Changing Lanes 2005

Jean Dubuffet, a French painter and sculptor, described the concept of Art Brut* as “pieces of work executed by people untouched by artistic culture, in which therefore mimicry, contrary to what happens in intellectuals, plays little or no part, so that their authors draw everything (subjects, choice of materials employed, means of transposition, rhythms, ways of writing, etc.) from their own depths and not from clichés of classical art or art that is fashionable.”  Art Brut, also known as raw art or outsider art, is essentially work done by someone outside the artistic community, without the restrictions of accepted norms.  Today’s wine is a bit of Art Brut in a bottle, the Alpha Box & Dice Changing Lanes 2005.

Alpha Box & Dice is the work of Justin Lane, founded 2008, and home to an alphabetic collection of wines.  Essentially set up as a garage enterprise, Lane sources grapes from a stable of local growers and makes wines based more on his personal tastes than on established conventions.  While his “Hercules” Shiraz, “Rebel Rebel” Montepulciano and “Tarot” Grenache varietals may sound conventional enough, his “Apostle” Shiraz/Durif, “Fog” Nebbiolo/Cabernet Sauvignon/Tannat and “Golden Mullet Fury” Muscadelle/Chardonnay wines give perhaps a slightly better idea as to his unconventional thinking when it comes to what varieties might sit well together in a blend.

Mark Lane and Justin Lane

This wine in particular is a good example of Lane’s willingness to try something out of the ordinary.  Tempranillo and Cabernet Sauvignon are not typically found together in Spain or France, but in Australia they’re fair game as blending partners.  Similarly, this wine is a collaboration with another winemaker, Justin’s brother Mark Lane, which again isn’t so out of the ordinary.  Mark sourced some particularly good Tempranillo, vinified it, and sent some of the best barrels to Justin, who was doing the same with Cabernet Sauvignon.  What is unusual is that Mark Lane works in Western Australia, some 3000km from Justin Lane in McLaren Vale, South Australia.  That makes this wine one of the most geographically diverse I have ever encountered.  In terms of wine being an expression of the varietal characteristics of the grapes, the terroir and the intention of the winemaker, this has all three, times two.  And while it has no impact on what’s in the bottle, the label features a lenticular print of mugshots of both winemakers, with the image changing depending on the angle at which it is being viewed and it’s easily the most creative label I’ve ever seen.

While I don’t typically comment on branding, Alpha Box & Dice does it well.  The convention they’ve established of wine names with an alphabetic theme works well, though it remains to be seen what happens after Z.  Each label is uniquely designed, and while they have little in common with one another, they sit well together in a group.  Even the cellar door has a quirky, rustic feel to it, which flows nicely from the old garage in the country where the wine is made.  Should it ever grow into a $500/bottle ultra exclusive, mailing list only winery, I officially call dibs on the parody label Art Brut & Dubuffet.

While Dubuffet used his term Art Brut to refer to art produced by asylum inmates and children, I use it in the more general sense of self taught.  In many ways this applies to Lane, as he has no formal qualifications in winemaking, and his approach to what can make a good wine is uninhibited by tradition or fashion.  That said, he’s not strictly speaking quite so much the outsider.

Justin Lane grew up in the Hunter Valley, and while not from a wine family, he spent much of his time in vineyards and after an abandoned attempt at studying viticulture, worked with Hardy’s and Tatachilla wineries.  Those experiences opened the door for him to work vintages in France, Italy and even Moldova.  In Australia he helped run a cooperative in McLaren Vale called Redheads Studio, which provided him with the network of growers needed to found Alpha Box & Dice after his partner bought him out in 2007.  He’s recently co-founded an eating and drinking establishment in Adelaide called Cantina Sociale that sources barrels of wine direct from producers and pours them by the glass.  While I don’t do bar/restaurant reviews, I’m a fan.

How does all this come out in the wine?  In the glass this wine is clear and bright, with a dark garnet colour and quick, stained legs.  On the nose it’s clean and developing, with high intensity and notes of sweet spice, dried red fruit, persimmon, pomegranate and strawberries.  On the palate it’s dry but with some fruit sweetness, medium acidity, medium plus body, medium plus intensity, high alcohol, medium minus fine tannins and a long length.  There are notes of chocolate, pomegranate, black pepper, as well as dried fruit, both red and black.

