Pikes Clare Valley ‘The Red Mullet’ 2006 $13–16 ‘Luccio’ 2006 $15–18 ‘Eastside’ Shiraz 2006 $22–27 These three reds from Pikes in the Clare Valley offer a wide spectrum of flavours. The lighter-bodied, fine, savoury and taut ‘Luccio’, a blend of sangiovese, merlot and cabernet, is the one to enjoy with roast meets and savoury dishes. … Continue reading Wine review — Pikes, Moppity Vineyards & Richmond Grove
We recently lined up a dozen top-shelf Aussie reds in a Chateau Shanahan masked tasting. There were just two of us at the bench – forming our judgments without discussion, then, at the end of each bracket comparing our impressions, and later unmasking the bottles. In the few days following the sip-and-spit tasting, we consumed … Continue reading Sipping from the top shelf — Aussie wines that came our way
No vintage is all good or all bad. And it seems that 2008 was a mix of both extremes – from tales of woe and withered fruit in South Australia’s March heatwave to delight at a riesling vintage that may measure up to the legendary 2002. While water shortages continued to plague growers along the … Continue reading Australia 2008 — vintage vignettes
The Cooper Coffman Wine Co leased the Kamberra winery at Watson shortly before vintage this year. By mid April, winemaker Martin Cooper and his young cellar team, mainly Kiwis, had crushed 2,800 tonnes of grapes – equivalent to about 210 thousand dozen bottles of wine. They’re by far the biggest producer in Canberra and almost … Continue reading Cooper Coffman’s first Canberra vintage a bumper
Wolf Blass Grey Label McLaren Vale Shiraz 2006 $30–$40 Wolf Blass Grey Label Langhorne Creek Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 $30–$40 They’re not quite peas from the same pod, but there’s a strong family resemblance across the new-release Wolf Blass reds. They’ve a pure, rich fruit flavour and a juicy, silky texture and softness that contrasts, for … Continue reading Wine review — Wolf Blass Grey, Black and Platinum labels
As we move towards vintage 2008 Australia’s wine industry is in dramatically different shape than it was last year. In spring 2006 as vines budded for the 2007 vintage, I was in the Barossa and Langhorne Creek hearing daily of cancelled grape contracts as large winemakers, with storage tanks full, anticipated a third consecutive bumper … Continue reading Snapshot of the Aussie wine industry
The wine regions that stick in our minds are those with a specialty. Think of the Barossa and shiraz, Clare Valley and riesling, Coonawarra and cabernet sauvignon, Marlborough and sauvignon blanc, Burgundy and pinot noir and chardonnay or Champagne with its incomparable pinot-chardonnay bubbly blends. The list is long. But when I judged at the … Continue reading Mudgee wine — whatever it is, Bob Oatley’s taking it to the world
Temple Bruer Langhorne Creek Shiraz Malbec 2005 $17.50 & Preservative Free Cabernet Merlot 2007 $20 Langhorne Creek has been called Australia’s middle-palate, thanks to its broadacre plantings and high-quality fruit that disappears anonymously into commercial blends. But several small operators, like David Bruer’s 27-hectare, organically certified Temple Bruer vineyard, offer regionally labelled products. David delivers … Continue reading Wine review — Temple Bruer, Backvintage & Jones Road
To wine boffins the names Chambertin, Corton-Charlemagne, and Montrachet conjure images of wonderful, though breathtakingly expensive, wines. Stripped of mystique, they are simply names of time-proven vineyards now firmly protected by French law and embedded in wine lore. Not just the names, but the prices paid by generation after generation of wine drinker, show that … Continue reading Site really matters — it’s the vocabulary of fine wine
Heggies Vineyard Eden Valley Chardonnay 2006 $24.95 Pooles Rock Hunter Valley Chardonnay 2005 $29.99 Unlike riesling, which is usually a pure expression of the variety, most top-end chardonnays come gilded with winemaker artefacts: principally the aromas, flavours and textures derived from fermentation and maturation in oak barrels. In the best wines these add-ons meld beautifully … Continue reading Wine review — Heggies, Pooles Rock, Stefano Lubiano & Eileen Hardy