Tapanappa Tiers Vineyard Piccadilly Valley Chardonnay 2010 $80 Tapanappa Foggy Hill Vineyard Fleurieu Peninsula Pinot Noir 2010 $50 In 2001 Lion Nathan acquired Petaluma (founded in 1976 by Brian Croser). But Croser retained control of the Tiers vineyard, a key source of Petaluma chardonnay. The wine lives on under the Tapanappa label, a joint venture … Continue reading Wine review — Tapanappa, Lowe and Gipsie Jack
Kilikanoon Watervale Mort’s Block Riesling 2012 $19.95–$22 Kilikanoon owns about 500 hectares of vines in South Australia, including the six-hectare Mort’s block at Watervale, southern Clare Valley. Mort Mitchell, father of Kilikanoon winemaker Kevin Mitchell, planted the block about 40 years ago. The old low-yielding vines are hand pruned and the fruit hand harvested. Even … Continue reading Wine review — Kilikanoon, Wicks Estate and Lake Breeze
Penfolds Yattarna Chardonnay $130 Derwent Valley, Tasmania, Henty, Victoria, and the Adelaide Hills, South Australia Penfolds releases Yattarna alongside Grange and its other top-end reds. However, Grange, and the accompanying retail price war, invariably upstage Yattarna. It’s a beautiful chardonnay, driven by the intense flavour and elegant structure of fruit from some of our coolest … Continue reading Wine review — Penfolds, Wicks Estate, Chalmers, Shaw & Smith and Zonte’s Footstep
I tasted Penfolds’ blue-chip reds ahead of the 3 May release date – missing the “mine’s smaller than yours” retail price scrum invariably accompanying the release. Therefore, by the time you read this, prices at major retail outlets will likely have tumbled below the recommended prices I give below. Yet again under winemaker Peter Gago, … Continue reading Penfolds releases Grange, St Henri, Magill Estate, RWT, Bin 707 and Bin 169
YarraLoch Stephanie’s Dream Pinot Noir 2010 $50 Coldstream, Yarra Valley, Victoria Stephen Wood owns the YarraLoch brand and vineyards and wine is made under contract by David Bicknell. In 2010 the pinot’s an absolute stunner with its brilliant, medium hue, delicious perfume and thrilling, deeply layered palate. It’s produced from two clones of low-yielding pinot, … Continue reading Wine review — YarraLoch, De Bortoli, Church Road, Tim Adams, Punt Road and Chalmers
Xanadu Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 $29.45–$35 Xanadu Vineyard, Boodjidup Valley, Margaret River, Western Australia The Lagan family planted Xanadu in 1977 and under Rathbone family ownership since 2005 makes beautiful cabernet sauvignons. Winemaker Glenn Goodall attributes the 2009’s near-perfect varietal flavour, ripe tannins and elegant structure to “amazing Indian summer conditions”. A blend of 88 per … Continue reading Wine review — Xanadu, Richmond Grove, d’Arenberg, House of Arras, Stefano Lubiana and Heartland
As I write in the opening days of autumn, a potentially great Canberra vintage hangs in the balance – threatened by a massive band of rain moving across southeastern Australia. If it hangs around too long, mildew and botrytis could threaten the crop; if too much rain falls, berries might split, increasing disease risks and … Continue reading Canberra 2012 – vintage of a lifetime, or a washout?
Gallagher Duet Pinot Noir Chardonnay Brut $25 It takes years, perhaps decades of experience to make bubbly as good as this – exactly what Greg Gallagher acquired at Taltarni before setting up on his own in Canberra. He sources the chardonnay from his own vineyard at Dog Trap Road, Murrumbateman, and the pinot noir from … Continue reading Wine review — Gallagher, Pizzini and Rymill
These days Canberra and shiraz is a no-brainer for aspiring vignerons. It’s our most successful grape variety thanks, initially, to Clonakilla, but now thoroughly bedded down across the district. But when Greg and Libby Gallagher planted shiraz at Murrumbateman in 1995, Canberra’s reputation for fine wine was a fraction of what it is now – … Continue reading Gallagher marks ten years of Canberra shiraz
Capital Wines Reserve Shiraz 2010 $52 Kyeema vineyard, Murrumbateman, Canberra District, New South Wales Capital Wines is about to release its Frontbencher Shiraz 2010 ($25) – with today’s wine of the week to follow in March. The former is simply delicious – a fine-boned, spicy shiraz to enjoy now, and, to me, the best yet … Continue reading Wine review — Capital Wines, De Bortoli, Hungerford Hill, Riposte and Mud House