Seppelt Show Sparkling Shiraz remains the benchmark for the uniquely Australian wine style, sparkling shiraz.
This is despite the fact that the Victorian winery is probably best known today for its exquisite table wines.
I’m talking about St Peters Shiraz from Seppelt’s home region of the Grampians, and chardonnay, riesling and pinot noir from the esteemed Drumborg Vineyard in the cooler climes of Henty.
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Perhaps lesser known to some of us is Seppelt’s rich heritage in sparkling wines.
In 2022, the company highlighted that pedigree with two new cuvees named in honour of Charles Pierlot, the Frenchman who in 1890 made Australia’s first traditional method sparkling wines at Seppelt’s Great Western winery.
Pierlot also pioneered one of Australia’s most unique wine styles, sparkling shiraz.
In this special episode of the Drinks Adventures podcast, produced in partnership with Seppelt, I started by asking Clare about the story behind this unique wine.
Later in this interview, you’ll find out a little bit more about how sparkling shiraz is made, and we’ll explore the new vintage, 2012 Show Sparkling, released this year.
Seppelt winemaker Clare Dry: Full Transcript
CLARE DRY: Yeah, I mean sparkling wine in itself is a really difficult thing to make. You need specialised equipment. You need the right varieties and there’s a lot of things that you need to get sparkling wine right. The fantastic thing about the Seppelt sparkling story is that we’ve been making sparkling wine since the 1890s.
So we were the first ones to successfully produce method traditional wines. And a large part of that was driven by the owner of Great Western Vineyards back then. So before it was known as Seppelt, it was known as Great Western Vineyards. And Hans Irvine, he was an entrepreneur, a local businessman, and he really saw the potential of the vineyards there.
And he actually brought in a Champenois winemaker named Charles Pierlot from Reims in France. He was working for Pomeroy. And he really came in and he set up all the capabilities and requirements that you need to make sparkling wine. Because prior to that there was basically zero production of sparkling wine in Australia.
Seppelt Show Sparkling Shiraz: History
Seppelt Show Sparkling Shiraz is a good example of, you know, necessity being the mother of all invention. Back in the early days of the Australian wine industry, we didn’t have huge plantings of traditional grape varieties like Pinot Noir or Chardonnay. Often they weren’t named. People didn’t really know what they were.
We had a lot of a variety called Ondenc planted in Great Western. Drumborg too, which was, this is actually a Bordeaux white variety that you, you don’t see anymore, but that’s, that’s where it comes from. It’s quite acidic and people thought it was quite suitable for making sparkling wine, but it doesn’t have the character and the texture that Pinot Noir and Chardonnay bring to a traditional sparkling method wine.
So there was a lot of Ondenc planted and a lot of Shiraz planted and part of the establishment of Drumborg was to move away from that ondenc and go more towards a traditional French style. But the sparkling Shiraz, the story Charles Pierlot, back in the 1890s, he really, there was a bit of Pinot around and the first show sparkling burgundy that he produced was made out of Pinot Noir, but he found it just didn’t have the, you know, the length and the style to be able to make a good sparkling wine.
There was a lot of Shiraz planted, so that’s why he started putting away. And I guess the rest is history because he really did establish what is Australia’s iconic wine style. It’s one that we hang our hat on, I guess apart from Cabernet Shiraz, but this is really, you know, Australia’s wine, sparkling Shiraz.
We, we invented it and I’m proud to say that Seppelt is the benchmark of that style in Australia.
JAMES ATKINSON: Yeah, it was once put to me, and actually Cabernet Shiraz, well, Great Australian Red blends is probably a fourth style that’s unique to Australia, but it was once put to me that there are three wine styles that are unique to Australia, and they are Hunter Semillon, Rutherglen Muscat, and Sparkling Shiraz, that you can’t find anything quite like them anywhere else in the world.
CLARE DRY: And what I’d say to that is that sparkling Shiraz, I mean, Muscat is produced in other areas in the world and semillon on too, but sparkling Shiraz really is something that Australia has, you know, you can’t invent a wine style, but I know it’s very unique. There’s no other traditional areas around the world that produce it in large scale.
So it’s. It’s, you know, it’s got a really great story and it’s so nice to be able to work with the legacy that Charles Pierlot created in the 1890s. It’s a real treat.
