Cloudburst: Producer Profile

Decanter, Stephen Brook

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Stephen Brook chats to Will Berliner, the terroir-obsessed New Yorker in Margaret River, whose biodynamic Chardonnays and Cabernets have become rare and rave-reviewed cults

I was in the right place at the right time. Invited to be an international judge at the Margaret River Wine Show in Western Australia in 2013, I was surprised, as were some of the other judges, that we declared the top red of the show to be the 2010 Cloudburst Cabernet Sauvignon.

I’d never heard of it, this being the inaugural vintage, but it easily matched in quality the region’s iconic wines. At the awards ceremony, the little-known American victor, a producer of documentary films, seemed slightly bemused but also confident that his success was deserved.

Going back further – nearly 20 years ago – to a blind tasting of Chardonnays at Margaret River’s Cullen estate, I unhesitatingly identified a wine as grand cru Burgundy. I was wrong: it was from Margaret River.

My error was repeated at a similar tasting before the 2013 Margaret River Wine Show began. I put at least four of the region’s Chardonnays into the Burgundy camp. Nor do I feel any embarrassment about admitting it.

The New Yorker in Margaret River

Like Margaret River’s Cabernet Sauvignons, Chardonnays from here can be fabulous, and Will Berliner’s Cloudburst Chardonnay is up there with his Cabernet – Jane Anson tasted the 2017 when it was released on La Place de Bordeaux in September.

Berliner, a transplanted New Yorker with an Australian wife, asserts that Margaret River is a very special place. It’s defined, as is Bordeaux, by its maritime climate: hot but breezy, with warm summers giving impressive fruit to the wines, while unpredictable rainfall and storms give individuality to the vintages, as well as a mineral character that derives less from the soil than from gusts from the ocean.

When Berliner talks about his project, he hardly mentions winemaking. It’s the farming that obsesses him; the sense of place of his 1.2 hectares in the unofficial Margaret River sub-region of Wilyabrup, close to the Woodlands wine estate.

Despite his biology degree from Yale, Berliner’s approach is intuitive rather than scientific. He and his wife bought and planted land in 2005, and moved permanently to Margaret River in 2012. ‘Not having come up in wine was entirely to my advantage. I wasn’t beholden to the myriad sacred cows,’ he told me.

Although he enlisted Stuart Watson of Woodlands as co-winemaker, he also took courses at the University of California, Davis.

Resolutely non-interventionist

Berliner is clearly enthralled by his patch of land. ‘Cloudburst is within the sound of the sea on land that has never seen chemical agriculture. The soil itself contains astonishing biodiversity.’

There were no errors of the past, such as chemical fertilisers, to be undone. The Cloudburst vineyard was an unused artist’s palette. The newly planted vines, cuttings of the Gingin clone from a neighbouring vineyard, were ungrafted, as phylloxera is not present here, and the density was Burgundian in its rigour, at 1m by 1m.

Berliner has a ‘mystical appreciation’ of his land

‘In contrast to the popular notion that such density creates a struggle for resources, the vines are incredibly vibrant and there is no sign of competitive stress.’ The vineyard was also dry-farmed. If a plant failed to take, he simply replanted it the following year, although this meant it took some time for the vineyard to be fully populated.

Berliner is resolutely non-interventionist. All vineyard tasks are done by hand, wielding secateurs to remove defective berries and tugging wheelbarrows down the rows. The farming is biodynamic, but Berliner isn’t interested in certification. Although mulch derived from his own compost is spread between the rows, there is no ploughing or green cover.

‘Our job is to listen [to nature] and get out of the way.’ A mystical appreciation of his property has emerged, and Berliner regards his vineyard as a community of communicating vines.

The winemaking is simplicity itself. The grapes are whole-bunch pressed into barrel and fermented with natural yeasts. The wine goes through malolactic fermentation and is aged, with minimal stirring of the lees, for 10 months in oak, of which 35% to 80% is new. Sometimes there’s a light filtration before bottling. Annual production is about 2,500 bottles.

