Chambers Rosewood ‘Rare’ Muscadelle 375ml NV

Why is this Wine so Yummy?

About Chambers

Full disclosure. Steve and I studied winemaking together. I used to catch a ride with him in his old diesel golf that somehow never missed a beat. He’s yet another of the down to earth, pragmatic, winemakers that fill the Aussie wine industry.

What’s in a name? Tokay, Topaque or Muscadelle?

Lovers of Rutherglen Muscat will no doubt be aware of its equally profound though lesser known stablemate, Rutherglen Topaque. The history of Topaque in Rutherglen can be a little confusing, at least in terms of nonclemature. The wine was originally termed Tokay in the mid 1800’s, and whilst no definitive reason is known one can only assume that early vignerons saw similarities with the great Tokaji wines of Hungary produced from furmint and harselevelu.

In the 1970’s a visiting ampelographer identified Rutherglen Tokay to be the same as muscadelle, a minor white variety grown in Bordeaux, and despite its name not actually part of the muscat family. By that stage Rutherglen producers had a 120 year history producing Tokay, and it made sense to continue using the name for both producers and consumers.

In the early part of the twenty first century it came to pass that the use of the word Tokay on labels was to be phased out due to its similarity to the Hungarian term Tokaji; one of a number of labelling agreements that would take place with countries in the EU. A major research project was undertaken to develop a new name and Topaque was selected as the preferred option. Chambers have preferred to name the wine after the variety is made from, Muscadelle. The phase out was enforced in 2016 so you may find the wine labelled as Rutherglen Topaque or Tokay; importantly the wine in the bottle is as good as ever.

In terms of flavour profile Topaque is often considered to be a lighter, finer wine than Rutherglen Muscat with flavours of candied fruits, honey, toffee and a distinctive cold tea character, as opposed to the heavier raisin and chocolate notes of muscat. All other aspects of its production are near identical to Muscat, and in terms of quality Rutherglen Topaque is deemed every bit as good. The best way to appreciate the difference is to try for yourself!

In the Vineyard

In the Winery

The history of the winery shows. Compare the basket press graveyard with the latest in pneumatic presses.

The old casks that are meticulously cared for. They hold the nectar of the gods, portions, greater than 100 years old!

The Story of the Rutherglen Muscat Classification

from Explore Rutherglen

It has been said that “talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships”. Luckily for the muscat winemakers of Rutherglen, they have all three.

When it comes to muscat, egos are set aside and teamwork prevails, as is embodied in the Rutherglen Muscat Classification, which came into being in 1995. Prior to this, the world of muscat was a complex one indeed…
“Previously, there were a whole lot of names for the various muscats,” Stanton & Killeen winemaker Andrew Drumm explains.

“Everyone had their own opinions on what it should be called – there was no consistency. If a customer picked up a classic muscat, they might get something that’s five years old or something that’s 20 years old. It has little to do with the age and more to do with the sensory characteristics of the muscat. So, you might drink a muscat that calls itself ‘classic’ yet doesn’t have much guts to it, or you might get something that’s big and ripe”.
On top of this, the Australian muscat market had dramatically changed. According to Wine Australia, in 1950 fortified wines accounted for 86 per cent of Australian wine production, now they only account for around 2 per cent. That said, fortified wines are in growth, led by our champion – muscat.

“In the early 60s, fortified wines fell out of favour because table wines took over, primarily due to Italian immigrants drinking wine with food as opposed to after a meal,” Campbells Wines winemaker Colin Campbell explained.

“When that happened the fortified wines began to drop off. At that stage the different names for muscat between the different wineries were all a mess, there was no conformity and you didn’t know what you were drinking”.

The Four Classifications of Rutherglen Muscat

To address this, the Rutherglen muscat winemakers developed a classification system. The new system makes a pointed effort not to rely on age to determine classifications, though it does provide some clue. This system breaks muscats up into four groups as follows, marking a progression in richness, complexity and flavour:

Rutherglen muscat is the foundation of the style; displaying the fresh raisin aromas, rich fruit, clean spirit and great length of flavour on the palate – the mark of all the muscats of Rutherglen. Average age 3 – 5 years. Residual sweetness 180 – 240 grams per litre.

