2011 Cloudburst Chardonnay, Margaret River, Western Australia
Light gold in the glass, this wine smells of rich and salty melted butter and lemon curd. In the mouth, buttered popcorn and lemon curd mix with a slightly yeasty saline character that is interesting. Powerful and rich, the wine doesn't quite have the acidic kick I would like to support the richness, but the oak is thankfully quite well integrated. 14% alcohol. Score: between 8.5 and 9. Cost: $150.
June 21, 2013
Spring loaded kangaroos bound between the vine rows towards a rainbow that falls neatly behind some ancient eucalyptus trees. The wind moves fast, and Will Berliner is walking barefoot through his vineyard, situated just outside the Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park, in Margaret River, Western Australia.
Having gained a degree in Ecological Oriented Biology at Yale, Will has spent a lot of time in wilderness places, and he describes his eventual settlement, in the relatively untouched wilderness of the Margaret River, as a “place that just spoke to us”.
"Cloudburst owner and winemaker Will Berliner just netted the chardonnay he will harvest in late February. The meshwork protects the fruit from three types of birds: silver eyes, which take a sip out of each berry; ring neck parrots, which lop off whole grape bunches to exercise their beaks; and honey birds, which actually eat the fruit. He guards his tiny crop jealously, given that after three vintages, Cloudburst Chardonnay has earned coveted placement on the wine lists of three New York City dining meccas-- Tribeca Grill, Le Bernardin, and Eleven Madison Park, a remarkable accomplishment for a novice winemaker with a vineyard in the Margaret River of Western Australia.
Cloudburst’s unlikely genesis began with Will’s homesick Australian wife, Ali, with whom he used to travel to Australia regularly to visit family. When Ali became pregnant and sleeping on floors was no longer possible, they drove the Australian coast in search of a home. Coming from New England, Will found it difficult to imagine living in the country’s arid climate. Then they visited the Margaret River, a wine community among ancient hardwood forests five miles inland from the point where the Indian and Southern Oceans meet, and it just felt right. They spent their savings on a property abutting Aboriginal land and a national park, which also happened to be on the local wine route near the well-known wineries Leeuwin Estate and Moss Wood Winery.
For seven years, Will listened to the land and developed a deep affinity for biodynamic practices. Meanwhile, he studied viticulture long-distance at the University of California at Davis, educated his palate and began planting experimental blocks of chardonnay and other varieties. He released the first vintage of his expressive chardonnay in 2010, followed by a leaner, more complex bottling in 2011 and an elegant, fleshier wine 2012. All in all, it is an auspicious debut for an adventurous spirit from Portsmouth, New Hampshire."
"On Will Berliner’s time nurturing his vineyards vines attest to Cloudburst’s excellence, reinforcing the seat of winemaking’s three pillars (the minutiae of details: in the cellar, the soils health, the vineyards canopy and management) is the core to making remarkable wine. To wit: “He was naturally learned; he needed not the spectacle of books to read nature. He looked inwards, and found her there.” John Dryden, British poet (18th century quote)
A self-taught winemaker, Will has instinctual harmony with his vineyards & cellar coaxing vinous greatness from alliances drawn from his philosophy and grapes. The wines are sophisticated with expressive, pure personalities that speak of place and vintage.
2010 Chardonnay - Premier release. The 2010 Cloudburst displays fruity aromatics without weightiness, a string quartet of flavor – complex and precisely clear. The wines clarity is the definition of limpidity, with a richly textured mouth-feel and length. The wine is devoid of obtrusive oak or excessive buttery-ness and is well integrated, seemingly sure of its intentions at three years age. The 2010 vintage displays the wines agility akin to a skilled young surfer shooting a 3-meter tube, effortlessly maintaining a balanced trajectory.
2011 Chardonnay – The 2011 displays deeply resonant aromas, the hinted scent and suave texture of fine kidskin gloves with a lanolin-like richness replacing the buttery-ness. Today, tasting slightly backward yet guilded and rounder than the '10 vintage, this wine shares the same vineyards fingerprint complex length and finish. Dare I say, a tenderly haunting, reflective refrain of Erik Satie’s "Gymnopedie 1?”
2010 Cabernet Sauvignon - Premier release. The requisite youthful deep purple color of black fruit (a dead ringer for left bank Bordeaux) with chocolate covered cherries and emerging St. Julien style baking spices and cigar box aromas, displaying the hallmark of sweet vanilla and well-judged oak with evident tannins that’re completely integrated. This sumptuous wine will sing with vigorous decanting. Cloudburst wines reveal absolute spot on professional winemaking."
"The winemaker from Margaret River whose Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon I tasted, the whites were superb, the 2011 (minerally, intense but restrained at the same time) is a cracker and superior to the already very good 2010 Chardonnay.
As for Cloudburst Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 (there’s 7% Malbec in the blend), the extraction is two notches higher than it should be. There’s some greenness – fruitwise - and an austerity of tannins on the end which is not to be confused with a dry finish. Ease off the accelerator and things would be fine.
Will BERLINER, proprietor of Cloudburst, a filmmaker I understand in his previous life, is down-to-earth and appears very keen to produce the best wine he can make without bombast or public relations spin. The American is, if I may say so, a good bloke.
At the tasting, before wishing him a good flight between Perth-Singapore-Los Angeles, I told Berliner that “when in doubt, do less rather than more”.
I, too, am trying to heed the same advice in my own life."