JAMES ATKINSON: How much consumer interest is there these days in sparkling Shiraz?
CLARE DRY: I think there’s always interest. We’ve got, especially this time of the year, we’re coming up to Christmas and everyone drinks a lot of sparkling Shiraz around Christmas time.
I’m trying to get people to think outside the box and come to think of it maybe as Australia’s celebration wine. Instead of opening a champagne, let’s open a high end sparkling Shiraz, but I’ll, I’ll keep on that journey, but we’ve got two different sparkling Shiraz really in our portfolio. We’ve got our show sparkling Shiraz, which is.
It’s the original from, it’s basically the same iteration of the show sparkling burgundy that Charles Pierlot created. You know, this is a top end wine. It’s about a hundred dollars a bottle. It spends 10 years in tirage. That’s where the cost comes in because, to make a really beautiful sparkling Shiraz, you need to do something to address the tannins and the best way to do that is to just give it time on lees in bottle and we’ve found that that nine-to-ten-year mark is really where the tannins have polymerised well, we’re getting that it’s almost you know, that cocoa powder texture and you’ve got the beautiful, it’s still really fresh cause it’s been on leaves.
You’ve got the beautiful fresh mid-palate, but there’s a lot of texture and depth and you know, it’s amazing what 10 years can do to a Shiraz in tirage. And then we also have our original sparkling Shiraz, which for people who maybe. aren’t too familiar with the style can, can be a great entry point into exploring it and before you step up into one that’s ten years in tirage, proper methode traditionelle.
What is tirage in wine?
JAMES ATKINSON: Let’s define ‘in tirage’ for any of my listeners who might not be aware what that means as well.
CLARE DRY: No problem. So in tirage is probably a word you don’t hear every day in, in conversation. It’s particularly to do with sparkling wine. So when we make a sparkling wine in the method traditional way or the MT way we make a base wine.
So in the term In terms of making a sparkling Shiraz, I will make the Shiraz the same way that I make St. Peter’s, that it always comes from our best blocks. But there are particular parts of some blocks that tend to have a less aggressive tannin profile, which is perfect for when you’re making a sparkling wine, because you don’t, you don’t really want to start out with extra tannin that you then have to polymerise out in bottle.
So in tirage means we’ve made the base wine about 15 months after that Shiraz has come off the vines. It’s been in vats, it’s been maturing in Just like a normal Shiraz and then we fill it into a bottle and this bottle is the same bottle that you will get on the shelf when you buy an MT wine. So we fill the Shiraz into the bottle, we dose it with some yeast and some sugar and then seal it with a crown seal.
And then the secondary fermentation occurs in the bottle to produce the bubbles. The dissolved CO2 stays in the glass bottle under the crown seal and then it’s disgorged at a later date. But the actual time period between the end of the ferment in the bottle and when you disgorge it, which means taking all the lees out, is called your tirage time.
For sort of Pinot Chardonnay blends you might only have two to three years in tirage, but in sparkling Shiraz we’ve certainly found that that nine-to-ten-year mark is almost the sweet spot for releasing.
JAMES ATKINSON: And the new vintage is the 2012 and then I think the previous one was the 2008. Which years do you choose to make it? It must be vintage dependent, I guess.
CLARE DRY: Yeah, it’s definitely vintage dependent and I know winemakers, you know, we say, Oh, you know, we only make this in the very best years. But this is, this is really an example of, we only make this wine in the very best years because it is an icon. It’s not only an icon for Seppelt, it’s also an icon in Australia.
So I feel, I guess, a responsibility to be producing wines that only fit into that mould. So yeah, we went from 2008 to 2012 and we should have a 2013 as well coming out. That’s quite unusual, but if you have a few good vintages in a row, then yeah, we can really justify putting down that volume. But because, because you’re holding it for 10 years, I guess it’s also a financial risk as well.
So we just, we manage stock that way, but I try not to think about that as a winemaker, I’m just trying to make the best wine. We’ve put down a 2022 base, um, and there’s a few other ones in between those years too.
Seppelt Show Sparkling Shiraz: Style evolution
JAMES ATKINSON: Tell me about the 2012. How does that compare with some previous vintages? I think I read that you had recently tasted all back vintages of the show Sparkling from the last 60 years.
