Wynns Coonawarra Estate Black Label Shiraz 2013 Coonawarra, South Australia $33–$44 Wynns’ top-end reds, due for release on 5 August, include this outstanding vintage of Black Label Shiraz. A relative newcomer to Wynns’ line-up, Black Label is the shiraz equivalent, in price and quality, to the legendary Black Label Cabernet Sauvignon, made continuously since 1954. … Continue reading Wine review – Wynns Coonawarra Estate, Farr, Pizzini, Keller, Smith and Hooper, and Yalumba →

Wynns Coonawarra Estate Black Label Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 $25–$30 At this year’s Wynnsday tasting in Coonawarra, good old Black Label cemented its claim as one of the best value-for money-wines in Australia – perhaps even the best. This is irresistibly deep, sweet, rich cabernet with an elegance, finesse and harmony far beyond what the modest … Continue reading Wine review – Wynns Coonawarra Estate, Helm and Brookland Valley →

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 →

Wynns Coonawarra Estate V and A Lane Shiraz 2012$ 48–$60 V and Lane vineyard, Coonawarra, South Australia Coonawarra appears flat and homogenous – a sea of vines hugging the north–south Riddoch Highway for many kilometres. But ripening times vary widely. At about the half-way mark, V and A Lane intersects the highway, marking what was … Continue reading Wine review – Wynns, Le Cirque Wine Co, West Cape Howe, Toolangi, and Larry Cherubino →

Wynns Coonawarra Estate Alex 88 Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 $80 Alexander’s Block, Coonawarra, South Australia Wynns decade-long makeover of its grape growing and winemaking under winemaker Sue Hodder and viticulturist Allen Jenkins, lifted the quality of the company’s wines to probably the highest level since it began in the early 1950s. Managing vineyards in small blocks, … Continue reading Wine review – Wynns, Jim Barry, Stella Bella and Larry Cherubino →

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 →

Neudorf Tom’s Block Pinot Noir 2011 $31–$39 Moutere, Kina Beach and Lord Rutherford vineyards, Nelson, New Zealand Driving through Nelson in summer, tall stands of hops stand out before the neat rows of vine come into focus. In this lovely, sunny-but-cool spot on the south island’s north-western edge, Tim and Judy Finn make beautifully elegant … Continue reading Wine review — Neudorf, Port Phillip Estate, Wynns Coonawarra Estate, Maxwell and Clonakilla →