Castro’s Ligador McLaren Vale Cabernet Malbec 2012 $20 With his new release Ben Riggs suggests a parallel between the blending arts of a cigar maker (ligador) and a winemaker. Both craftsmen, says Riggs make “the whole greater than the sum of its parts”. Riggs argues his case with this blend of cabernet sauvignon and malbec. … Continue reading Wine review – Castro’s Ligador and Xanadu →

Chatto Pinot Noir 2013 $50 Huon Valley, Tasmania Canberra-raised Jim Chatto now heads the winemaking team at McWilliams. On the journey to that position, Chatto fell in love with Tasmanian pinot noir while making wine there from 1998 to 2000. Though subsequently Hunter based, he established a small pinot noir vineyard in the Huon Valley … Continue reading Wine review – Chatto, Castro’s Ligador, Bleasdale, Stella Bella, Tapanappa and Mount Horrocks →

Hardys Chronicles Twice Lost Langhorne Creek Pinot Grigio 2014 $16 During the nineties our major companies, and some private investors, planted broad acres of vines at Langhorne Creek to feed the wine-export boom then underway. With ample water, a warm climate, tempered by nearby Lake Alexandrina, the area produced healthy yields of high quality fruit … Continue reading Wine review – Hardys, Tim Smith and Mount Horrocks →

Lark Hill Gruner Veltliner 2014 $45 Lark Hill Vineyard, Lake George Escarpment, Canberra District, NSW Even in the difficult 2014 season, Austrian variety gruner veltliner made an outstanding wine at Canberra’s highest vineyard. The Carpenter family call 2014 “one of the most challenging vintages to date”. Frost and unsettled spring weather disrupted flowering, reducing the … Continue reading Wine review – Lark Hill, Serafino, Madfish, Freeman, Mount Majura and Hardys →

John Duval Wines Entity Shiraz 2012 $40.85–$50 Krondorf, Greenock and Eden Valley, Barossa, South Australia Former Grange makers John Duval sources fruit for Entity from the Krondorf and Greenock sub-regions of the Barossa Valley and a portion from the elevated, cooler Eden Valley to the east. The combination yields a vibrant shiraz in the generous, … Continue reading Wine review – John Duval, Red Knot, Andrew Thomas, Ulithorne, Mount Majura and Lark Hill →

Wynns Coonawarra Estate V and A Lane Cabernet Shiraz 2012 $47.50–$60 Wynns V and A vineyard, Coonawarra, South Australia It’s a hard concept to convey (short of taking a mouthful), but wines can have enormous concentration of fruit flavour but remain medium bodied and graceful. This is the classic, but not always achieved, Coonawarra standard … Continue reading Wine review – Wynns, Mistletoe, Yering Station, De Bortoli, Brand’s Laira and Le Cirque Wine Co →

Mount Majura Vineyard Canberra District Shiraz 2012 $32 Mount Majura’s just released 2012 shiraz won gold medals in last year’s Canberra and Region Wine Show and the Winewise Small Vignerons Awards. It backed up this success with an ‘outstanding’ rating in the Winewise Championship 2014 – where three out of five judges rated it as … Continue reading Wine review – Mount Majura, Campbells and Stella Bella →

d’Arenberg d’Arry’s Original McLaren Vale Shiraz Grenache 2011 $18–$20 d’Arenbeg’s shiraz-grenache blend entered the Australian market decades ago as d’Arenberg “Burgundy”. But it switched to varietal labelling in 1993, at the same time honouring its creator, d’Arry Osborn. It was, and remains, a loveable, warm, generous red with considerable cellaring potential – a rare thing … Continue reading Wine review – d’Arenberg, Heartland and Tower Estate →

Dawson and James Chardonnay 2011 $48 Gerald Ellis’s Meadowbank vineyard, Derwent Valley, Tasmania Gerald Ellis grows great fruit. Peter Dawson and Tim James do their best not to muck it up. They write, “Ultimately we see the vineyard as the driver of quality and our winemaking approach is to support fruit quality through the avoidance … Continue reading Wine review – Dawson and James, Longview, Vasse Felix, De Bortoli, Matteo Corregia →

De Bortoli Semillon Sauvignon Blanc 2013 $4.75–$7 Drinkers of fine wine might now connect the De Bortoli family with their superb Yarra Valley products, particularly pinot noir and chardonnay. But the bulk of De Bortoli’s wine, like the Sacred Hill range, still comes from the NSW Riverina district. This blend plays on one of the … Continue reading Wine review – De Bortoli, Brothers in Arms and Eddystone Point →