It’s hard to be original. Form a winemaking perspective, everything you do has been done before. Originality, evolution, call it what you will, is particularly difficult in Europe. Unfortunately, governments now legislate traditions, particularly in France, perhaps the most influential nation of the enlightenment.
The enlightenment
In a post-enlightenment age and a time of cultural stagnation, wine producers have become fixated on site expression, through the most narrow of lenses, defined chiefly by varietal. What happens when a varietal, chardonnay or pinot noir say, mutates, possibly into the sublime? Do we grub it up? Well, yes, according to government mandates and as far as I know universally accepted by the good citizens of Burgundy and wine lovers across the world.
Primitivo is from Croatia, Zinfandel is from Croatia, a grape variety steeped in the traditions of Puglia and California, but imagine either region narrowly defining themselves through one varietal. We can thank the lucky stars that the principles of vinous enlightenment are flourishing in South Africa, the United States, New Zealand and Australia, where the beating hearts of pioneers can still be glimpsed through the widest of vinous lenses.
The tannins
I have written about the wines of Joshua Cooper before, more conventionally I suppose, but his new releases of shiraz, Cabernet and blends of the two are the best to date, warranting a rethink of my early perceptions. I’ve referenced ironbark, because it’s the tannins that have always defined these wines, and in 2022, the tannins have never been so sturdy, robust and chewy – ironbark. I cannot think of any Australian wine that is in any way comparable and not from anywhere else either.
Ironbark tannins, the stuff of pioneers, of Australia. Josh explained that the skins coming off these vineyards are so tough, it’s hard to break them up. Alcohol levels sit in the 13’s, so the fruit is ripe, but without sweet flavours. I should have asked about acid, as the levels are clearly high, such are the vibrancy and aromatic lift. There is also a tension of elements. The tannins, acid and fruit aren’t seamless or interwoven, but separate elements and the tussle is a study of textures, movement and shape, within the prism of complex ripe, tangy fruit.
Pioneer style
Winemakers are following the fad of refinement, whether it be pinot noir, grenache, syrah or cabernet, but Josh has decided to expose the sites for what they are, hard and tough. There’s no picnic here, refined architecture, manicured landscapes or nice clothes; a celebration of getting away from it all, pioneer style. Ironbark tannins, really? You don’t believe me? Taste these wines. You can’t so much as taste wood. But you can feel the coarse bark and salivate and wonder if we’ve lost something of ourselves; with our rush to decadence, heightened sensitivities, cultural cringe and excessive refinement.
The winemaking
A word or two on the winemaking for those with an interest in such matters. Remember, this only applies to the shiraz and cabernet sauvignons. The wines are extracted, very, but only in so far as Josh wanting to draw every bit of flavour, nuance and texture from the skins. The grapes are hand picked, ripe, in the early 13’s to ensure vibrancy and that the skins also retain their firmness. Firm skins yield firm tannins. One week cold soak, before a long, slow, natural fermentation.
The cellar is naturally cool, so temperature isn’t controlled, the ferments getting to around 30 degrees Celsius. Partial whole berry fermentation in open top fermenters. A total of three weeks on skins, a very long time for the varietals. Daily pumpovers for a week recede to daily punchdowns. Hard work, I’m told, as the skins retain their dextrous solidity throughout.
Pressings
Josh told me he learnt his pressing technique from the Semillon at Tyrrell’s. The press cycle is longer at a lower bar and never mashed up. Using his palate, Josh ceases pressing when he feels the tannins have become coarse and broad. And voila, wonderful tight, skinsy ironbark tannins.
The wines spend 12 months in various vessels, before transfer to tank for 4 months. This enables the integration of elements, but without the softening, oxidative process used in red wine making all over the world. The stainless steel enables natural clarification and tightens the wine up before bottling.
Joshua Cooper Dash Farm Cabernet Sauvignon 2023
The lightest iteration of Joshua Cooper’s sturdier varietals, but it’s by no means light. Super complex aromatics of lavender, violets, iodine, blueberry, blackberry, blackcurrant, charcoal/coal dust. Tight, coiled lacy and chalky, the skins are tasted and felt. Tannins are firm, receding to chalk and they are ever present, shaping and defining the wine. Interwoven acidity seems to heighten the elements and the overall force and impact. Absolutely the best ever.
