Erland Happ with a satisfied end of vintage look

I planted a couple of hundred Nebbiolo vines along with twenty-eight other varieties in 1994 at our Three Hills vineyard in Karridale at the southern end of Margaret River. The conventional wisdom at the time was that one might have trouble ripening even mid season varieties, let alone Nebbiolo, Cabernet, Shiraz, Grenache, Mataro, Graciano, Sangiovese, Petit Verdot and Carignan. In an apparent procession most plantings had occurred between Witchcliffe, which is just south of Margaret River town site, and Busselton, with the biggest concentration at Willyabrup. People tended to look askance at the south end and gave out stories about unseasonable rains vegetative flavours and potential troubles getting things ripe. Indeed cloud cover and rainfall is plainly greater and the wind can be more extreme. Augusta is a windy place. In the process of establishing the vineyard from what had been sheep country I discovered that that the region was indeed a rural backwater by comparison with the North. Everybody necessarily has an off farm job and visitor traffic is light. In my many trips south I have never seen a policeman south of Margaret River. Everybody was extremely friendly and helpful. Land prices were about a third of those in Willyabrup.

Why did I plant late varieties in this rather doubtful situation? I had a theory that if I could escape the heat of late summer and ripen fruit in the cool of Autumn the fruit flavours would be superior. In my experience excessive heat in the ripening cycle tends to speed sugar accumulation, in advance of flavour ripeness. In particular, flavours that are typical of unripe fruit are still present when sugar accumulation is ample. The most appealing flavours typical of ripe fruit are still latent. The result is firm wines, short in the palate with limited appeal.

Australia is a low latitude land mass largely hot desert except for the coastal fringes. The Margaret River environment is highly maritime but in common with any coastal region of mainland Australia, subject to marked heat spikes in February and March. The chance of avoiding heat spikes improves from east to west and north to south. Logically Cape Leeuwin is the place to be. Interestingly, it transpires that the advantage that applies to late varieties is even more marked with early varieties harvested in late February, early March.

Frank Kittler, winemaker 1995-2000

I am not seeking to produce average wine at a fair price. The aim is to produce something exceptional. Accordingly I cast a wide net when selecting what to plant. There is a commercial vineyard at the heart of the undertaking but a lot of speculative indulgence around the edges. In a world where some ten thousand varieties are available it is unlikely that we have hit upon the best varieties for our particular circumstance. This is particularly the case in Western Australia where only about fifty wine grape varieties are available and those, almost exclusively of French origin.

After four vintages I can report that there are some dogs amongst the varieties but, very few. All varieties ripen reliably by mid April. However, crop load in relation to leaf area is critical and Gamay, Sangiovese, Cinsaut and Grenache must be vigorously thinned.

The vineyard is not irrigated. The soils are fertile by Western Australian standards being relatively recently derived from granites. Marri, Blackbutt, Peppermint and Tea tree occurs naturally stratified according to elevation. The Marri and the Blackbutt are majestic giants of trees but they are regularly bowled over by high winds when deprived of the protection of their neighbours. The vineyard is 10 Km from the ocean to the west and also to the south. It is where the Indian Ocean meets and fights with the Southern Ocean. Rainfall can exceed two metres. The break is usually in late April or May but we can have dry conditions from mid August. In some years useful falls occur right up into late November. The vines usually terminate growth by mid January. Pinot Noir is picked late February and the Mataro, Carignan and Cinsaut achieve 23 -24 brix by mid April. Others like Nebbiolo and Grenache will hit 26 brix a week earlier. At that stage leaves are naturally senescing on most varieties and a shower or three may have produced the first germination of grasses between the rows.

Frank the lightweight bike constructor delivering the made to order tandem

Our soil management involves cover cropping with Lupins, Oats, Barley and Clover. I like to wait till seed is set before we slash the rows early in November and I don't like to see a clean undervine strip. We rely on strategic firebreaks to minimise damage should the vineyard catch fire in the summer. Soils and the organisms, which keep them alive, are fed with organic matter. Trash on the surface reduces soil temperatures and soil moisture losses. Plants in phosphate deficient soils rely heavily on fungi to scavenge for nutrients and these fungi must be fed.

The trellis is a modified lyre with limited shoot management. The vines occupy a lot of space in the 3.35 metre rows and we use light narrow tractors equipped with turf tyres and linkage mounted sprayers. The vineyard looks thoroughly disordered. Our plants collect a lot of light. We do not trim. Pruning is to about 40 buds per vine on four canes arranged quadrilaterally. Yields vary between 8 and 16 tons to the hectare. Nebbiolo is at the light end but capacity is increasing with vine age.

The clone is FVX6V1/CX/UCD. Nebbiolo leafs out early and is susceptible to early spring damage from wind. The shoots are long and spindly with wide internode spaces and small leaves. Bunches are small; the berries thin skinned, and difficult to pluck intact, as is Pinot Noir. Colour is lighter that other red varieties with orange brown tinges but quite deep. The fruit is acidic with high levels of malic and it is aggressively tannic. Until the 1999 vintage when we saw Raspberry flavours emerge as it passed through 25 brix my assistant winemaker had me convinced, on the basis of his experience in California, that Nebbiolo was 'the kiss of death'. At that stage I held that at a minimum it might prove a useful addition to Shiraz but I have no hesitation today in asserting that we can produce a wine that will stand-alone. The wine character is consistent with the notion that a bramble bush, a wild thing, is responsible. Nebbiolo is no wimp.

Frank and Erl applying the winemakers kiss to a couple of deserving pickers

Our experience with Nebbiolo is limited. There was little more than a hat full of grapes to work with until the 1999 vintage. The fruit is hand harvested. It is destemmed and pumped to an open fermenter. The ferment is inoculated immediately; hand plunged twice a day and pressed off short of dryness into old wood. The press used is a 1900 litre Howard air bag. Pressings are immediately reincorporated. Temperatures reach 28C. MLF bacteria are introduced soon after pressing. At this stage I want to learn what the variety will give me and I don't wish to confuse the issue with wood flavours. Puncheons are preferred over barriques. and the wine spends a year in wood prior to bottling, being racked post MLF and twice thereafter. Free SO2 is maintained at greater than 15ppm free during wood aging. The 1999 vintage has not been fined or filtered. It is presented in 500 ml bottles under our ultra premium Three Hills label. A release date has yet to be decided. A label has yet to be designed. We are currently grafting unwanted white varieties to Nebbiolo and will shortly have about half an acre of bearing vines. Others who have tried the variety have not persisted and are uncomplimentary. I am cautiously optimistic.

The 1999 wine has a pH of 3.85 and 5.5 grams per litre of acidity. It carries 14.3% alcohol and solid but acceptable tannin levels in the context of food. The pH may surprise but in my view acidity and tannin are additive in generating astringency and I want to make a palatable product. Our thermal conditions in the cellar are cool by Australian standards, the topping regime religious, and SO2 monitoring usually adequate. If these requirements can be met the wine is well conserved during wood aging. Given the strength of flavour that Nebbiolo can give us I believe that future wines will benefit from incorporation of new wood into the recipe.

Erland Happ - March 2001