Most Swan Valley wineries craft fortified wines, passing down barrel-aging traditions and winemaking techniques through generations, building a legacy of fortified wines ranked among the world’s best.
The origin of fortified wine styles goes back as far as the 16th century, when a growing number of countries were exporting wines. Long sea voyages, rough conditions and extremes of heat and cold made the wines unstable, with many oxidising during the journey.
To preserve the wines, winemakers started adding brandy. This resulted in a higher alcohol content (up to 20 per cent), less spoilage and a far more palatable product when the wine reached its destination.
Grapes used to produce fortified wines are typically harvested much later and riper than grapes used for table wines. During fermentation, winemakers add brandy spirit at a specific point to halt the process, leaving behind a natural residual sweetness.
When grapevines were introduced in the Swan Valley in 1829, many of the varieties planted were likely intended for fortified wine production. Until the mid-1960s, dessert and fortified styles were the most popular wines in Australia, accounting for 85 per cent of all wine produced.
The grape varieties used to make fortified wines in the Swan Valley are:
Shiraz - Originating from southeast France, Shiraz is generally used for red wine production. Its high acidity, firm tannins, and ability to fully ripen make it ideal for fortified wine.
Verdelho – A grape associated with the island of Madeira. Verdelho has become a mainstay in the Swan Valley.
Its ability to achieve very high sugar levels and deliver intense fruit and spice characteristics makes it ideal for more concentrated wine styles.
Pedro Ximénez (PX) – This Spanish white grape variety has a long history in the Swan Valley. PX is suited to Apera styles, both dry and sweet, as well as deeply complex liqueur wines.
Grenache - A widely planted grape variety that is often used for fortified wines, including vintage and tawny styles in Australia. Grenache achieves high sugar levels, and its gentle tannins contribute to wines with excellent longevity.
Muscat - The Muscat family includes around 200 varieties. Gordo and Frontignac are the main varieties grown in the Swan Valley. These “classic Swan Valley” grapes produce luscious wines with flavours of fruitcake, raisin, fig and honey.
Touriga Nacional - A Portuguese variety that has recently become popular for vintage-style fortified wines. It offers strong flavours of liquorice, chocolate, and mint, and its high tannin content gives the wines excellent structure.
Unlike table wines, which are made from a single vintage, many fortified styles are blended from multiple vintages over several years. Tawny and sweeter liqueurs are a good example of this approach.
As with any fine wine, freshness and fruit definition are crucial. This also applies to aged fortified wines. Winemakers blend individual vintages of the same grape variety so that, as the wine ages and the flavours of the blend become more intense and concentrated, freshness and varietal character are maintained.
The Solero system of blending involves moving small amounts of older, more concentrated wine from barrels higher in the stack to younger barrels below. Every five to seven years, the blended wine is returned to the original barrels. This complex technique is often a winemaking skill passed down from generation to generation. Once understood, it forms the foundation of many great barrel-aged fortified wines.
Across Australia, wines are classified into four categories based on their age and concentration:
These same classifications can also apply to other wine styles and varieties.
Muscats and other similar liqueur-style wines complete their aging in oak barrels before bottling. In contrast, traditional vintage-style fortified wines are made for long- term cellaring after bottling.
Most tawny, ruby, and liqueur-style wines can be enjoyed for several months after opening, whereas traditional vintage-style fortified wines should be consumed within 7–10 days.
Made from red grape varieties such as Shiraz, Grenache, and Touriga, vintage fortified wines come from a single year’s harvest and are typically drier. Crafted to be enjoyed young or aged for many years in the bottle.
Suggested food pairing: hard and salty cheese, strong blue cheese, walnuts, dried figs.
Made from red grape varieties, these wines range from dry to medium sweetness. Tawny fortified wines are aged in barrels for many years and are typically composed of parcels from different vintages, blended by the winemaker to reflect the winery’s style before bottling. Producers may release them as younger Australian styles or as more complex, rare styles with an average age of 20 years or more.
Suggested food pairing: mature cheese, dark chocolate or berry desserts.
With their high residual sugar levels and concentrated flavours, liqueur-style wines are considered among Australia’s greatest. They are produced from grapes such as Muscat, Verdelho, Pedro Ximénez and Shiraz, harvested at peak ripeness when the fruit becomes raisined. The wines are aged in the barrel for several years and typically blended from multiple vintages using a Solero system.
Suggested food pairing: Christmas pudding, dried fruit, dark chocolate, strong cheese.
In the Swan Valley, traditional styles of Apera are produced from grape varieties such as Pedro Ximénez and Madeline. Apera fortified wines range from almost bone-dry styles, showing distinctive nutty and marmalade characters with delicate acidity, to more luscious expressions with amber to dark hues and pronounced notes of sweet fruit, walnut and toffee.
Depending on the style, some wines are aged in barrels under a fine layer of yeast called flor, which protects the wine from oxidation.
This technique also imparts the desirable nutty character typical of Apera styles.
Suggested food pairing: pre-dinner aperitif with charcuterie, pâté, tapas, oysters.
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