Classic Rutherglen muscat displays a greater level of richness and complexity, produced through the blending of selected parcels of wine, often matured in various sizes of oak cask to impart the distinctive dry ‘rancio’ characters produced from maturation in seasoned wood. Average age 6 – 10 years. Residual sweetness 200 – 280 grams per litre.

Grand Rutherglen muscat takes the flavour of Rutherglen muscat to a still higher plane of development, displaying a new level of intensity, depth and concentration of flavour, mature rancio characters, and a complexity which imparts layers of texture and flavour. Average age 11 – 19 years. Residual sweetness 270 – 400 grams per litre.

Rare Rutherglen muscat is rare by name and by nature. These are the pinnacle Rutherglen muscats –  fully developed and displaying the extraordinary qualities that result from the blending of selected parcels of only the very richest and most complete wines in the cellar. Rare Rutherglen muscats are only bottled in tiny quantities each year, but for those privileged to taste them, these are wines of breathtaking complexity, texture and depth of flavour. Minimum age 20+ years. Residual sweetness 270 – 400 grams per litre.

“It was a deliberate attempt to keep ages out of it because anyone, in theory, can keep a fortified wine in a barrel for 15 years and say it’s a 15 year old muscat, but the problem is if they haven’t looked after it, it’s just a 15 year old, stale, fairly unappealing wine,” Andrew clarifies.

So, now we have these classifications, how is each wine correctly classified?

“We set our wines out and have groups of the Rutherglen muscat, the classic Muscat, the grande and the rare,” Colin says.

“We all sit there and taste each of the wines, then we talk about the them. It’s all done with peers and it’s worked brilliantly”.

It’s worked so brilliantly, in fact, that the old Australian Muscat Classification system (based purely on age) has officially evolved into the Rutherglen system, though there’s always room for further evolution – if needed. Although the Rutherglen Muscat Classifications are neatly packaged up now, Fifth generation vingerion Stephen Chambers of Chambers Rosewood Vineyards explains there’s always a grey area …

“Unintentionally, the first two classifications, the Rutherglen and the Classic, were about youth and primary fruit characters, and the Grand and the Rare are about depth and intensity with age,” he says.

“So there can be a big gap in terms of the characters of the wines between the classic and the grand. The Rutherglen and the Classic, need to drive them young, whereas the Grand and the Rare you’re trying to drive them older. There’s some people that already have different styles out there – they put them to one side away from the classification. We even have a single vintage which we don’t classify, so there is potential to play around with the edges”.

So there you have it.  Just as Rutherglen winemakers have guided the world in the stellar muscats they produce, so too have they guided the way we select them from the shelf or cellar – and how lucky are we to have them just a stone’s throw away!

Where in the World is Chambers?

Chambers is in Rutherglen, Victoria right on the border between Victoria and New South Wales.

“Dig Gentlemen Dig!”

The history of the Rutherglen Wine region traces back to the 1850’s. Whilst the exact year of commencement is unknown it is thought to be in the mid to latter part of the decade. Lindsay Brown had selected his ‘Gooramadda Run’ in the late 1840’s and is credited with being the father of the local wine industry when he planted his four acre vineyard to the west of Rutherglen some ten years later.

Brown has been credited with a quote that has endured through the years

“Dig gentleman dig, but no deeper than six inches, for there is more gold to be won from the top six inches than from all of the depths below”

More plantings soon followed and the wines of the north-east soon found strong favour throughout the colony. It is incredible to think given the limitations of the time that just thirty years later Rutherglen would be considered a wine power, home to some of the largest estates in the world.

Many wineries established at this time are still flourishing today, including:

Gehrigs – 1859
Chambers Rosewood – 1858
Morris- 1859
Mount Prior – 1860
St Leonards – 1860
All Saints Estate – 1864
Campbells – 1870
Stanton & Killeen – 1875

The vineyards of the region expanded mightily into the 1880’s. With more than 3000 acres of vines spread across 50 recognised vineyards (and considerably smaller farm orchards), Rutherglen was producing approximately a third of all wine in Australia. Show success soon followed with Rutherglen wines winning prizes internationally in the London, Paris, and Bordeaux exhibitions, and exports back to the ‘Mother Country’ flowed.

Many of these great winemaking houses which sprang up in the gold rush days of the mid-nineteenth century are still owned and managed by fourth, fifth, and sixth generations descendants. The legacy of winemaking skills and ancient stocks is carefully passed on to a younger generation to carve out their own niche – looking to the future while respecting the past​