CLARE DRY: Yeah, not every vintage, but close to. So I think it’s 12 months ago now knowing that this 2012 was close to being disgorged. I just wanted to get a better idea of the back vintages. And so I invited in Ian Mackenzie, who was the winemaker for Seppelt between 1980s, 1990s. He’s the one who put Sparkling Shiraz back on the map. He had a real passion for Sparkling Shiraz.
So it was great to have him in. He came up and we had a few other past Seppelt winemakers, Emma Wood and Adam Carnaby. Um, Ian Sheppard come in and we, we tasted through all the vintages and it was fascinating for me because you go back to, I think the earliest vintage we tasted was 62. I have tasted a 45 before, but that was not in the same context.
But obviously by that stage, they’re under cork and they’ve lost all their dissolved CO2. So you’re not really getting a ‘pop’ or any dissolved CO2. But the wine itself, you can see, you can see the legacy behind what they’ve been trying to create back in the 1960s. So it’s really. It’s fascinating to see that in the glass and see it evolve.
You see the style evolve from the 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, 2000s. Yeah, always really strong emphasis on fruit depth and tannin polymerisation. So that effect of when a wine sits on leaves in bottle, in tirage, the yeast lees work in a way that softens the wine and creates texture and depth. Ninety four was the first one under crown seal and if you ever see a premium sparkling wine for the audience under crown seal, just jump on it because it might be satisfying to pull a cork out of a bottle, but crown seal is something that will really, it’s like screw cap.
Seppelt Show Sparkling Shiraz 2012
It’s going to preserve the integrity of the wine. So being able to compare wines from crown seal since the early nineties, I can say that this 2012, like it’s. It’s almost, the 2008 was got really good, but the 2012 was almost head and shoulders above the 2008. It’s just, just one of those wines that’s come together really well.
And the thing about Sparkling Shiraz is that, is a legacy wine. So back in 2012, we’ve had several winemakers work on that process. Someone was there for, um, production, I think it was Adam Wadewitz was in production, then Adam Carnaby is the one who put it in tirage, and then I’m the one who’s disgorged it.
So you’ve had three winemakers involved in that wine, and it’s beautiful and I’m very proud of it.
JAMES ATKINSON: You’ve just released a 2012 Show Sparkling. So how recently did you go through the disgorging process?
CLARE DRY: That happened in February this year and that’s a really great process. That’s where your wine has been fermented in bottle, it’s been sitting on its lees in tirage and then you need to basically, you know, you’ve got dead yeast cells in your bottle, which you don’t want, or the public don’t want. And we need to release that. And we also need to sweeten the wine, which is called adding its ‘liqueur’, its ‘dosage’. So at this point, obviously the yeast have fermented all the sugar that’s in the bottle because sparkling is generally an acidic wine, or in the case of sparkling Shiraz, it’s quite tannic.
You need sugar to balance that out. And that’s called the dosage. So what they do is get, they get the bottle really, really cold. Then they flick the crown seal off. Um, well, sorry, they riddle at first. That’s a very important process. I shouldn’t neglect to mention that. So basically, um, they need to turn the bottle very, very slowly over a period of period of time, um, until it’s upright.
So that all the, the yeast cells are in the neck of the bottle. And at this point they get the bottle really, really cold. They take the cap off this shoots out almost like a plug of yeast glaze, just leaving the clean wine behind. And then we add in what’s called the liqueur, which is sugar mixed up generally with some old reserve based wine or in sparkling Shiraz, we tend to use new vintage St. Peter’s to mix up the sugar. That sweetness is really important in creating balance in the wine. It’s all measured in, in a, you know, very accurate way. And then it’s resealed either with a cork and a muselet, which is the cage over the cork or the crown seal.
JAMES ATKINSON: And how has the approach to dosage evolved over, over the vintages, do you think?
CLARE DRY: I think we’re in a period now in Australia, I guess, Australian taste that we’re going slightly drier for dosage. I know back in, you know, the 80s and 90s wines were a lot sweeter than they are now. Our Salinger, for example, is. sitting at around seven grams a litre dosage. And whereas a few years, maybe ten, 15 years ago, it was more like nine or ten grams a litre, which doesn’t sound much, but it does have a considerable impact on the palate.
The sparkling Shiraz is it is probably more fascinating back in the 19. 60s, 70s, 80s. So I, when we did this tasting last year, I actually analysed all the wines too. And those sugars were sitting up around 25 to 30 grams a litre, whereas the 2012 was actually about 19 grams a litre. So it’s significantly less.
