Matthew Hill Smith grew up in winemaking and after selling out of the Yalumba business, leaving it to his cousins Robert and Sam, his passion for wine led to 28 hectares in the Adelaide Hills.
There's a lot of history behind Marko's Vineyard, both in family lines and winemaking. The cool climate, high altitude site was planted in 1994 by Matthew's parents, Mark and Margie, and was managed by the family, including Matthew's brother Michael, until only recently.
Over the years, the 23-year-old vines on the site have produced the famed M3 Chardonnay and today they make boutique and single vineyard chardonnay, sauvignon blanc and shiraz under the guidance of Matthew and his daughter Christobel.
The wines are handmade and are available to independents only, a firm choice Matthew made after working in the restaurant business for some years.
Marko's latest releases include the 2016 Sauvignon Blanc (RRP $27) and 2015 Point Eight Shiraz (RRP $42). The winery has sales representatives located in Brisbane and Sydney and can be contacted to arrange a tasting of the wines.
drinks bulletin: You’ve just released the latest vintage of your sauvignon blanc. How does the current vintage stand up to the last?
MHS: It was a really difficult year. It was incredibly dry and very hot, so we were very pleased to actually make a better wine than the year before. I think we managed the vineyard and canopy better. We were very pleased with the outcome.
DB: What's great about Marko's Vineyard for your varietals?
Matthew Hill Smith: There are a number of sites in the Adelaide Hills that grow sauvignon blanc, but this particular site for some reason tends to give more tropical flavours than most. If you have a look at New Zealand sauvignon blancs they’re more herbaceous and far more asparagus-y. This particular vineyard, on the other hand, is all about those tropical flavours. This is also where the Shaw + Smith Sauvignon Blanc and M3 Chardonnay were born. So it’s got a pretty good heritage.
DB: Do you consider yourself among the winemakers that are pushing for more recognition of Australian sauvignon blanc?
MHS: Without a doubt. It sort of amazes me when you walk into a restaurant and you can’t get an Australian sauvignon blanc. It’s all New Zealand and it’s very price driven. I’m not knocking New Zealand sauvignon blanc or their wine industry at all, but it does amaze me that there’s not much of an Australian sauvignon blanc offering.
DB: Marko's favours old winemaking techniques. Why is that?
MHS: I really believe that handmade techniques are important. With reds, we prefer open fermenters, no doubt about it. With whites, we definitely prefer handpicking. It’s a lot more expensive but we believe that it really makes a difference.
DB: Your wines are marketed at quite a strong price point. Where do you see your wines sitting on the market?
MHS: There’s no doubt that we are in the fine wine market. We don’t see ourselves in the fermented grape juice market. It’s single vineyard and handpicked.
DB: You were once in the restaurant business. What learnings have you been able to take from that industry and apply to winemaking?
MHS: We don’t distribute through Coles and Woolworths or discounters. We are independent for independents. I can remember having a brand of wine or Champagne, and suddenly Coles and Woolworths were discounting it to a price that I couldn't even buy it for and that would make me look like an idiot in the eyes of our customers. We are very much an independent wine company for independent bottle shops and independent restaurants.
DB: What does the future of Marko's look like to you?
MHS: It’s always going to be a single-vineyard. It would be nice to actually make and sell more of our own wines and sell grapes to some of the bigger wine companies. I would really like us to be well known as producing one of the better sauvignon blancs in the country, one of the better chardonnays and one of the better shiraz in the country, and very individual at that.
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