High praise, high price

The success of the 2010 Cabernet at the Margaret River show, and the rave reviews for all his wines from Australia’s top critics as well as from international tasters has made Cloudburst a cult wine, with prices to match.

The production of Cloudburst’s Chardonnay, Cabernet, and Malbec totals 5,500 bottles, so there’s a scarcity factor too. But scarcity and high prices are no guarantee of favour.

Cloudburst persuades with its quality; that combination of richness, limpidity and freshness that is the hallmark of Margaret River wines at their best. Their consistency demonstrates that the ‘discovery’ of the 2010 Cabernet in 2013 was no fluke.

I like to imagine that the great names of the region – Cullen, Leeuwin, Vasse Felix, Moss Wood – did not observe Cloudburst’s rise to fame with dismay and envy, but instead welcomed a new star into their ranks.

Six vintages of Cloudburst Chardonnay

Cloudburst, Chardonnay, Margaret River, Western Australia 2018

Tasted by Jane Anson (at Bordeaux, 27 Aug 2020) / 96

Salt-tinged citrus fruit and lime zest with huge texture and tension. This is bright and sparky with a sense of control, even though the warmth and richness of Chardonnay - from a warm, dry season tempered by cool nights - widens things out after a few minutes in the glass, adding texture and power. I love this, and love the memory of last tasting this wine on a train to Paris with winemaker and owner Will Berliner armed with cheese and a baguette. 3.6pH.

Drinking Window 2020 - 2028

Cloudburst, Chardonnay, Margaret River, Western Australia 2017

Tasted by Stephen Brook  (at London, 23 Oct 2020) / 93

There's a light toastiness on the nose, which is discreet and very elegant, with apricot aromas and a herbal note that isn't at all green. Silky and bright, this is concentrated on the palate but with appealing lifting acidity. It shows remarkable persistence, offering a lightly saline but very long toasty finish that's dry and bracing, Excellent balance. The cool damp conditions of the 2017 growing season haven't detracted from the wine's ripeness but have contributed, it seems, to its tension and salinity.

Drinking Window 2021 - 2032

Cloudburst, Chardonnay, Margaret River, Western Australia 2016

Blind tasted by Sarah Ahmed, Roger Jones Anthony Rose / 94

Baked Bramley apple aromas with a hint of clove spice. Quite a traditional Chardonnay with grapefruit, green apple and gentle spring blossom perfume. Restrained excellence, relying on honest fruit and possible clever lees-stirring. It’s textured and layered – a real stunner!

Drinking Window 2019 - 2024

Cloudburst, Chardonnay, Margaret River, Western Australia 2015

Tasted by Stephen Brook (at London, 23 Oct 2020) / 94

Firm and toasty on the nose, this does have a discreet charred tone but it's still elegant, and, dare I say it, decidedly Burgundian, not being a fruit-forward style. Rich and creamy on the palate, it's svelte and oaky, but some bottle age has smoothed the texture without robbing it of intrinsic youthfulness. Concentrated but limpid, it has fine but not excessive acidity that supplements the depth of flavour. Long nutty finish with great persistence.

Drinking Window 2021 - 2030

Cloudburst, Chardonnay, Margaret River, Western Australia 2014

Tasted by Stephen Brook (at London, 23 Oct 2020) / 93

Age has given the wine more colour than more recent vintages. There's evident opulence on the nose, but it's not overblown despite the richly toasty notes underlying the apple and apricot aromas, adding up to an intense and stylish profile. On the palate the attack is creamy, with a supple texture, but it retains an acidic bite and shows little sign of age. With its charm and finesse, it has a welcome delicacy but not at the expense of flavour. Balanced and long.

Drinking Window 2021 – 2028

Cloudburst, Chardonnay, Margaret River, Western Australia 2013

Tasted by Stephen Brook (at London, 23 Oct 2020) / 91

On the nose this seems more neutral than the younger vintages, with subdued apricot aromas and a gentle oakiness. Broad and creamy on the palate, it still shows freshness and cut, but there's less complexity and drive than on the other vintages, perhaps because of the youth of the vines. There's ample flesh and overt fruitiness but less vibrancy and persistence.

Drinking Window 2021 - 2025