Grapevine: We’re going down to La La Land

New wine brands can take seemingly forever to develop, often over decades, from a budding idea to a snowball of momentum that makes you wonder how you didn’t find them earlier.

They don’t have to be the next icon wine, but if they can be clear in what they are offering, consistent in doing so from vintage to vintage, and wine to wine, to develop confidence and trust with those buy them then the momentum can pick up quicker than you expect.

La La Land has been one such brand over the past few years. Established in 2013, as part of the Wingara wine group which sits in the top 20 Australian wine producers by volume, it is by no means a small bootstrapped operation that has been so common across the revitalised Australian wine scene, but we still need producers at scale that can bring us wines that are consistent, delicious
and affordable.

La La Land are certainly executing on this front. Their vineyards are principally found in Northern Victoria around Mildura, focused on some well-known and some emerging grape varieties that are well suited to the warm Mediterranean-like climate in which plush, fruit-driven wines are relatively easy to produce given the warm conditions.

After tasting the wines here and there over the past few years and seeing them as consistent, affordable options under the $20 mark, a recent tasting across the whole range just served to reinforce both points and thus the momentum behind the brand is only likely to pick up steam as they keep delivering.

La La Land Malbec ($18)
Plush texture with juicy black cherry and plums, velvety tannins, spice and smokey notes coming through giving it just enough varietal definition.

La La Land Garnacha (Grenache) ($18)
The Garnacha (Grenache) is true to the modern styles we see more and more – akin to warm climate or wintery Pinot Noir in that it has more body and richness but still shows a vibrant, sweet red fruit flavour spectrum with dried herbs, spice and minimal tannin. The result being a smooth red with alluring flavours and warming feel to it.

La La Land Pinot Noir ($18)
Speaking of Pinot Noir, they even manage to produce a Pinot Noir in northern Victoria that doesn’t come across as a simple dry red, which is often the case in the warm conditions further north of is. It certainly tastes rich and generous but there is identifiable red berry fruit, enough acidity to keep it in shape and a silkiness to the texture that makes for good drinking under $20.

La La Land Pinot Gris ($18)
There are so many different examples of Pinot Grigio and Pinot Gris, many are excellent and can still fail to resonate, particularly with a broad enough customer base to make them successful. The spectrum of styles that can pop up under each name no doubt makes it just as difficult for the casual wine drinker to create a clear enough picture of what to expect. This example strikes a nice middle ground, where it could just as easily be labelled Pinot Grigio – dry, light-bodied with ripe pears, lemons, some tropical notes and soft texture. Neither too thin and neutral, nor too opulent and spicy, just in a lovely middle ground for easy-going drinking.