Mount Majura Shiraz 2011 $32 Mount Majura Vineyard, Canberra District, ACT No vintage is all good or all bad. Even Canberra’s cold, wet, disease-ravaged 2011 season produced highlights, including Mount Majura’s superb shiraz – a winner of one gold, one trophy and three silver medals. Sure, it shows the peppery character of the cool season. … Continue reading Wine review — Mount Majura, Grosset, Airlie Bank, Zeppelin, Holm Oak and Lanson →

Lanson Gold Label Brut Vintage Champagne 2002 $50–$61.90 Woolworths-owned Dan Murphys imports Lanson and before Christmas offered it for as little as $50 and as much as $61.90 a bottle. Silly me paid the higher price, but even then I rated it the best value real Champagne of the year. We enjoyed it in a … Continue reading Wine review — Lanson, Tim Adams and Jim Barry →

Chapel Hill Parson’s Nose McLaren Vale Shiraz 2012 $15–$20 Winemaker Michael Fragos says the mild 2011–12 growing season proved “ideal for maturation and facilitated even flavour and tannin ripening”. The wine reflects the quality of the season with its full body and juicy, ripe fruit flavours. Savoury, firm tannins permeate the vibrant, plummy fruit. They … Continue reading Wine review — Chapel Hill, El Figura and Dal Zotto →

The Winesmiths South Australia Chardonnay 2-litre cask $18.99 In July, Samuel Smith and Son, an arm of Robert Hill Smith’s Yalumba group, launched this new upmarket range of wine casks – pinot grigio, chardonnay, tempranillo and shiraz. The cask, made from a claimed 75 per cent recyclable goods and 13 per cent the carbon footprint … Continue reading Wine review — The Winesmiths, Mad Fish and Dopff au Moulin →

St Erth Geelong Pinot Noir 2011 $14.25–$15 The privately owned Ballande Group, based in New Caledonia, owns the Tisdall Winery, established in 1971 in Echuca, Victoria. The company exports under a number of labels and also owns the St Erth brand, which it sells exclusively to the Woolworths-owned Dan Murphy chain. A Geelong-based winemaker sources … Continue reading Wine review — St Erth, Mount Horrocks and De Bortoli Sacred Hill →

Tahbilk Nagambie Lakes Marsanne 2013 $12.99–$18 Tahbilk, the Purbrick family’s lovely old property on an anabranch of the Goulburn River, established marsanne long before Rhone Valley varieties became fashionable in Australia. Tahbilk marsanne drinks well and it takes on a golden, honeyed richness with age. The introduction of a screw cap from 2002, and a … Continue reading Wine review — Tahbilk, Shingleback and Zema Estate →

Tscharke Barossa Valley The Master Montepulciano 2011 $24 Barossa winemaker Damien Tscharke claims to be the first in Australia to establish the Italian red variety, montepulciano. Best known in Italy’s Abruzzo region, montepulciano makes large volumes of wine. At its best, it’s robust and fruity with rustic tannins that work well with food. Tscharke’s medium-bodied … Continue reading Wine review — Tscharke, Fareham Estate and Hereford →

Red Knot by Shingleback Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 $11.39–$15 That the discounters frequently trim the price of Red Knot is a sure sign of popularity. And popularity, in this instance, proves that Australia’s savvy palates know a bargain when they see one. This is a great example of modern Australian winemaking – starting with good fruit, … Continue reading Wine review — Red Knot, Chapel Hill and Coombe Farm →

Lerida Estate Shiraz Viognier $49.50 Lake George, Canberra District, NSW Lerida’s elegant, restrained 2010 shiraz viognier follows the more opulent highly acclaimed 2009 vintage. The two wines share a regional spiciness, medium body and fine, smooth texture. But in the 2010 an appealing black pepper character, an endearing element in many cool-grown shirazes, adds to … Continue reading Wine review — Lerida Estate, Clonakilla, Josef Chromy, d’Arenberg and Riddoch →

d’Arenberg Footbolt McLaren Vale Shiraz 2010 $18–$20 The wine bears the name of Footbolt, a racehorse whose success helped Joseph Osborn purchase d’Arenberg’s first vineyard in 1912. Osborn’s descendants, d’Arry and son, Chester, continue to run the business. The Footbolt remains one of Australia’s big-value wines. It offers robust McLaren Vale shiraz flavour and savouriness, … Continue reading Wine review — d’Arenberg, Riddoch and Grant Burge →