Skillogalee Trevarrick Single Contour Riesling 2012 $52.50 Skillogalee vineyard, Sevenhill, Clare Valley, South Australia Each vintage, Skillogalee’s Dave Palmer makes a number of individual rieslings from various vineyard blocks. Most end up in the blending vat and go to market as the estate riesling. In the exceptional 2012 vintage, however, Palmer bottled a small parcel … Continue reading Wine review – Skillogallee, Ulithorne, All Saints, Peter Lehmann, Domaine Chandon and Lake Breeze →

Logan Apple Tree Flat Mudgee Chardonnay 2013 $10–$13 Mudgee, in the high country about 270 kilometres north-west of Sydney, makes sturdy, tannic reds and surprisingly gentle, tasty chardonnays. Surprising because, in theory, we’d be looking these days for cooler locations for this early ripening variety. But chardonnay arrived there mid nineteenth century and became an … Continue reading Wine review – Logan, Lake Breeze and Domaine Chandon →

Parish Vineyard Riesling 2013 $25–$29 Parish vineyard, Coal River Valley, Tasmania In 2012 Yalumba proprietor, Robert Hill-Smith, bought Frogmore Creek vineyard in Tasmania’s Coal River Valley. “Hiding among the rather large plantings of chardonnay and pinot noir”, writes winemaker Louisa Rose, “was an irresistible temptation to work with” – a three-hectare block of riesling, the … Continue reading Wine review – Parish Vineyard, Shotfire, Logan, Stoneleigh, Peter Lehmann and Bodegas Castro Martin →

Dawson and James Chardonnay 2011 $48 Gerald Ellis’s Meadowbank vineyard, Derwent Valley, Tasmania Gerald Ellis grows great fruit. Peter Dawson and Tim James do their best not to muck it up. They write, “Ultimately we see the vineyard as the driver of quality and our winemaking approach is to support fruit quality through the avoidance … Continue reading Wine review – Dawson and James, Longview, Vasse Felix, De Bortoli, Matteo Corregia →

Chardonnay by Farr 2012 $68 Geelong, Victoria Australian chardonnays are the best they’ve ever been. Given their abundance, diversity and excellence, they are arguably our second national specialty – our white equivalent of shiraz. They cover a spectrum of styles from the lean and austere through to a handful, including Chardonnay by Farr, that reveal … Continue reading Wine review – by Farr, De Bortoli, Rymill, Wolf Blass, Swinging Bridge and Brothers in Arms →

De Bortoli Semillon Sauvignon Blanc 2013 $4.75–$7 Drinkers of fine wine might now connect the De Bortoli family with their superb Yarra Valley products, particularly pinot noir and chardonnay. But the bulk of De Bortoli’s wine, like the Sacred Hill range, still comes from the NSW Riverina district. This blend plays on one of the … Continue reading Wine review – De Bortoli, Brothers in Arms and Eddystone Point →

Moorilla Muse Pinot Noir 2012 $48 Moorilla vineyard, Derwent Valley, Tasmania David Walsh bought Moorilla from the Alcorso family in 1995. But it’s only in recent years we’ve seen the wines consistently achieving outstanding quality under winemaker Connor van der Reest. Two new-release pinots demonstrate that quality. Praxis 2013 ($30), from the Matthias vineyard, Tamar … Continue reading Wine review – Moorilla, Brothers in Arms, Quara Estate, Port Phillip Estate, Xanadu and Mount Horrocks →

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 →

Capital Wines The Ambassador Tempranillo 2013 $25 Murrumbateman, Canberra District, NSW Though volumes remain small, the Spanish variety, tempranillo is perhaps the strongest contender to be Canberra’s second specialty red variety after shiraz. Outstanding examples from Mount Majura, Capital Wines and, from 2013, Quarry Hill, all hit the excitement button. At a recent masked tasting, … Continue reading Wine review – Capital Wines, Quarry Hill, Trinity Hill, Mount Monster, Bleasdale and Forester Estate →

Vin De Savoie Le Feu (Domaine Belluard) 2011 $57 The village of Ayze, 450 metres up in France’s Savoie region, is home to Domaine Bulluard’s 12-hectares of the gringet vine. Jancis Robinson writes just 22-hectares of the variety remain in Ayze, with Domain Belluard now the only commercial producer. Robinson quotes 19th century writing on … Continue reading Wine review – Domaine Belluard, Forester Estate and Mount Monster →