Mada Murrumbateman Shiraz 2019 $40Edgar’s Inn’s blackboard offered Mada Hilltops Shiraz 2019. Yes please, we thought, pizza and local red. Delicious, mouth-watering wine. Medium bodied, floral, sweet fruited, spicey and savoury, with fine, silky tannins. Beautiful red, lighter, finer, less robust than we’d anticipated from Hilltops region in the hot 2019 vintage. Winemaker Hamish Young … Continue reading Wine review – Mada, Eden Road
Hardys Bastard Hill Yarra Valley Chardonnay 2013 Bastard Hill vineyard, Yarra Valley, Victoria $60 Formerly released under parent company Accolade Wines’ Yarra Burn label, this gorgeous chardonnay comes from a single block of the very cool Bastard Hill vineyard. “At something like 32 degrees it’s a hard hill to work on”, says winemaker Paul Lapsley … Continue reading Wine review – Hardys, Domain Day, Eden Road, Stella Bella, Moppity Vineyards, West Cape Howe
Ravensworth Nebbiolo 2014 Hilltops, NSW $35 As winemaker Bryan Martin and photographer David Reist launched their book, Tongue and Cheek, in March, guests quaffed Martin’s just-released 2014 nebbiolo. At its best, the Piedmontese variety makes lighter coloured, highly fragrant reds of great power and elegance, with firm tannins that outgrip even those of cabernet sauvignon. … Continue reading Wine review – Ravensworth, Clonakilla, Helm, Eden Road, Ross Hill and Brangayne
Eden Road The Long Road Tumbarumba Pinot Noir 2013 $30 Like Clonakilla and Ravensworth, Murrumbateman’s Eden Road winery sources fruit from high, cool Tumbarumba. Pinot noir for The Long Road, says winemaker Nick Spencer, comes from the Courabyra and Maragle vineyards. Restaurant 86, Braddon, offers it by the glass, so we paired it happily with … Continue reading Wine review – Eden Road, d’Arenberg and Mr Mick
This year’s Canberra International Riesling Challenge attracted 487 entries from eight countries – up from 426 entries from six countries in 2012. Despite increasing entry numbers, the challenge remains largely an Australian event. Our 371 wines comprised 76 per cent of the 2013 total. Second biggest exhibitor, the USA, fielded 35 wines, followed by New … Continue reading Clare and Eden dominate 2013 International Riesling Challenge
Eden Road Tumbarumba Chardonnay 2012 $40 Maragle and Courabyra vineyards, Tumbarumba, NSW Canberra’s Nick Spencer made three 2012 chardonnays from Tumbarumba – this blend from the Maragle and Courabyra vineyards, plus individual wines from each site. There’s a family style in their lean, tight, pure flavours; but differences, too, based on the altitude of the … Continue reading Wine review — Eden Road, Mount Horrocks, Tahbilk and Corte Carista
Cherubino Great Southern Riesling 2011 $35 Cherubino Pemberton Sauvignon Blanc 2011 $35 As a winemaker for BRL Hardy (at the time the biggest vineyard owner in Western Australia) Larry Cherubino developed an intimate knowledge of the state’s vineyards – a knowledge he now exploits with great aplomb in producing his own wines. His Great Southern … Continue reading Wine review — Cherubino, Eden Road and Zonte’s Footstep
Cherubino Sauvignon Blanc 2011 $35 Porongurup, Great Southern, Western Australia So many mediocre sauvignon blancs around. But occasionally a wine, usually from France’s Loire Valley, challenges that prejudice. The latest challenge comes from Larry Cherubino’s beautiful 2011 from Porongurup, a rocky knob, just north of Albany, Western Australia. This is a delicate, gentle, soft, subtle … Continue reading Wine review — Cherubino, Hewitson, Bollinger, Dal Zotto and Eden Road
Wallaroo Wines Canberra District Riesling 2009 $20 Wallaroo Vineyard, Hall, belongs to ABC Europe correspondent Philip Williams and family. It’s a near neighbour of Brindabella Hills Winery, where Roger Harris makes the wine. We happened on the 2009 at Taj Agra Indian Restaurant, Dickson, over Easter. What a great discovery – especially at $27, a … Continue reading Wine review — Wallaroo, Eden Road and Vasse Felix
Last week Chris Coffman’s Eden Road Wines took over Doonkuna Estate, one of Canberra’s oldest vineyards. The purchase lands Eden Road plum in Murrumbateman’s reputation-making shiraz and riesling belt – giving the vineyard perhaps its best hope in nearly forty years. Doonkuna’s history of hope, death and almost making it, began in 1972 when Wing … Continue reading Canberra’s Eden Road buys Doonkuna Estate