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FROM VINEYARD TO WINERY FOR STEVE JAMES
6/6/2010
By John Fordham
Steve James was a specialist viticulturalist who unreservedly promoted the view that the best wines are made in the vineyard and not in the winery.
Last year he was given the additional task of taking control of winemaking on top of his vineyard job by Margaret River winery Voyager Estate’s owner Michael Wright.
“It’s a unique position to be in, caring for the vineyards and seeing the fruit all the way through to actually making the wines,” explains James, who cut his viticultural teeth at Mornington Peninsula’s Stonier and Margaret River’s Amberley Estate wineries.
He joined Voyager Estate in 1998 and was responsible for overseeing its 115ha of vines for the following year’s vintage.
To mark his first year in the winemaker’s chair, James recently unveiled the latest vintage of Voyager Estate’s flagship red, 2005 Cabernet Merlot ($60), a supremely elegant and balanced wine showcasing Margaret River in its finest light.
And in order to demonstrate the wine’s remarkable consistency, he lined up a progression of releases from 1999 through to 2005.
“Our policy is to release this wine when it’s five years old and after it’s had two years in bottle,” he explains.
“And we release it only if the fruit quality reaches the stringent quality standards we set. For this reason, we won’t have a 2006 because it didn’t measure up”.
James is adamant that because of the vibrant fruit flavours and super aromatics the 2005 offers, it’s Voyager Estate’s finest cabernet merlot since 2001.
The cabernet sauvignon (79 per cent), merlot (15 per cent), malbec (five per cent) and petit verdot (one per cent) blend shows just what a wonderful vintage Margaret River enjoyed in 2005.
If a $60 wine doesn’t quite fit the budget, Voyager Estate offers two lower-level reds - 2008 Girt By Sea Cabernet Merlot ($24) and 2008 Shiraz ($34) – that provide excellent drinking pleasure.
It’s clear no compromises were taken in shaping these wines.
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2009 Optimiste Pinot Gris ($20). Palate-refreshing dry, crisp Mudgee white with layers of delicious fruit flavours and drinking at its best right now.
2008 Dowie Doole McLaren Vale Shiraz ($25). Topline spicy McLaren Vale red exhibiting superb balance and excellent fruit and oak structure.
2009 Tim Gramp Clare Valley Watervale Riesling ($19). Classic varietal explosion of lime-lemon flavours from renowned riesling region.
The Sunday Telegraph, June 6, 2010