wine merchants that can really get behind the range.
But with its Winery of the Year status it is even more important to be on the road, telling its story, says Quin. “It is important for us to be out in the market.”
He adds: “There is a lot of positivity about Australian wine in the UK. Which is great news for us as we still see the UK as a key export market for our wines.”
* Hentley Farms are available from their UK partners, Carson Wines.
