By Christine Salins.
The Scarborough wine story was built on Chardonnay by two South Australians, Ian and Merralea Scarborough. They fell in love with the Hunter Valley in the 1970s and made it their home, producing their first vintage in 1987.
Their burning passion and vision have been passed on to the next generation who proudly carry the flame. Daughter Sally, son Jerome and daughter-in-law Liz Reily produce a range of fine Hunter Valley wines including Semillon, Pinot Noir, Shiraz, and various styles of Chardonnay.
Their Chardonnay expressions include a new label, Keepers of the Flame, released in a special tasting at Boronia Kitchen in Hunter’s Hill, Sydney, last week. Owner/chef Simon Sandrall, who draws on Boronia’s wonderful kitchen garden, presented an exquisite menu to match the Keepers wines featured below.
Other wines tasted included Semillon, Chardonnay, and Shiraz from Scarborough’s ‘The Obsessive’ range, the label a somewhat tongue-in-cheek tribute to dad Ian’s obsession with perfection.
The various Chardonnay expressions demonstrate the different flavours imparted by different vineyards in the Scarborough portfolio, with vineyards ranging from fine sandy soils to rich red soil over clay, the latter producing a fuller, richer style of wine.
Chardonnay was a winner for Scarborough from early on. Sales of its Yellow Chardonnay – originally known as Traditional Chardonnay but now named for its widely recognized yellow cap – have gone from strength to strength each year, according to winemaker and viticulturalist Jerome.
“In 2006, we basically decided we needed to do another Chardonnay,” he said, explaining how this gave rise to the Obsessive range.
Keepers of the Flame was born because he and Liz often spotted special parcels of grapes while driving around their vineyards, often on “hot date Sundays” as Liz amusingly refers to their Sunday drives.
“Keepers is an amazing opportunity,” says Liz. “As a viticulturalist, you see special little parcels that not so much get lost but that you know have the ability to shine a little brighter.”
Having Chardonnay from multiple locations was also a means of future-proofing their business, the importance of which was brought home to them during the dreadful drought and bushfires of 2020 and 2021 (now ironically followed by massive rain events). Dealing with adversity is a winemaker’s lot in the Hunter.
Sally Scarborough, who takes care of marketing, was unable to be at the dinner but conveyed her thoughts via video. “Keepers of the Flame is kind of like a little promise to my future self that we’re going to take care of things and keep pushing the boundaries in innovation and wine quality and experiences,” she said.
Scarborough ‘Keepers of the Flame’ 2019 Chardonnay, $100: Years ago, more years than I care to remember, I stood in a vineyard in the Upper Hunter drinking Rosemount’s flagship Roxborough Chardonnay made from the vines around me. It was a magical experience that I’ve never forgotten. Today that vineyard is leased by Scarborough and known as Ogilvie’s View. It’s a high vineyard by Hunter standards and Jerome Scarborough says the fruit always stands out, the rich red clay loam producing “really interesting fruit flavours”. The inaugural Keepers Chardonnay comes from this prized vineyard and displays enticing brioche, cinnamon, lemon and stonefruit characters. Powerful but with a soft plushness that is quite beguiling.
Scarborough ‘Keepers of the Flame’ 2020 Chardonnay, $100: The second in the Keepers line-up is from the Cottage Vineyard, a very different site. Liz Reily describes it has having “lovely shadows and cooling breezes” along with fine sandy soils that have produced a remarkably beautiful wine from an incredibly challenging vintage (think drought, bushfires and Covid). It was perhaps the best thing to come out of 2020 as far as Scarborough is concerned, with an interesting textural minerality, a hint of spice and appealing brioche and nectarine notes.
Scarborough ‘Keepers of the Flame’ 2021 Chardonnay, $100: From the same vineyard, this is one classy wine, with layers of stonefruit, citrus and hazelnuts, along with beautifully balanced oak. Boronia’s roast chicken with potatoes crisped in duck fat accompanied by a white peach and fennel salad was the perfect match. The future is in good hands.
