De Bortoli Windy Peak Sauvignon Blanc Semillon 2007 $11–$15 The press release says of the 2007 vintage, ‘The King Valley where De Bortoli has over 200ha of vineyards and where we source a lot of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon, was hardest hit reducing our crop of useable fruit to less than ten per cent’. The … Continue reading Wine review — De Bortoli, Stoneleigh, Kahurangi
Grape production figures for Victoria’s King Valley (stretching thirty kilometres northwards up the King River roughly from Milawa at 170 metres above sea level to the Whitlands plateau at 800 metres) reveal the tiny scale of some the most interesting wines in the valley – tiny plots of Italian varieties like sangiovese, nebbiolo and arneis. … Continue reading King Valley, Australia’s new Italia
As far north and as coastal as it is, the lower Hunter Valley ought to be too warm, too wet, too humid — and with Sydney so close — too expensive to make wine. But it’s done so for 170 years and is today probably more varied and more innovative than at any time in … Continue reading Hunter paradox
Holm Oak Vineyards Tasmania Riesling 2006 $20 Holm Oak is a seven-hectare vineyard at Rowella on the Tamar River, Northern Tasmania. Ian and Robyn Wilson own the vineyard but leased but lease it to their winemaker daughter, Rebecca and partner Stuart Catlin. They arrived in mid-2006 in time to launch this very fine aperitif-style riesling. … Continue reading Wine review — Holm Oak, Wyndham Estate & Coriole
The wooden barrel, one of the most enduring of all wine vessels, was used originally for storage and transportation some 2000 years ago. Its value today, though, lies in its ability to clarify, stabilise and add complex aromas and flavours to wine and set the scene for further flavour development in bottle. Until about the … Continue reading A barrel of fun — why winemakers use oak barrels
There’s a fascinating wine pilgrimage you can make driving to or from Melbourne: heading south on the Hume Highway, take the Kilmore exit, at Kilmore turn right towards Lancefield and at Lancefield follow the Woodend Road through to Newham, and then the signs to Hanging Rock Winery. Coming home from Melbourne, take the airport freeway … Continue reading Hanging Rock — bubbling along nicely
An absolutely delicious, fresh Tahbilk Nagambie Marsanne 2006 and a more serious 2005 vintage oak-fermented version from local producer Ravensworth really hit the spot over the Christmas break – the first for its uncomplicated freshness, the second for the fragrant and forceful way it expressed the variety. Both provide an interesting variation on the usual … Continue reading Marsanne carves its niche in Australia
A long, thoughtful email from a reader, Maureen Hickman, raised many interesting wine points including the role of additives in wine. Maureen wrote of a much-enjoyed tipple, “… looking at the label recently I was shocked to see that it contains ‘egg, milk and fish products’ along with sulphites. I wonder, is it really wine … Continue reading Waiter, there’s a fish in my wine
Bob Oatley, the bloke behind Rosemount Wines, recently hopped back into the wine saddle a little over a year after dismounting. And like anything Bob attempts, it’s a venture on a serious scale. If you don’t know Bob, think – or imagine — back to 1969. Australians had just begun to embrace table wine and … Continue reading Wild Oatley sows another crop
Tapanappa Whalebone Vineyard Wrattonbully Cabernet Shiraz 2004 and Tiers Vineyard Piccadilly Chardonnay 2005 about $75 Brian Croser’s new Tapanappa releases come from single vineyards in Wrattonbully and the Piccadilly Valley, South Australia. The red, a blend of seventy per cent cabernet sauvignon, twenty per cent shiraz and ten per cent cabernet franc, is highly perfumed, … Continue reading Wine review — Tapanappa, Shaw Vineyard Estate, Seppelt, Zema Estate & Carlei