That speaks not only to the evolving style and what people are looking for, but also the quality of that base wine, so it was so good that it didn’t need as much sugar.
Should sparkling shiraz be chilled?
JAMES ATKINSON: How do you like to consume the sparkling Shiraz? You know, I think that roast game, it’s kind of a classic pairing, but are there any others that you really enjoy?
CLARE DRY: Yeah, um, and definitely have it chilled just for the audience in case anyone’s confused. The sparkling Shiraz should come straight out of the fridge, much like any other normal sparkling wine. My favourite way to consume it is actually with dessert because the layers of complexity, and I was talking about those cocoa powder tannins, that are in the wine.
For me, the best match is actually a chocolate-based dessert. That might be because I really like chocolate too, but that’s for me something that pulls out the sweetness of the fruit still on the mid palate and those tannins. Cheeses are also a really good, good match. Aperitif by itself, but it’s got enough bones and enough weight for it to be served with a main meal as well.
Pierlot by Seppelt sparkling wine
JAMES ATKINSON: When you released the new range, last year, the Pierlot by Seppelt, what existing other sparkling wines did you have under the Seppelt label aside from, from the Shiraz, which we’ve talked about?
CLARE DRY: Yeah, so we’ve got the sparkling Shiraz and we’ve also got Salinger, which was a, a project that sort of established the 1980s.
It’s had amazing show success across the decades. What I felt was missing was something that was going to appeal more to a contemporary audience, something just with the packaging and the feel. It’s predominantly labelled as Henty, but the fruit’s predominantly sourced from Drumborg vineyard.
We never had a brut rosé either, so it was nice to have a rosé in the mix because I personally enjoy drinking them, so it’s nice to make that as well. So for me, it’s just sort of differentiating, you know, we’ve got a really solid legacy and a solid base of people who love drinking Seppelt, but it’s how do you, how do you bring that to a newer audience and keep things fresh and relevant? So that was my thinking behind that wine.
Seppelt St. Peter’s Shiraz 2021
JAMES ATKINSON: While I’ve got you there, you know, you’ve, you’ve also had some really, you know, remarkable accolades for some of the table wines that you’ve made, St. Peter’s Shiraz 2021. Is this kind of the first vintage that you’ve really been involved with pretty much since the beginning? I think you would have joined in 2021, didn’t you?
CLARE DRY: Yeah. So I took over October, 2020. So vintage 21 was certainly my first vintage. So the 21 St. Peter’s, Yeah, that was my first vintage of St. Peter’s. And again I’m a bit of a history buff, so this job is almost perfect for me because I love exploring all the history and the legacy of the brand, but I’m also very cognisant of how much history comes before me and how many, you know, great winemakers have worked for me.
So I pay attention to all my wines, but blending that St. Peter’s was a very special process. And I think I got it right at that time. So that was good.
JAMES ATKINSON: I remember you and I spoke on the podcast briefly, I think it was around 2021 and, you know, I think probably the only wine that you would have made from scratch would have been the Riesling perhaps.
And then now it’s sort of like you’re putting out a portfolio of wines that you’ve been involved with from, from day dot kind of thing.
CLARE DRY: Yeah,, absolutely. And it’s, it’s hard when you step into a brand because you’re, um, yeah, you’re out talking about other people’s wines all the time and you know, it takes a while to work your way in, but I’ve definitely got a solid portfolio behind me now.
You know, I love making the Drumborg Riesling, but the Drumborg Chardonnay is one that I’ve worked really hard on too. We’re seeing some really great success in the show circuit with that wine and I think it comes down to, you can’t just walk into a vineyard and know exactly what to do. It takes a few years to get to know the intricacies of that site and the different vintages and what oak you need to use, etc.
So I’m definitely feeling a lot more comfortable than I did, I guess, with the brand the last time I spoke to you and yeah, it’s honestly, it’s a pleasure and a dream come true to be making these wines.
JAMES ATKINSON: Well, congratulations on these awesome wines. Um, really nice to, to have a chat and look forward to, um, drinking some sparkling Shiraz this Christmas.
CLARE DRY: Thanks for having me.
JAMES ATKINSON: And, and at other times, of course.
CLARE DRY: Yeah, of course.