How and Why do Varieties impact on the Price of Wine?
I’ve written about the unpopularity of Aussie Rieslings, and how that has kept the price of Rieslings so modest. Our top-rated Riesling is most likely Jeffrey Grosset’s Polish Hill, which sells for about $50.
By contrast, our top-rated reds sell for close to $1000 a bottle. A list of 2 dozen of our most expensive wines only shows red wines and ports. Why? Because the cheapest red on this list costs more than the most expensive white we make down under.
How Come?
Good question. Our most expensive whites are made from Chardonnay, which is no cheaper to produce than Cabernet or Shiraz. Same goes for making the wine with extended lees contact & stirring plus aging in quality new oak. Like our best reds, our best Chardonnays are held back for a few years at the winery. There’s little difference in the cost of production, so why do our best chardies top out at $100? It’s not like that in France where Montrachet is up there with La Tache.
Image Source: Decanter
How the Chardonnay Stars Line Up
- Penfolds Yattarna $150
- Giaconda $130
- Cullen Kevin John Chardonnay $100
- Yabby Lake Yabby Lake Block 6 $90
- Leeuwin Estate Art Series $85
- Penfolds Reserve Bin A $85
- OIakridge Single Vineyard $80
- Devil’s Lair 9th Chamber Chardonnay $80
- Pierro $75
- Bannockburn SRH $75
- Vasse Felix Heytesbury $70
- Tyrrells Vat 47 $55
What about Sauvignon Blanc?
If Chardonnay is a comparative bargain, Sauvignon Blanc is a steal. I see you shaking your head, thinking you can’t be serious. I know, there’s an ocean of ghastly. Sauvignon Blanc washing around the isles of the big liquor chains, stuff that tastes of. Solo soft drink with a twist of pineapple and a pinch of saccharin.
Believe me, there are few greater pleasures for this gourmand than sitting down to a perfectly cooked piece of salmon and a glass of serious savvy. I mean the kind that is dry and crisp and crunchy, the tangy kind that smells of cut grass and lantana, that tastes of gooseberries., citrus and minerals.
It’s hard to spend big money on savvy unless you want to impress your friends with Cloudy Bay Te Koko, which sells out for $50 a bottle. That’s about tops for Sauvignon Blanc down under. Cape Mentelle’s Wallcliffe Sauvignon Blanc is only about $40, and even Cullen’s Semillon Sauvignon Blanc is just $30. That combo does well in the west, with many good examples selling for less than $20. Kemenys picked up a $9 beauty over in the west and sell it as the Devil’s Ridge Block 8 Margaret River Sauvignon Blanc Semillon 2016 for $9.
Yes, Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon blends are rewarding territory for value wines. And once again, price is not a reliable guide to quality.
