Mount Langi Ghiran in the Grampians region of Victoria is know for its Shiraz, but not of the 'jammy' typically Australian variety which was much lamented throughout the judging at this year's Sommelier Wine Awards. Complex, spicy and structured, the Shiraz has more than a hint of the Rhône about it – unsurprising as head winemaker Dan Buckle cites the northern Rhône as his stylistic reference point – but is adamant that his wines are Australian through and through, New World and proud of it. '28% Australian wine production is Shiraz. It's the nation’s dealing grape, but lot of people who make Shiraz are simply after nondescript fruity, red booze – it's incredibly boring and my plan has always been to create so much more than a bold red wine. I want a finer structure, and refinement – I hesitate to use the word elegance, as I think it's massively overused, but that's the general direction heading in.'

A large part of what makes Mount Langi Shiraz different is the climate in which the grapes are grown. Buckle laughed, 'a running joke at the vineyard is that Mount Langi is so cold we can smell the penguins.' However the winery is seeing the impact of global warming on a massive scale, which isn’t quite as funny.

The effect of climate change on the wine industry is well documented, with warnings coming earlier this year, that Bordeaux could be unfit for wine-growing as soon as 2050, and predictions that this year could yield the earliest Champagne harvest on record. 'Over the past 30 years, our harvest date has moved forward by 28 days, which is nothing short of staggering,' explained Buckle. 'Not only that, but we have gone from ten years of drought – to the point that we needed to seek specialist advice on how to cope with the conditions – to 2010, when we got just enough rain and now to 2011, where there has been far too much.' In 2008, temperatures soared above 42ºC for 13 days straight, devastating the harvest and hitting production hard; compared to the 1,900 cases released in 2006, only 480 were released onto the market in that year. 2009 fared better, and a number of counter-measures are now in place to prevent a repeat, but as for the future, only time will tell.

Mount Langi Ghiran wines are available to the UK on-trade through Enotria.

News item from Imbibe.com, 31-08-2011