Winemaker’s masterpieces at home in Xanadu

Glenn Goodall wakes up early every day.

Winemaker at Xanadu Wines in Margaret River, Australia, Goodall grabs his surfboard and heads to the ocean. It’s his morning ritual, and it’s all done before 5 a.m. Before he steps foot in a vineyard, tops off a barrel or checks a fermentation, he’s in the water waiting for his set.

“This is a great place to live,” Goodall said. “It’s light at 4:45 in the morning, I can get up and surf before work on a really rugged coastline. I can go fishing. I’m a surfer – most people here are and spend a couple hours in the water and then get on with their day.”

While Goodall interprets the unique waves the Indian Ocean throws at him every day while on a surfboard, he thinks like an artist when it comes to what the vineyard presents him during the growing season, at harvest and in the cellar.

The cool-climate wines Goodall has turned out from Margaret River are a distinct representation of place. Goodall was named Australia’s Winemaker of the Year by the Halliday Wine Companion for tapping into the cool breezes off the Indian Ocean and diverse vineyard soil types to make delicious wines that represent Margaret River.

Intriguing heritage clones also provide Goodall with an extensive palette of flavors. The surfing winemaker thinks like an artist, with the ocean, vineyard and bottle as a massive canvas on which to paint his masterpiece.

“Art is a good analogy for me because I see wines in color,” Goodall said. “I look at light and shade when picking cabernet or chardonnay. If there’s a [lime-like] green spectrum going into a tropical spectrum – when I have lots of colors to play with – blending the wine gets easier.”

Xanadu, Margaret River, Cabernet Sauvignon 2022 ($37) is a food-friendly red with plum and wildflowers on the nose. Flavors of plum and dried violets emerge on the enjoyable, medium-bodied, fruit-driven wine. Think of it like a perfectly tailored, slim-fit suit. All the flavors line up just right and accentuate every component: fruit, tannin and acidity.

With grape clusters that can have a “hen-and-chick” composition, where some might reach full maturation but others be semi-ripe or underdeveloped, the Xanadu chardonnay is an intense wine, bursting with flavors and acidity.

“I like when the wine has a lovely tang about it, yet a good level of intensity,” Goodall said. “Our Gingin clone had a lot of power, a lot of hen-and-chick clusters; a lot of people think it’s from Mendoza, but a Margaret River heritage clone has an enormous amount of intensity. The structure, the skin-to-juice ratio, there’s enough flavor profile that it retains acidity. It just comes out of the slightly green apple underripe zone where we are hitting our stride.”

It was a stunning achievement in chardonnay, the Xanadu, Margaret River, Chardonnay 2023 ($37.99), where Goodall hit all the right colors, and the spectrum of fruit flavors overlaid a pronounced acidity. There’s pear and mossy rock on the nose, with flavors of lemon, lime and a zippy acidity.

Goodall said the Gingin, which might have arrived in 1957, was the “secret weapon” of Margaret River. Even if its origins are totally unclear, it belongs in Australia.

Australia has shaken the misplaced reputation that it was home to cheap, overripe, mass-produced wines. There was always quality in the wines, even as lesser-quality bottles flooded the market.

“I’m not sure if there was a penny drop moment,” said Goodall, when asked how long ago Australia shook the label. “There were lots of small garagiste winemakers that led the charge. It was a point of time people realized they don’t need permission to do this, and can push some boundaries. It is something that might not always pan out, but, in trying, sometimes you find these little gems.”

Xanadu is one of those gems, and Goodall has found a place to paint a masterpiece.

• James Nokes has been tasting, touring and collecting in the wine world for several years. Email him at jamesnokes25@yahoo.com.

TASTING NOTES

For Fall Nights On The Patio: Beaulieu Vineyard, Napa Valley “Tapestry” 2021 ($65): The B.V. Bordeaux blend comes from a winery with over a century of experience, founded in 1900. With extracted dark fruits, plum and blackberry, there’s baker’s chocolate, Christmas spice and a heartwarming finish that make it a wine built for outdoor conversation on fall nights.

For The Tailgate: Planet Oregon, Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2022 ($24): If I were headed to Huskie Stadium to welcome the No. 23 Northern Illinois football team back after it stunned Notre Dame a few weeks ago, there would be an herb-crusted pork tenderloin ready to go on the charcoal grill and a few bottles of this affordable, dark-fruited, earthy pinot with rosemary, thyme and sage notes. With at least one chef and a wine guy, we know how to tailgate.

For Friday Night Dinner: Trapiche, Mendoza, Argentina “Iscay,” 2021 ($110): Winemaker Daniel Pi always gets it right with some of the best values in Argentina. Here, Trapiche goes big and delivers with this blend that’s 50% malbec and 50% cabernet franc. Dark purple in the glass, it is bold in flavor with raspberry, black cherry and fig. Yet, the spice rack, balsamic and cigar box harmonize perfectly with the fruit. The well-integrated tannin and long finish add another dimension to an elegant wine that can mature into a classic.