Packing a punch: 'The Age'

Sometimes it just helps if your family, in this case David and Catherine Lance, had the wherewithal to buy a patch of land that would one day prove its worth as a pristine cool-climate vineyard site, says wine writer Jane Faulkner.

Back in the mid-'70s just two rows of chardonnay were planted at their Yarra Valley property but more followed and over time, their winery known as Diamond Valley became renowned, in particular, for outstanding pinot noir.

Fast-forward to 2005. Diamond Valley's brand and wines have been sold but the vineyard and winery remain in the family. And their winemaking son, James, leases some of their vineyards with the fruit going into his own label, Punch. He also happens to be Diamond Valley's winemaker.

But this is a Punch story. James and his wife Claire make miniscule amounts of beautifully focused wine as the just-released '06s attest. In the line-up is the tightly structured close-planted pinot noir, another pinot noir, chardonnay and cabernet sauvignon. Talking of the latter, James made one barrel but he's pleased with that as it looks mighty fine. And 2007 was an awful vintage - frost wreaked havoc and all that will be released next year is a tiny amount of chardonnay and pinot, no cabernet and no close planted pinot noir were made.

But '06 reflects the hard work and fine-tuning taking place in the vineyard. "We've been changing our viticulture progressively and have done a lot of work in the vineyard this decade," James says. It includes more close planting, better canopy management and pulling out varieties that didn't perform so well such as cabernet franc, malbec and merlot. This small vineyard of 3.5 hectares is best suited to chardonnay and pinot noir.

"Each year the vineyards get better and we get a better handle on what we want to do." And what's that exactly? "Well you know it when you taste it in the wine. It's about achieving balance, linearity, focus, fineness and age-worthiness too." It's also a reason why oak is not a feature in Punch wines, it's there to bring them together but not as a dominating character. "With pinot, I normally aim for one third new, as it is too easy to be seduced by oak in the cellar and when you taste the wines two years later, you think, gee glad I didn't add more oak."

Apart from the close planted pinot noir, James also makes a sparkling wine, has a barrel of brandy maturing made from distilled chardonnay and a botrytis sweet riesling made from Gippsland fruit that will be released late next year. And a note on the name. Yes it is a reference to Punch and Judy but it derives from an old cast-iron door stop belonging to James' mother.

"It's a really lovely object and I thought Punch, that's a great word; it's a bit of fun, a bit tongue-in-cheek as stylistically my wines are not punchy at all. I just hope people remember the name as there are so many wines on the market to remember anyway."

Punch can be found at Prince Wine Store, City Wine Shop and Armadale Cellars.

janefaulkner@winematters.com.au

PUNCH PINOT NOIR 2006 $55

An incredibly approachable wine with lovely reserved fruit, savoury with hints of mushroom and forest floor notes, silky soft tannins, tangy on the palate with fine cleansing acidity and great length. Too easy to drink several glasses in quick succession.

PUNCH CHARDONNAY 2006 $45

Gee, this is one smart chardonnay - it sent a shiver down my spine it's so fine. Has all those mouth-watering minerally, match-strike, flinty notes but it's not austere. There's a core of excellent fruit full of citrus, figs and melon, tight on the palate, restrained with neatly integrated oak, some nutty leesy complexity and excellent length. In a word, moreish.

PUNCH CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2006 $45

Cabernet sauvignon is very particular as to where it's grown and the Yarra Valley is not always successful but this is outstanding with its blackberry and blackcurrant fruits, medium-bodied with seamless oak integration, builds on the palate, then met with fine tannins with just a bit of grip, lovely cool climate cabernet but without any hint of greenness. The bad news: just 40 dozen were made.