Leeuwin Estate
Interview with Leeuwin Viticulturist
John Brocksopp, Production Manager and viticulturist, retired from his full-time position at Leeuwin Estate after nearly 25 years to hand over to David Winstanley in 2003. John still acts, however, as Viticultural Consultant to Leeuwin, and here he talks to Domaine Direct about Art Series Chardonnay.
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Leeuwin has achieved its success across multiple grape types and with both red and white wines. However, its international reputation was first secured and continues to be underwritten, year after year, by its Art Series Chardonnay. What is it that makes Leeuwin Estate, in the words of James Halliday, "the foremost producer of Chardonnay in Australia" and its Art Series Chardonnay "Australia's flagship white"? We asked John Brocksopp.
Domaine Direct: The Leeuwin Estate Chardonnay style seems to have remained very consistent since the original bottlings. Apart from increasing vineyard age, have there been fundamental changes within the period?
John Brocksopp: The potential of our site to produce great Chardonnay was already clear to us from the 1980 vintage. The innovative winemaking techniques we used - we were one of the first Australian Chardonnay producers to ferment in barriques, mature on yeast lees and carry out bâtonnage - go back to the technical input we received from Robert Mondavi who consulted on the early stages of the project. The grapes and the handling techniques were largely determined, therefore, from the start and winemaker Bob Cartwright and I have been together at Leeuwin since 1979. Every vintage calls for adjustments and refinements, of course, according to grape quality, but the fundamentals are little changed.
DD: Commentators invariably pick up on Leeuwin Chardonnay's uncanny knack of ageing and improving in bottle. Its longevity and ageing curve seem, well, more Burgundian than Australian. How do you account for this?
JB: Balance, rather than brute strength, makes for harmonious ageing, we find. Our best vineyards deliver that magic balance, that delicacy. Established on deep, free-draining gravel soils, they allow smooth ripening, retain warmth, and encourage root penetration and exploration making supplementary irrigation unnecessary. Yields are naturally moderate and the fruit ripens fully while retaining good natural acidity (we typically pick our Chardonnay at 13 Baumé with 8g/l acidity, pH 3.17). So our job, above all, is to preserve site nuance by sensitive handling in the vineyard and the cellar and to select the right vineyard blocks which will work together in the blend.
DD: Are low yields a big part of the explanation?
JB: We plant with much wider row spacings (10' x 5' and 12' x 6') than in Burgundy, hence fewer vines per hectare. Overall, we're at between 2 and 4 kg of fruit per vine, and produce less than 2 tonnes per acre. It's also true that the Gin Gin clone, the original 1957 importation from which all our Chardonnay comes, is naturally a shy bearer. The oldest vines which contribute to our Art Series Chardonnay bottling were planted in 1976; the youngest in 1997. (Editorial note: Burgundy's high density planting - 4 or 5 times as many vines per hectare - means correspondingly less fruit per vine, typically 0.6 kg. Leeuwin's per hectare fruit yield for Art Series Chardonnay is close to Burgundy norms.)
DD: Block 20 is the engine room of the Art Series Chardonnay. What makes this vineyard so special?
JB: We're looking for delicacy combined with depth and presence of flavour. We particularly dislike any coarseness and oiliness in Chardonnay varietal character. Block 20 is the basis and backbone of our wine, precisely because it delivers structure with refinement. We find that Block 20 fruit can require up to 15 months of lees contact in new French oak to draw out its full complexity. Initially reticent in barrel, it takes 6-12 months of coaxing to bring back firstly the pineapple, then the pear, and sometimes the peach flavours of the grape. Then there is further time in wood, then bottle, to add to and confirm flavours from the vineyard. We seem to get more complexity from the vineyard than from the handling: barrel maturation never seems to overwhelm the vineyard contribution. Mature Art Series Chardonnay shows power and finesse and remarkable staying power and these are the hallmarks of Block 20 fruit. As for the vineyard itself, it is north and west facing, established on deep, laterite gravels overlaying decayed gneiss, then solid rock at 5 ft. Compared to some of our other vineyard sites, the vines in Block 20 seem to grow in a perfectly balanced way. The sea breezes cool them; summer sun lights them gently and evenly both morning and afternoon as it passes across the direction of the rows. High sugar ripeness is achieved while retaining noteworthy acidity.
DD: Block 20 isn't the sole fruit source of Art Series Chardonnay, is it?
JB: That's right. We find we get the best result by fitting a blend together around the specific character of the Block 20 fruit. That said, each Chardonnay lot is handled separately throughout vinification. During the first winter-spring period the young wines slowly shrug off their masking fermentation characters. Outstanding lots start to be obvious, and using Block 20 as the basis we will get an idea of how the new Art Series Chardonnay will come together. The final blending of lots doesn't take place until each barrel has had the required amount of maturation time. The existence of our second Chardonnay, Prelude Vineyards, which displays a more overtly fruity style, with much less oak maturation, gives us flexibility when assessing the character and destination of our different lots. The Prelude Chardonnay of the year is always bottled and ready for release while the Art Series is still being worked in barrels. Bottling of the Art Series wine now typically occurs around 18 months after harvest, after a light fining for stability. The first and only pumping of the wine is at bottling, and commercial release is a year later.
DD: Burgundy winemakers operate within a framework of tradition. A Meursault-Perrières, say, is assessed not just on intrinsic merit but also on how typical it is of its appellation. What are your benchmarks for the Art Series Chardonnay?
JB: We do not have a conscious role model but it is true that our approach to white winemaking, which emphasises barrel fermentation and maturation, wouldn't be out of place in Burgundy. But there are plenty of differences too. Our climate is dissimilar, for a start. Margaret River winter temperatures don't push the vines into complete dormancy; our early budburst means longer hang time, too. White wines pretty systematically go through malolactic fermentation in Burgundy; at Leeuwin malolactic is carried out variably according to the year but never on more than 60% of our Chardonnay. We've tried indigenous yeasts but have not found them reliable. Overall, though, we intervene little. Our handling techniques aim for the lightest touch possible. Their purpose is to help express latent vineyard character.
DD: What we would call terroir. What white Burgundies with strong terroir character have most impressed you?
JB: One of my strongest memories was a Bâtard-Montrachet 1979 (vinified by Edmond Delagrange-Bachelet) drunk in the mid 80's. It was a revelation that you could have so much flavour with such lightness of touch. Its combination of delicacy, volume and persistence summed up what we most admire in Chardonnay.
DD: Could you tell us about the recent Art Series Chardonnay release from the celebrated 2000 vintage?
JB: It's a classic vintage from very low vineyard yields, with lots of subtlety in the wine. The fruit has exceptional elegance, a mark of great years, but there is real intensity and depth there. The aromas show floral notes with a strong spice component: dried pears, quince, nutmeg, cloves and sweet malt. Above all, the wine has the delicacy to carry off its weight of flavour. We think it will develop exceptionally.