Epicure: Macedon Ranges hiding a delicious secret

The Macedon Ranges are hiding a delicious secret, writes Jane Faulkner.

OFF an unsealed dirt road flanking the majestic Cobaw State Forest, just out of Kyneton, is an entrance to a natural amphitheatre surrounded by rows of vines and now-full dams. It's a special place and home to Cobaw Ridge, which makes Australia's finest lagrein. Owner-growers Alan and Nelly Cooper also produce excellent chardonnay, syrah and pinot noir but for more than a decade they have been championing this rare red.

Even in its native Italy, specifically the Alto Adige region in the north, lagrein has struggled for recognition, although that has started to change. Regardless, it makes Cobaw Ridge's commitment all the more intriguing.

Alan says their love of lagrein was sparked in the mid-'90s, due in no small part to Dr Peter May, then the head of the University of Melbourne's Burnley campus. In 1988, after reading it was a variety suited to cool-climate viticulture, May sourced a few vines and planted them at his Kyneton vineyard. He suggested the Coopers do the same. They had never heard of lagrein.

Back then they were still new to grape-growing. They set up Cobaw Ridge in 1985 after buying the land four years earlier. They started from scratch.

Working the night-shift together as nurses in Melbourne, every spare minute was devoted to clearing the land then building the property, including their home, made from mud bricks handcrafted by Nelly's mother.

With no winemaking experience, they asked for advice and set about planting shiraz, cabernet sauvignon and chardonnay.

As it turned out, the area isn't warm enough for cabernet to properly ripen and so the Coopers sought May's help. That's when they encountered lagrein. ''The turning point came when Peter gave me a bottle of his '92 lagrein to try and the light bulb went 'ping'!'' Alan says. ''There was nothing like it. Peter had read about lagrein's potential here [in Australia's cool-climate regions, with the Macedon Ranges being the coolest on the mainland], so it was up to us to do something about it. We went on to become the first to release lagrein commercially [in Australia] and the rest is history.''

That was in 1999. But it seems no one is really following suit. So far, Alto Adige has about 420 hectares planted, while in Australia only 23 producers make either a straight varietal or blend. At Cobaw Ridge, slightly more than one of their five hectares is planted to lagrein and little is produced; in a good year - none was made this year - there will be about 100 dozen.

Why is lagrein so slow in taking off? Like pinot noir, the highly tannic and acidic lagrein is site-specific and not suited to warmer climes, so regions such as the Barossa, Murray Darling and McLaren Vale often produce less-elegant styles; too often those examples resemble the variety in name only. And the fact too few outstanding Italian lagreins make it to our shores only compounds the issue. There's just not enough wide appeal yet.

Alan says: ''I reckon it's not trendy enough and we're not trendy enough. If we were in Beechworth, the Yarra Valley or places like that, we'd be an instant hit. It's also to do with the low profile of the Macedon Ranges, and we're a low-profile regional producer in the Macedon Ranges. Obscure varieties do get overlooked and lagrein just doesn't reach a critical mass.''

It's a lament of sorts, because he says lagrein is easy enough to pronounce - either lah-gren or lah-grain will do - it's aromatic and the flavours are wonderful; it's easy to appreciate, pleasing and a delicious drink. It's not a difficult wine to love, as the Coopers will tell you.

It's related to shiraz and another Italian variety, teroldego. Varietally, lagrein is earthy, savoury, with dark-plum and morello cherry notes, hints of chocolate and violets, a pleasing dried herbal edge with velvety, powerful tannins and brisk cleansing acidity, medium to full-bodied, plus distinguishable by its astonishing dark-purple colour. While there's plenty going on with the variety, it shouldn't be clunky or cumbersome, broad or dragged down with overripe fruit characters.

Alan also makes the point that lagrein has largely been confined to the Sudtirol, rather than travelling beyond its regional borders. It's taking its time to show itself to the rest of the world and, by extension, winemakers, sommeliers and retailers are largely ignorant of the variety.

Conversely, an Italian producer once visited Cobaw Ridge and was impressed by its lagrein, yet asked the Coopers where the grape came from. If a winemaker, even if he was from Tuscany and not Alto Adige, doesn't know about an Italian variety, what hope has the everyday drinker?

The Coopers show me a poetic and prophetic quote about lagrein penned by Jeffrey Pinhey. It states: ''You spend your time in the mountains, shunning the limelight and fame given to those whose skill sometimes does not approach your own, content with your life.

''Those close to your home know you well and need no other guide to vinous pleasure. Your sturdiness and ability to survive hides a soft heart that waits patiently to be discovered.''

In a way, it sums up the Coopers' respect for the variety. They are not in such a hurry - although there's comfort in knowing that their son, Joshua, who's still studying wine-making and working at Dean Hewitson in the Barossa, will one day return to take up the mantle.

Maybe lagrein needs another, and the next, generation for it to gain in popularity. Time will tell.

Cobaw Ridge's cellar door at 31 Perc Boyers Lane, East Pastoria, is open from Thursday to Monday. Its 2007 lagrein is $60, the 2007 syrah $45, the '08 pinot noir $53 and '09 chardonnay $40. Stockists include Wine House at Southbank and Parkhill Cellars, North Melbourne.

Cobaw Ridge Lagrein 2007

AN ASTONISHING, enticing purple-black colour. It has a core of bright, sweet plum and tart morello cherries blended with dried herbs, a hint of menthol and floral notes. It's savoury, earthy and complex, with plenty of refreshing acidity, plus distinct, almost Italianate, tannins. It's balanced and will continue to evolve and develop for at least five years.

Source: The Age - Epicure, Jane Faulkner, 21 June, 2011.