Joshua Cooper Pyren Cabernet Sauvignon 2023
Essence of cabernet, hard country style. Complexity dialled up, the savoury fruit and textural elements roped tight as if it’s going to take a lot of muscle to prise them loose. Blackcurrant, mulberry, blackberry, black olive, licorice, pink peppercorns, soy and cumin. Concentrated and deep, the tannins providing great width, focus and envelopment. Would love to see this bottled in large formats and retasted as an old man. Awesome.
Joshua Cooper Blanche Barkley Shiraz 2023
Unique. There is simply no shiraz like this anywhere in the world, and it is yet more evidence (as if any were needed) of Australia’s most important varietal. The most complex wine of the range. Forceful aromatics of blackcurrant, blackberry, redcurrant, cranberry, lavender, violets and sweet/savoury Middle Eastern spices. The savoury elements are strong, as with all the wines; interwoven with the rich, full bodied fruit. Baking spices, licorice, black pepper, soy, oyster shell and squid ink. The tannins are a bit more luscious, but this must be seen in the context of Josh Cooper, for they are formidable and stiff as old rope. The most ‘Australian’ shiraz I could imagine.
Joshua Cooper Doug’s Vineyard Pinot Noir 2023
I’m pretty familiar with this wine and its flavour profile and shape, year on year, is very consistent. A little rounder than in the past, and slightly less structured, the tannins lacy. Different from those rough hewn cabernets! Sandalwood, fresh mixed herbs, blueberry and a compote of English summer red fruits. Mouthwatering backend finale, tightening, firming. As always, very beautiful indeed.
The Man from Ironbark
It was the man from Ironbark who struck the Sydney town,
He wandered over street and park, he wandered up and down.
He loitered here, he loitered there, till he was like to drop,
Until at last in sheer despair he sought a barber’s shop.
‘ ’Ere! shave my beard and whiskers off, I’ll be a man of mark,
I’ll go and do the Sydney toff up home in Ironbark.’
The barber man was small and flash, as barbers mostly are,
He wore a strike-your-fancy sash, he smoked a huge cigar;
He was a humorist of note and keen at repartee,
He laid the odds and kept a ‘tote’, whatever that may be,
And when he saw our friend arrive, he whispered, ‘Here’s a lark!
Just watch me catch him all alive, this man from Ironbark.’
There were some gilded youths that sat along the barber’s wall.
Their eyes were dull, their heads were flat, they had no brains at all;
To them the barber passed the wink, his dexter eyelid shut,
‘I’ll make this bloomin’ yokel think his bloomin’ throat is cut.’
And as he soaped and rubbed it in he made a rude remark:
‘I s’pose the flats is pretty green up there in Ironbark.’
A grunt was all the reply he got; he shaved the bushman’s chin,
Then made the water boiling hot and dipped the razor in.
He raised his hand, his brow grew black, he paused awhile to gloat,
Then slashed the red-hot razor-back across his victim’s throat;
Upon the newly-shaven skin it made a livid mark —
No doubt it fairly took him in — the man from Ironbark.
He fetched a wild up-country yell might wake the dead to hear,
And though his throat, he knew full well, was cut from ear to ear,
He struggled gamely to his feet, and faced the murd’rous foe:
‘You’ve done for me! you dog, I’m beat! one hit before I go!
‘I only wish I had a knife, you blessed murdering shark!
‘But you’ll remember all your life the man from Ironbark.’
He lifted up his hairy paw, with one tremendous clout
He landed on the barber’s jaw, and knocked the barber out.
He set to work with nail and tooth, he made the place a wreck;
He grabbed the nearest gilded youth, and tried to break his neck.
And all the while his throat he held to save his vital spark,
And ‘Murder! Bloody Murder!’ yelled the man from Ironbark.
A peeler man who heard the din came in to see the show;
He tried to run the bushman in, but he refused to go.
And when at last the barber spoke, and said ‘’Twas all in fun —
‘’Twas just a little harmless joke, a trifle overdone.’
‘A joke!’ he cried, ‘By George, that’s fine; a lively sort of lark;
‘I’d like to catch that murdering swine some night in Ironbark.’
And now while round the shearing floor the list’ning shearers gape,
He tells the story o’er and o’er, and brags of his escape.
‘Them barber chaps what keeps a tote, By George, I’ve had enough,
‘One tried to cut my bloomin’ throat, but thank the Lord it’s tough.’
And whether he’s believed or no, there’s one thing to remark,
That flowing beards are all the go way up in Ironbark.
The Bulletin, 17 December 1892.
