A Boot-full of Wine
19 November 2011
Of Three Hills and Aussie terroir
Last year I visited Erl Happ, of Happs and Three Hills wineries, in Margaret River. I was holidaying in the area, and, long being aware and admiring of Erl’s efforts to expand the varietal repertoire in the region, was keen to meet him.
He gave me almost two hours of his time, chatting in his living room on a wet Dunsborough day, and then walking through the winery. We covered many a topic, ranging from his approach to viticulture (he sees this as more of his forté, and these days leaves most of the winemaking decisions to the supertalented Mark Warren), specifically his knowledge of the local soil, climate and growing conditions of the region, and how he adjusts his vine growing practices accordingly; the business of wine, especially making a living in the world of wine in these hard economic times; the environment and views on global warming (Erl is a well-informed skeptic); and vinification of many different styles of wine.
Happs prides itself as a company in its personal and hospitable approach to customers. There is a mailing list of customers, and visitors to the Happs establishment can taste, free of charge, the full range of Happs and Three Hills wines – all 30 or so!
I promised Erl that I would write something about my visit, and over the preceding months, have been thinking about what to say. You see, when you visit the Happs website, it is all there – the history of the vineyards, Erl’s philosophy on winemaking, information on the viticultural particularities of both their sites in Dunsborough and Karridale – and much more. Anything I could say would be a redundant summary.
That is until I read a piece by Andrew Jefford about Australian terroir http://www.andrewjefford.com/node/788. In his article, he proposed the idea of a terroir wine as possessing a sense of place. (He emphasizes that not all wines, let alone good wines, need be “terroir wines”.) He proposes that selection of appropriate grape varieties, and then winemaking which “respects the integrity of the raw materials”, that is, winemaking which does not adulterate the wine such that the sense of where it came from is lost, are keys to producing a terroir wine.
He cites, among several other wines, the Millbrook Viognier, as an example of a terroir wine – unmistakably reflecting its warm climate and soil conditions, but unmistakably Viognier!
Immediately, that got me thinking about Erl Happ, and particularly his flagship wines in the Three Hills stable. I was most impressed with these wines – all coming from the cooler Karridale region and all dry grown. Firstly, how commendable that varieties such as Sangiovese, Nebbiolo, Grenache, Petit Verdot, Mataro and Malbec are planted! And secondly, how wonderful that these wines, particularly the single varietal wines, are so unmistakably varietally faithful, yet are so unmistakably New World, moderate climate, Margaret River region and, dare I say it, Karridale wines! They are well worth seeking out, and are readily available via the website, or when you are next holidaying in the Margaret River region!
Ciao for now!
Brendan Jansen