This is a very good quality wine.  It’s big in most respects.  It has much more fruit than tannin, and while some of it comes across as dried fruit, it’s much more fresh than I would expect 7 years after vintage.  It’s not for everyone – at 15.5% ABV it’s not a timid wine, but if you want a big fruit bomb that is showing itself to be capable of ageing, it’s a good bet.  So while Lane has no formal winemaking credentials, there is nothing about this wine that suggests he needs to go back to school.

* Art Brut also happens to be the band that played at my wedding.

Niepoort Vertente Douro 2006

I’ve not written a single thing about Portugal, and that’s just not right.  It used to be that you couldn’t mention Portugal without it immediately being assumed that Port was the next subject, but I think that’s been changing over the last decade or so for a few reasons.  First off, I think fortified wine is by and large is somewhat out of fashion.  Now that’s a broad statement, so let me dig down a bit.  There are some fortified wines that are borderline trendy – Sherry for instance is trending toward cool in the right context, that is with tapas.  And it’s good Sherry – not the old cream stuff that still has a certain following among an aging demographic.  However, that’s very context specific.  If you then turn your attention to Madiera, I think you’re almost as likely to conjure up images of Cristiano Ronaldo as you are a fortified wine.  And as for Port, I just don’t see it being drunk so much.  Something of a shame, but fashions come and go, and I’m sure it will have a resurgence at some point.

However, where Port is out of fashion to some extent, Portuguese table wine is having a Renaissance.  Much of it is down to the Douro boys, a group of innovative winemakers who have had some great successes, first in making some excellent wine, but at least as importantly in getting their story out and getting glasses of Portuguese wine into people’s hands.  They represent a new face to Portuguese wine, with a more modern style versus what is often thought of as a very rustic style of winemaking.

The best known to me is a gentleman who goes by the name Dirk Niepoort.  Much of the wine trade in Portugal, in particular the Port trade, was dominated by foreign traders, primarily English I believe, but certainly some Dutch as well.  The Niepoort family is obvious the latter.  They arrived in Portugal sometime in the 19th century and are now on their 5th generation, having built up quite business.  They now have a broad offering of wines, both fortified and not, with tonight’s bottle being table wine.

Portugal is blessed with a handful of wine regions for a small country, from the light whites of Vinho Verde to the concentrated red styles of the Douro which I’m enjoying this evening.  The river Douro defines, and gives its name to, the region.  The river ends at the sea in the city of Porto, but the wine region doesn’t start until you go up river perhaps 80km.  Continuing through the Douro region, the river has it’s start in Spain where it is known as Duero and it is the core of several wine regions there as well.

The Douro is best know for fortified wine, Port, production and while there are over a hundred varieties officially permitted, the vast majority of grapes grown are red, and the most highly regarded are Touriga Nacional and Tinta Roriz (also known as Tempranillo).  Vineyards in the Douro were traditionally field blends, with different varieties within the same block or sometimes row, but I would imagine that has been changing over the last decade as reform and innovation has come into play.  Still wines have become increasingly important to the region, and with that some level of varietal specificity.  However, blending is certainly still the norm for Niepoort table wines.

This wine, the Niepoort Douro Vertente 2006 is a blend of Tinta Roriz, Touriga Franca, Tinta Amarela, Touriga Nacional and others.  It’s a lovely wine, and a real credit to the region.  It’s very dark in the glass, with an intense fruity and peppery nose.  The palate is fruity without being sweet, though there is a bit of raisin flavour that brings to mind Port – that could just be in my head though and not in the glass.  Likewise, with Portuguese wine I want to make a comment about it being rustic, but that’s not actually the case.  It’s elegant with long length.

To make amends for neglecting Portugal so badly, I’ll be having another of their wines this coming week – a white I believe.  Also, I’m hoping to add a map feature with pushpins as to the origin of each wine I’ve tasted.  That should make clear which regions have been feeling the love and which haven’t.