The truffle book (Gareth Renowden, Limestone Hills Publishing, New Zealand, 2005) says that this expensive little black tuber turns off perhaps as many people as it turns on. But whether we like it or not, the truffle’s extraordinary, penetrating aroma can’t be ignored. It gets up our nose and stays there a long time. Indeed, … Continue reading Wine and truffle — have fun, be adventurous
For all the international success of Australian wine (we exported $2.46 billion worth in the year to January 2009, 17% less than in the year to January 2008), our export markets know little of the diverse regional wine styles flowing from our 112 official ‘geographic indications’ (GIs). Our export success to date rests primarily on … Continue reading Taking our wine names to the world
Printhie Orange Chardonnay 2008 $15–$17 Peppertree Venus Block Orange Chardonnay 2008 $24–$26 Penfolds Bin 311 Tumbarumba Chardonnay 2008 $35–$43 These wines present three different faces of local, cool-grown chardonnay. Printhie, from the cool heights of Mount Canobolas, Orange, expresses the zesty, fresh and delicious citrus flavours of the variety unadorned by winemaking tricks. The Penfolds … Continue reading Wine review — Printhie, Peppertree, Penfolds, Seppeltsfield and Brokenwood
Ask any retailer and they’ll tell you Hunter shiraz is a hard sell. In the past it’s been described as tasting of sweaty saddles, old boots and even a gypsy’s nether regions. Like its white cellar mate, semillon, Hunter shiraz remains an intensely loved, niche wine style with tremendous ageing ability. The best are profound … Continue reading A yummy Hunter shiraz tasting
Glandore Hunter Valley Shiraz 2007 $20–25 Today’s wines are the first I’ve seen from Glandore Wines, established in 2004 on the site of the former Rothbury Estate Brokenback vineyard, Pokolbin. It’s a new company but there’s a distinguished provenance to the shiraz. Winemaker Duane Roy says it’s from a block of vines, planted in 1967, … Continue reading Wine review — Glandore, Mitchell and Mount Horrocks
Mitchell’s of Clare have made extraordinarily good wines consistently since 1975, when Jane and Andrew Mitchell kicked off the venture. I first tasted the wines in the late seventies and have enjoyed them every year since – on the tasting bench, with meals and on all-too-rare visits to the winery. It’s a sustained and impressive … Continue reading Mitchell — a great Clare Estate
Tar & Roses Heathcote Tempranillo 2007 $24 Tar & Rose Priorat D.O. (Spain) Miro 2006 $49 Don Lewis (former Mitchelton winemaker) and Narelle King (a protégé of Don’s) make the Tar & Roses wines here and in Spain. Tempranillo (a Spanish variety) seems well suited to Victoria’s Heathcote region and shows real class in this … Continue reading Wine review — Tar & Roses and McKellar Ridge
Wicks Estate Adelaide Hills Riesling 2008 $15 Heemskerk Coal River Valley Riesling 2008 $40 Here are two contrasting and lovely rieslings from the 2008 vintage. The Wicks Estate Wine is not as austere as you’d expect from the cool Adelaide Hills. It’s invitingly aromatic, in riesling’s citrus-like way, with a soft, deliciously fruity and very … Continue reading Wine review — Wicks Estate, Heemskerk, Cape Mentelle and d’Arenberg
Sauvignon Blanc. Kath and Kym call it sauvignon plonk. Others call it cat’s pee. Over a glass or two, someone commented that it tasted like it’d been drunk before. The late Len Evans listed it with goat’s cheese among his pet hates. And England’s wine luminary, Jancis Robinson, once wrote that its ranking amongst the … Continue reading Sauvignon blanc overtakes chardonnay
Predictions are generally wrong, sometimes dramatically so, as 2008 proved for the wine industry. An expected end to the wine glut was stymied by two unrelated forces – a bumper grape crop and a dramatic decline in exports. The bumper crop caught the industry by surprise, prompting a press release from the Winemakers Federation of … Continue reading 2008 a memorable wine year for Australia