Ravensworth Riesling 2013 $20 Murrumbateman, Canberra District, NSW Bryan and Jocelyn Martin’s 2013 riesling swept all competitors aside at the recent Canberra and region show. It won the top gold medal in the 2013 riesling class, then cleaned up in the taste offs, winning trophies as the show’s best riesling, best white wine and best … Continue reading Wine review – Ravensworth, Forbes and Forbes, Majella, Printhie, West Cape Howe and Wynns Coonawarra Estate →

Four Winds Vineyard Riesling 2013 $22 Murrumbateman, Canberra District, NSW Rieslings from Four Winds vineyard have won wine-show awards, including gold medals, in the past – under the Four Winds label and for other winemakers sourcing fruit from the vineyard. But Sarah Collingwood says the thrill went up a notch when the 2013 vintage won … Continue reading Wine review — Four Winds Vineyard, Curly Flat, Goat Square, Terrazes de los Andes, Innocent Bystander and Wynns Coonawarra Estate →

Wolf Blass Grey Label Shiraz 2011 $28.85–$35 McLaren Vale, South Australia Wolf Blass chief winemaker Chris Hatcher rates McLaren Vale shiraz as South Australia’s best in the cold, wet 2011 vintage. Blass Grey Label 2011 is classic McLaren Vale in style – densely coloured and crimson rimmed with deep, ripe fruit flavours cut through with … Continue reading Wine review — Wolf Blass, Domain Day, Cullen and Stonier →

Wolf Blass Gold Label Eden Valley Riesling 2012 $14.55–$25 Wolf Blass’s new release continues the run of brilliant rieslings from the great 2012 vintage. Once a blend of fruit from the Clare and Eden Valleys, the wine is from now on to be all Eden Valley as “that’s closer to our roots”, says winemaker Chris … Continue reading Wine review — Wolf Blass, Seppeltsfield and Tyrrell’s →

Tim Smith Wines Mataro 2012 $36 Greenock and Light Pass, Barossa Valley, South Australia Tim Smith made wine at Yalumba for 15 years, but now produces his own delicious reds, like this one, discovered at Tanunda’s exciting FermentAsian restaurant. Smith says he loves mataro (aka mourvedre) and sees good cellaring potential in the variety, thanks … Continue reading Wine review — Tim Smith Wines, Dr Loosen, John Duval, Domain Day, Ashton Hills and Redbank →

Seppeltsfield Eden Valley Riesling 2012 $19.80–$22 After a couple of changes of ownership in recent years, Barossa’s historic Seppeltsfield belongs to four investors, led by winemaker and managing director, Warren Randall. Under an arrangement with former owner, Foster’s (now Treasury Wine Estates), Randall’s group can sell Seppeltsfield table wines only through the cellar door and … Continue reading Wine review — Seppeltsfield, Wicks Estate and Tscharke →

Main Ridge Estate Chardonnay 2011 $55 Main Ridge vineyard, Mornington Peninsula, Victoria In a tasting of top-shelf chardonnays from the cold 2011 vintage, Main Ridge stood out from its bonier peers. The shift to leaner, tighter chardonnays in Australia has been overall a good thing, though some wines do seem a little too skinny, especially … Continue reading Wine review — Main Ridge, Prancing Horse Estate, Oliver’s Taranga, Paxton, Seppeltsfield and Langmeil →

Seppelt Jaluka Chardonnay 2011 $23.75–$27 Drumborg vineyard, Henty, Victoria The Drumborg vineyard, planted by Karl Seppelt in1964, lies a little to the north of Portland on Victoria’s southwest coast. The cool, maritime climate presented huge viticultural challenges in the early days. But over the decades its managers coaxed ever better fruit from the site, culminating … Continue reading Wine review — Seppelt, Henschke, Freeman, Maxwell and Ravensworth →