James Halliday: Australian wine companion 2013 edition Hardie Grant Books. RRP $34.95 (paperback) James Halliday: A life in wine Hardie Grant Books. RRP $45 (hardcover) This year’s review copy of Australian wine companion 2013 arrived with a bonus – James Halliday’s easy-reading autobiography, A life in wine. The companion’s just as the name suggests – … Continue reading Book review — Halliday wine companion and autobiography
Helm Botrytis Riesling 2012 $30 375ml – wine of the week Murrumbateman, NSW, Canberra District In 2012, for only the second time in 36 years, Canberra riesling specialist Ken Helm produced a botrytis-affected sticky. Winemaking mates in Germany helped Helm confirm the presence of botrytis cinerea, otherwise known as noble rot, in a 3.5 tonne … Continue reading Wine review — Helm, Printhie, Domain Day, Willow Creek and Tim Adams
Mountain Goat Organic Steam Ale 330ml $4.00 “Eat sleep drink Goat”, the label urges. And I’ll happily do the last bit, as it’s a delightful, fresh, bottle-conditioned beer. The colour’s a very pale lemon and the spiciness under the herbal hops aroma suggests wheat beer – an impression confirmed by the fine, white head and … Continue reading Beer and cider review — Mountain Goat and Rekorderlig
Cider consumption in Australia is growing at around 20 per cent a year. But it’s still small beer, so to speak, accounting for just two per cent of the total liquor market. Australian brands continue to dominate, with over 70 per cent of the market. But imports, too, continue to grow rapidly – and any decent … Continue reading Cider still small beer
Mount Horrocks Clare Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 $30–$38 In this beautiful, elegant cabernet, winemaker Stephanie Toole demonstrates the great finessing of Australian regional wine styles now underway. Clare Valley makes good cabernet. But more often than not in the past they’ve tended to be on the burly side. Nothing wrong with burly on a cold … Continue reading Wine review — Mount Horrocks, Heggies and Barwang
Stefano Lubiana Tasmania Estate Chardonnay 2010 $48–$50 The best chardonnays have a unique weight and beauty – full bodied but elegant and demanding ever another sip. They’re wines to savour slowly, like the contrasting Tyrrell’s Vat 47 1996 and Lubiana 2010 we compared at Chairman and Yip recently. The first a glorious old white, delivered … Continue reading Wine review — Stefano Lubiana and Grant Burge
Zeppelin Eden Valley Riesling 2010 $16–$20 Zeppelin wines are made by Barossa specialists Kym Teusner and Corey Ryan and distributed by McWilliams. Ryan made this wine and writes, “Sourced from a 25 year old, low yielding, dry grown vineyard. Hand picked and then whole bunch pressed with only the lowest yielding free run juice used”. … Continue reading Wine review — Zeppelin, Hewitson and Bleasdale
An old wine-drinking mate, Mike Bond, recently told me about a stash of glorious old rieslings on sale at Richmond Grove. The Barossa winery makes some of Australia’s finest rieslings – much loved at Chateau Shanahan as they’re comparatively cheap and drink beautifully for many years. We’re currently enjoying Richmond Grove Watervale rieslings 1999 and … Continue reading Richmond Grove sells historic riesling
Zeppelin Shiraz 2010 $16–$20 Angaston foothills, Barossa Valley, South Australia Winemaker Kym Teusner established Teusner Wines in 2001, sourcing grapes from very old, low-yielding grenache vines threatened by low grape prices. Teusner succeeded, proving the vines to be commercially viable. In the ensuing decade Teusner expanded the range of Barossa vineyards he sourced from, selling … Continue reading Wine review — Zeppelin, Penfolds, Jim Barry and Annie’s Lane
Collector Reserve Shiraz 2011 $58 Kyeema and Fischer vineyards Murrumbateman, Canberra District, New South Wales The first 2011 Canberra shiraz to hit the tasting bench sets the bar very, very high indeed. Showing the cool season, it’s a lean, elegant style, backed by intense, pepper and red-berry varietal flavours and succulent tannin. Decanted, splashed and … Continue reading Wine review — Collector, Peter Lehmann, Punt Road, Kangarilla Road and Red Knot by Shingleback