Chatto Pinot Noir 2013 $50 Huon Valley, Tasmania Canberra-raised Jim Chatto now heads the winemaking team at McWilliams. On the journey to that position, Chatto fell in love with Tasmanian pinot noir while making wine there from 1998 to 2000. Though subsequently Hunter based, he established a small pinot noir vineyard in the Huon Valley … Continue reading Wine review – Chatto, Castro’s Ligador, Bleasdale, Stella Bella, Tapanappa and Mount Horrocks →

Hardys Chronicles Twice Lost Langhorne Creek Pinot Grigio 2014 $16 During the nineties our major companies, and some private investors, planted broad acres of vines at Langhorne Creek to feed the wine-export boom then underway. With ample water, a warm climate, tempered by nearby Lake Alexandrina, the area produced healthy yields of high quality fruit … Continue reading Wine review – Hardys, Tim Smith and Mount Horrocks →

Hardys Chronicles “The Gamble” Limestone Coast Chardonnay 2014 $15.99 The press release sketches a tenuous connection between Hardys “The Chronicles” range and the company’s nineteenth-century founder Thomas Hardy. In fact, this is a thoroughly modern, realistically priced wine, made by people who also make one of Australia’s finest chardonnays, Eileen Hardy. Grapes are sourced from … Continue reading Wine review – Hardys and Soumah →

Nick O’Leary Shiraz 2013 $28 Fischer vineyard, Murrumbateman, Canberra District, NSW Canberra’s benign 2012–13 growing season produced, in abundance, grape quality not seen in the much cooler, wetter 2011 and 2012 vintages. Our exciting 2013 reds include Nick O’Leary’s shiraz – a jaw dropper that kept judges gaping as they piled gongs on it at … Continue reading Wine review – Nick O’Leary, Mr Riggs, John Duval and Bremerton →

Wynns Coonawarra Estate V and A Lane Cabernet Shiraz 2012 $47.50–$60 Wynns V and A vineyard, Coonawarra, South Australia It’s a hard concept to convey (short of taking a mouthful), but wines can have enormous concentration of fruit flavour but remain medium bodied and graceful. This is the classic, but not always achieved, Coonawarra standard … Continue reading Wine review – Wynns, Mistletoe, Yering Station, De Bortoli, Brand’s Laira and Le Cirque Wine Co →

Wynns Coonawarra Estate V and A Lane Shiraz 2012$ 48–$60 V and Lane vineyard, Coonawarra, South Australia Coonawarra appears flat and homogenous – a sea of vines hugging the north–south Riddoch Highway for many kilometres. But ripening times vary widely. At about the half-way mark, V and A Lane intersects the highway, marking what was … Continue reading Wine review – Wynns, Le Cirque Wine Co, West Cape Howe, Toolangi, and Larry Cherubino →

d’Arenberg d’Arry’s Original McLaren Vale Shiraz Grenache 2011 $18–$20 d’Arenbeg’s shiraz-grenache blend entered the Australian market decades ago as d’Arenberg “Burgundy”. But it switched to varietal labelling in 1993, at the same time honouring its creator, d’Arry Osborn. It was, and remains, a loveable, warm, generous red with considerable cellaring potential – a rare thing … Continue reading Wine review – d’Arenberg, Heartland and Tower Estate →

Mount Majura TSG Tempranillo Shiraz Graciano 2013 $32 Mount Majura Vineyard, Canberra District, ACT If you want to see a Canberra winemaker smile, just say, “2013”. After a run of tough vintages, including the particularly shitty 2011, along came the perfect season, from budburst in spring 2012 until harvest in autumn 2013. Conversely, if you … Continue reading Wine review – Mount Majura, Heartland, Mandala, Stoneleigh and Cherubino →

d’Arenberg Hermit Crab McLaren Vale Viognier Marsanne 2013 $14.25–$16 McLaren Vale’s warm climate seems to suit these Rhone Valley white varieties better than more commonly encountered ones like chardonnay, riesling and sauvignon blanc. In past years d’Arenbeg’s blend has often been predominantly marsanne with some viognier. In the warm 2013 vintage winemaker Chester Osborn bumped … Continue reading Wine review – d’Arenberg, Skillogalee and Toolangi →