Vickery Riesling 2014 $24 Castine and Brazel vineyards, Watervale, Clare Valley, South Australia A year after the death of Leo Buring in 1961, Lindemans bought his business and retained his winemaker, John Vickery. Lindemans promptly planted riesling in place of sherry varieties on Buring’s Florita Vineyard at Watervale, southern Clare Valley. And, in time for … Continue reading Wine review – Vickery, Jeir Creek, Geoff Merrill, Maipenrai, Rosemount Estate and Logan →

Dandelion Wonderland of the Eden Valley Riesling 2012 $22–$27.50 Colin Kroehn Vineyard, Eden Valley, South Australia God knows where Colin Kroehn’s riesling grapes went before Dandelion’s bright young people came along. But since their arrival we’ve tasted some of the finest, most delicate Eden Valley riesling on offer – a particularly juicy, taut and delicate … Continue reading Wine review — Dandelion, Maipenrai, Moss Wood, Punt Road, Penny’s Hill and Hartz Barn →

Arete The Chatterbox Shiraz 2010 $18–$20 Andy Kalleske Cemetery Block, Koonunga, Barossa Valley, South Australia Winemaker Peter Bate’s amazingly delicious, drink-now shiraz comes from a single vineyard in the Barossa’s Koonunga sub-region. It features highly aromatic fruit (floral and musk like) with similar richness, vibrance and freshness on the palate. The juicy, ripe fruit literally … Continue reading Wine review — Arete, Pike’s, Yering Station, Port Phillip Estate, d’Arenberg and Maipenrai →

Lark Hill Gruner Veltliner 2011 $40 Lake George Escarpment, Canberra District, New South Wales Following a suggestion from Jancis Robinson, a visit to Austria tasting its signature variety – and the fortuitous discovery of two vines in Tasmania – the Carpenters of Lark Hill propagated gruner veltliner from cuttings, then planted 1,000 vines in 2006. … Continue reading Wine review — Lark Hill, Maipenrai Amungula Creek, Balnaves, Majella and Peter Lehmann →

Rutherglen Estate Savagnin 2010 $16.95 Rutherglen, Victoria Like other Australian winemakers Rutherglen Estate planted the Spanish white variety albarino only to learn that the CSIRO, source of all our stock, had been given savagnin by the Spanish supplier. Savagnin is the non-muscat clone of gewürztraminer and to smell and taste the two is to be … Continue reading Wine review — Rutherglen Estate, Leogate, Maipenrai, Leasingham and Fox Gordon →

Hungerford Hill Tumbarumba Pinot Noir 2009 $27–$30 Chardonnay 2009 $27–$30 Southcorp Wines merged with Rosemount Estate in 2001 and in 2002 sold its Hungerford Hill Brand to the Kirby Family. Michael Hatcher now makes the wines, including these two from Tumbarumba, in the company’s winery at Pokolbin, Hunter Valley. The chardonnay’s intense, cool-climate nectarine-like varietal … Continue reading Wine review — Hungerford Hill, Amungula Creek and Houghton →

Maipenrai Canberra District Pinot Noir 2006 $23.33–$28 Maipenrai Canberra District Amungula Creek Pinot Noir 2004 $10–$12 Astronomer Brian Schmidt peers into the furthest corners of our expanding universe (see http://msowww.anu.edu.au/~brian/) but maintains a terrestrial base near Sutton. From his small vineyard, at 760 metres above sea level, Brian handcrafts the attractive, savoury, and complex Maipenrai … Continue reading Wine review — Maipenrai, Brown Magpie and Joseph Perrier →