Chardonnay flagship

When Hardys winemaker Tom Newton was first given responsibility for handcrafting a flagship white for its domestic and international portfolios, he could not have predicted he'd end up relying on Tasmania for a substantial proportion of his wine's vineyard resources.

Nor could anyone else for that matter. When he began the company's ambitious Eileen Hardy Chardonnay program, it was 1986 and the industry here was still in its earliest stages of development. 

Tasmania's vineyard plantings amounted to a paltry 47ha.

Conventional wisdom of the day determined that Hardys' best Chardonnay grapes would come from its own vineyards at Padthaway, in the south-east corner of Australia's biggest wine state.

"Padthaway was regarded as a cool climate wine region at the time," the Hardys group white winemaker explained as he played host last week to a media tasting of benchmark Australian wine styles.

"Most of our premium Chardonnay in the 1980s was coming out of much warmer regions of the country. They were much bigger, more forward and more oaky wines than the finer, more elegant styles we were looking for. People want fruitiness in their wines, not lashings of timber.

"Over the years, our winemaking has evolved as various cooler climate wine regions have opened up and we've been able to source fruit from areas which we find more compatible with our style of Chardonnay."

Chardonnay from the Yarra Valley entered the picture in 1992. The Adelaide Hills answered the call in 1995, with Tasmanian vineyards providing significant inputs from 1999 onwards.

The label itself pays tribute to a family matriarch. A woman who weathered an especially stormy period of her life to became the mainstay of a thriving family wine company for some 37 years. 

Eileen Hardy's husband Tom was managing director of Hardys Wines between the two world wars. His life was tragically cut short in the Kayeema plane disaster of 1938. Among the 14 passengers and 4 crew members who lost their lives were two other prominent wine industry leaders, Hugo Gramp (Orlando Wines) and Sidney Hill-Smith (Yalumba Wines).

The couple's youngest son James - later an Olympic yachtsman as well as a Hardys winemaker - was only six years old at the time.

Newton's presentation at Hardys' Tintara Winery comprised barrel samples from 2005, and finished wines spanning 1986 to 2004.

It clearly mirrored the changes that have taken place over two decades of Australian winemaking and viticulture. Indeed, the quality and consistency of the wines tasted showed that Eileen Hardy Chardonnay is not just his company's flagship white, it is an industry flagship. 

From its earliest roots in Padthaway, the wine has evolved to become a skilfully crafted multi-regional blend. Its various components now come from the Yarra Valley; the Adelaide Hills; Canberra; Tumbarumba in the Australian Alps; and - most recently - Tasmania.

"Chardonnay gives you a great canvas to work with," Newton said.

"There are so many different ways you can work to influence the style of these wines, to put your own stamp on them."

Winemaking techniques over the years have run the full gamut from New World to Old World, beginning with cold fermentation in stainless steel and subsequent wood maturation in new oak in the 1980s, through to barrel fermentation with juice solids and indigenous yeasts in the late 1990s.

"We introduced malolactic fermentation in 1997 to make the wines more drinkable as well as more complex," he added.

A considerable amount of work has been done in-house to manipulate the method and timing of this second fermentation, in order to avoid the overt buttery characters that are commonly encountered with its use.

Without doubt, the most noticeable improvements in wine quality and stylistic expression have been achieved with the introduction of Tasmanian Chardonnay into the blend. A small dollop - just three per cent - was first added in 1996. The enhancements evident in the Eileen Hardy wines made since 1999 left the media contingent grasping for superlatives.

In that latter year, Tasmanian vineyards contributed 30 per cent to the wine's makeup. From 2000 onwards, the proportion has never fallen below 43 per cent (2002), and has been as high as 65 per cent (2000 and 2003).

There is no set formula. Blending components vary each year according to vintage conditions in the various source-blocks the company is able to access.

Newton now regards the Tasmanian composition of his flagship wine as its most fundamental building block. Fruit is presently sourced from sites as diverse as the Coal River Valley, Rokeby and Pipers River. There's a mix of company-owned vineyards and contract growers. Additional sites also wait in the wings.

Whatever the origin within the State, Newton's Tasmanian fruit provides Eileen Hardy Chardonnay with tremendous finesse and length of flavour. Not to mention an all-important acid backbone that lends support to richer fruit from warmer mainland vineyards.

"My experience suggests that it will take four or five crops before we really find out what we've got down there in Tasmania," concluded the justifiably proud winemaker. 

"Tasmania really is an exciting place for Chardonnay."

Pick of the Crop

2002 Hardys Eileen Hardy Chardonnay $40

OK, it's not entirely made from Tasmanian Chardonnay, but the wine's local content really does make it sing. Indeed, it's amazing what that 43 percent contributes to the palate's elegance and impressive length of flavour. And don't just take my word for it. At last count, this current vintage of Auntie Eileen had 4 trophies and 7 gold medals to her credit. But wait until you see the 2004. Now that's a cracker!

First published 26 October 2005: The Examiner