Ross Hill Pinnacle Cabernet Sauvignon 2013 Ross Hill Griffin Road vineyard, Orange, NSW $40 From 1994, the Robson family planted their Griffin Road, Orange, vineyard at elevations varying from 750 to 850 metres. In 2008, the family added another five hectares at 1018 metres, near their Wallace Road winery. In the benign 2013 vintage, five … Continue reading Wine review – Ross Hill, Chrismont, Tolpuddle, Forester Estate, Torbreck and Mad Fish →

Brangayne of Orange Riesling 2014 $22 The Hoskins family owns two vineyards at Orange: the Brangayne vineyard (elevation 960 to 1,000 metres); and the slightly less cool Ynys Witrin vineyard (860 to 880 metres). Riesling, from the lower site, was harvested in the cool of a late March night and trucked about 200 kilometres north-east … Continue reading Wine review – Brangayne, Clonakilla and Tim Adams →

Pipers Brook Riesling 2014 $34 Pipers Brook vineyard, Tasmania Tasmania may well become Australia’s premier riesling-growing region, upstaging the variety’s traditional heartland of the Clare and Eden Valleys, South Australia. OK, let’s include comparative newcomers, Canberra District and Great Southern, Western Australia, too. For Tasmania, the question remains whether the whole island gets in on … Continue reading Wine review – Pipers Brook, Bremerton, Golden Ball, Mount Horrocks, Cross Stitch and Mad Fish →

Blue Pyrenees Shiraz 2012 $14.95–$18 Blue Pyrenees vineyard, Pyrenees, Victoria Every so often a wine comes along that runs off the value-for-money scale. The latest, Blue Pyrenees Shiraz 2012, provided camp-fired comfort during a wintery outdoor party. The bottle sat unloved on the bar, ignored as other reds came and went. What turned people off; … Continue reading Wine review – Blue Pyrenees, Jacob’s Creek, Mount Pleasant Elizabeth, Red Knot, Wolf Blass and Moppity Vineyards Lock and Key →

Bowen Estate Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon 2013 $28.49–$35 Doug Bowen tends the vines and daughter Emma makes the wines. The much-loved, distinctive reds sit at the burly end of Coonawarra’s generally elegant style. In the warm 2013 vintage, that means an inky deep, ripe expression of cabernet. Remarkably, despite the wine’s power and richness, it retains … Continue reading Wine review – Bowen Estate, Zeppelin and Heartland →

Ross Hill Pinnacle Series Shiraz 2013 Ross Hill Griffin Road vineyard, Orange, NSW $40 A year ago, as the 2014 bubbled along in its small, open fermenter, winemaker Phil Kerney drew samples of the 2013 from the French oak barriques they were resting in. A year on, and in bottle, the wine blended from all … Continue reading Wine review – Ross Hill, Peter Lehmann, El Toro Macho, Howard Park, Lark Hill and Penfolds →

Sevenhill Cellars Inigo Riesling 2014 $18.80–$20 Sevenhill Cellars vineyards, Clare Valley, South Australia In 1851 the Society of Jesus established Sevenhill Cellars, the Clare Valley’s first winery. The Jesuits still run Sevenhill from magnificent stone cellars where they make amazingly concentrated wines from their own extensive vineyards. Inigo – the cheaper of their two rieslings … Continue reading Wine review – Sevenhill, Bowen Estate, Yalumba, Penfolds, d’Arenberg and Sassafras →

Penfolds Bin 150 Marananga Shiraz 2012 $71.30–$80 Marananga, Barossa Valley, South Australia Penfolds’ largely undiscovered Bin 150 demonstrates the power of shiraz grown in Marananga – a Barossa sub-region long favoured by Penfolds’ red wine makers and sometimes referred to as “Grange country”. The fifth vintage of Bin 150, from the mild 2012 season, combines … Continue reading Wine review – Penfolds, Andrew Thomas Wines, Tyrrell’s and Sapling Yard →

Yalumba The Octavius Barossa Old Vine Shiraz 2009 $85–$112 Barossa and Eden Valleys, South Australia Yalumba made its first Octavius in the outstanding 1990 vintage. Named for and matured in 100-litre oak octaves, coopered at Yalumba, it quickly earned the sobriquet “oaktavius”. However, Yalumba’s winemakers soon adapted to the high oak-to-wine ratio inherent in using … Continue reading Wine review – Yalumba, Brown Brothers, Lark Hill, Brokenwood, AC Byrne and Second Left →

Capital Wines Gundaroo Vineyard Riesling 2014 $28 Gundaroo, Canberra District, NSW In 1998, Mark and Jennie Moonie planted Geisenheim clones of riesling on a north-facing, protected slope at Gundaroo. They sold the vineyard to Ruth and Steve Lambert in 2004. But in 2013, by now the owners of Capital Wines, they bought grapes from the … Continue reading Wine review – Capital Wines, Eddystone Point, Moores Hill, Grant Burge and Bleasdale →