Brangayne of Orange Riesling 2014 $22 The Hoskins family owns two vineyards at Orange: the Brangayne vineyard (elevation 960 to 1,000 metres); and the slightly less cool Ynys Witrin vineyard (860 to 880 metres). Riesling, from the lower site, was harvested in the cool of a late March night and trucked about 200 kilometres north-east … Continue reading Wine review – Brangayne, Clonakilla and Tim Adams →

Heartland Langhorne Creek Dolcetto and Lagrein 2013 $20–$22 Heartland produces a unique blend of dolcetto – an inky deep, low-acid, aromatic Piedmontese red variety – and lagrein, a sometimes rustic, grippy variety from the Alto Adige region, in Italy’s north-east. Winemaker Ben Glaetzer says he captures dolcetto’s fresh, floral notes by fermenting and maturing it … Continue reading Wine review – Heartland, Clonakilla and Chalmers →

Clonakilla Pinot Noir 2014 $55 Clonakilla vineyard, Murrumbateman, Canberra District, NSW “Pinot’s the holy grail”, says Clonakilla’s Tim Kirk, “and the general wisdom is you can’t make great pinot noir in Canberra”. But after producing pinot for decades, only to blend it into the flagship shiraz-viognier, Kirk made small, separate batches from 2011. He used … Continue reading Wine review – Clonakilla, Quarry Hill, Four Winds, Freeman and Ross Hill →

Long Rail Gully Shiraz $25 Long Rail Gully Vineyard, Murrumbateman, Canberra District, NSW Canberra winemakers became excited about the local 2013 shiraz even before the ferments began. Now the wines are rolling out, and they’re exciting. Ravensworth, reviewed a few months back, Nick O’Leary’s trophy winner and now Long Rail Gully and Clonakilla all show … Continue reading Wine review – Long Rail Gully, Clonakilla, Majella, La Maschera and Helm →

Bleasdale Old Vine Verdelho 2013 $29 Bleasdale 1930 vineyard, Langhorne Creek, South Australia The jury’s still out on the origins of the white variety verdelho. It may be a native of Portugal’s sub-tropical Madeira, it may have come from the European mainland and it may be a relative of France’s savagnin. Whatever its origins, it … Continue reading Wine review – Bleasdale, Heemskerk, W Gisselbrecht, Clonakilla, Mad Fish and Turkey Flat →

Tyrrell’s Vat 9 Shiraz $80–$90 Ashmans property, lower Hunter Valley, NSW Where vignerons in much of eastern Australia struggled in the cold, wet 2011 vintage, Hunter winemakers turned out remarkable shirazes, like Tyrrell’s Vat 9. Always a regional benchmark of the medium bodied, long-lived style, Vat 9 in 2011 shows the extra fruit intensity of … Continue reading Wine review – Tyrrell’s, Rolf Binder, Clonakilla, Eddystone Point and Ravensworth →

Hewitson Miss Harry 2012 $21.85–$23 Barossa Valley, South Australia Dean Hewitson’s delightfully savoury, spicy Miss Harry combines the Rhone Valley varieties, grenache, shiraz, mourvedre, carignan and cinsault. Much of the fruit comes from “historic 100-year-plus, dry-grown bush vine vineyards dotted throughout the valley”, writes Hewitson. The venerable old vines gave their best flavours in the … Continue reading Wine review — Hewitson, Tyrrell’s, Chalk Hill, Clonakilla, Ravensworth and Mount Langi Ghiran →

Tim Smith Wines Shiraz 2012 $36 Barossa Valley, South Australia Wine judges and critics appear to have moved well ahead of wider public tasted in their support of leaner, elegant cool-climate shirazes. Time and again at tastings I see people opting for the riper, fleshier styles from warm areas – particularly the Barossa and McLaren … Continue reading Wine review – Tim Smith, Clonakilla, Mad Fish, Coldstream Hills, Wilson and Taittinger →

Clonakilla Shiraz Viognier 2012 $100 Murrumbateman, Canberra District, NSW Canberra (and Australia’s) benchmark shiraz–viognier came out of the blue – a wine style no one would have backed in the first two decades of Canberra viticulture. But the wine, now honed to perfection, speaks for itself. Indeed, without it, Canberra may have puddled around for … Continue reading Wine review — Clonakilla, Gallagher, Quarry Hill, Helm and Pizzini →