Funky styles from the west

John Durham has travelled about 3000 kilometres for this: a precocious vintage filled with extremes of heat, followed by the odd downpour, succeeded, in turn, by a sapping, subtropical humidity. Today, it's rain accompanied by a sudden temperature drop.

Windows in the cafe at Del Rios Wines, in the hills of Anakie, are steaming. Durham is smiling. But then he's always smiling.

Home - Western Australia - is a world away.

The lie of the land at Anakie is probably higher than he's used to - about 280 metres at the top of Mount Anakie behind the cafe. The conditions are just a little alien, too; the sea here seems so very distant.

Durham is at Del Rios to make wine, something he knows a little about, having worked 22 vintages at Cape Mentelle in Margaret River, and four at Plantagenet, in WA's Great Southern region

His arrival at Del Rios in late 2012 was underplayed, with his role confined largely to blending wine from the 2012 vintage, including a new range of smart, thrifty wines, Mayhem @ Anakie. From vintage 2013, however, his impact should be greater.

Durham has experience and a steady hand combined with a general calm and sensitivity.

The small Del Rios outfit has had a number of winemakers over the years. Esther Del Rio tries to recall all the names along with their vintages. Her husband, Gus, a dentist, isn't there to fill in the gaps. Like many small vineyard owners, he's working his second job.

Since the first plantings in 1998, there's been the inevitable ups and downs, with young vines struggling to assert themselves and winemakers doing the same in search of a special style.

Like much of the Geelong region, chardonnay and pinot noir are planted. Unlike some of Del Rios' neighbours, the Rhone Valley white grape marsanne is also planted, and shows tremendous promise. A wine to watch.

Shiraz remains a minor player but should not be underestimated. In the early 1970s, with Tom Maltby at Anakie Wines, we were first alerted to the potential of the grape in the area - cabernet sauvignon, too. It was a similar story under Maltby's successor, Hickinbotham Winemakers, in the '80s.

When it comes to marsanne, Durham admits to no great experience.

''It's a tough variety to grow, even in Margaret River,'' he says. ''In WA, the soils are deeper, more friable [crumbly]. Here, soils are tougher, harder, more compact and the vines find it hard to get roots down.''

Mount Anakie is volcanic rock with layers of basalt on a granitic base, which brings new meaning to the word tough.

By contrast, Del Rios marsanne is generous and unctuous; it's often sturdy in structure and not averse to oak. And it can age a treat, as the 2003 marsanne shows today.

Durham is contemplating some subtle changes: smaller yields, greater concentrated flavour intensity but with delicacy.

His enthusiasm pleases close friend and Geelong winemaker Doug Neal of Paradise IV.

''I'm convinced this site has potential to produce world-class marsanne,'' Neal says. ''It offers something special.''

Neal is the reason why Durham has been lured east. He brokered the invitation, reckoning that not only Del Rios but also Geelong wine would benefit. Today, in the absence of Gus Del Rio, Neal is hosting the Del Rios wine tasting as well as cooking lunch. This is most unusual winemaking behaviour, hosting a competitor's wine tasting but, as he explains, Del Rio is a mate. Neal also had a hand in winemaking in 2010 and '11, and joined Del Rio and Durham in blending the new 2012 Del Rios Mayhem@Anakie wine range.

This is a fun group of easy-drinking wines at an easily affordable price of $22-$25 a bottle.

There's more than a hint of the whimsical about them. The chardonnay and pinot noir are labelled Three Feisty Femmes (in honour of the three volcanic hills of Anakie, nicknamed the Three Sisters) while The Anarchist is a pinot noir-merlot-shiraz-cabernet blend.

The styles are whatever the men want them to be; funky seems to be the driving subtext. In 2014, there will be something different with maybe a white Anarchist, a marsanne-blend, in the wings.

However, above and beyond the playfulness of mayhem and dreams of making world-class marsanne (while also trying to make something out of pinot noir), there is chardonnay. It is the main game at Del Rios.

John Durham studies the form: a buttery honeysuckle 2010, a more savoury approach in 2011 (with a 2011 reserve plumbing greater flavour depths) and an excellent 2012, which is still in tank.

He knows the so-called iclones are planted. He looks a little anxious. They are sometimes referred to as the tropical fruit clones, the mainstay of standard Australian chardonnay in the past.

Del Rios is picking the iclones early to harness the grape's citrus qualities avoiding fruit salad flavours. It's a good start.

Durham adds some thoughts of his own.

''I used to think Western Australia made the best chardonnay in Australia,'' he says. ''Here, I am on a steep learning curve.

''I am redefining my whole paradigm of chardonnay. There's a finesse and nuance [here] you don't see in WA chardonnay, there's a minerality and a lot more work with malolactic fermentation [a second fermentation that adds non-fruit flavours and textures to a wine].

''I've always been anti-malolactic but now I'm trying to work out how to use malolactic to enhance the chardonnay profile. It's a different profile here.''

Later he says: ''I've got the tiger by the tail.''

So, Durham has travelled 3000 kilometres for this: to be challenged. It's brave but he has possibly got more to win than lose.

There will be people expecting a Durham imprint to be made on Del Rios Wines. They might be disappointed.

Durham says he is no longer interested in crashing through and making grand winemaking gestures, feeding the cult of the winemaker. He has come to Victoria, he says, with no prejudices. He'll meet none in Geelong, unless of course vintage 2013 turns ugly.