Man O’ War Dreadnought Syrah 2009 $45–$50 Eastern Waiheke Island, New Zealand Waiheke Island, to the east of Auckland, lies at about the same latitude as Bendigo, Victoria, and Naracoorte (just north of Coonawarra), South Australia. The three regions, though, produce starkly different cool-climate shiraz styles – probably driven by significant climate variances. The flavour … Continue reading Wine review — Man ‘O War, Jip Jip Rocks, PHI, Seville Estate, Yalumba and Jeir Creek →

Paxton Quandong Farm Shiraz 2010 $21–$30 Quandong Farm, McLaren Vale, South Australia David Paxton’s biodynamic management of Quandong Farm, located in McLaren Vale’s Seaview Road, focuses on “soil health, bio-diversity and non-chemical weed control”, he writes. All of which he directs at producing excellent grapes – with the flavours displayed in this beautiful shiraz. It … Continue reading Wine review — Paxton, Toolangi, Pikes, Yealands Way, Port Phillip Estate and Yalumba →

Coriole Sangiovese 2010 $19–$25 McLaren Vale, South Australia Mark Lloyd established sangiovese at Coriole in 1985. Over the years the style evolved as Lloyd learned how to manage this native Italian variety. It now appears very comfortable in its skin – a medium bodied red with a core of sweet fruit pulsing under the variety’s … Continue reading Wine review – Coriole, Howard Park, Tapanappa, Domaine A and Yalumba →

Taltarni Shiraz 2008 $30–$39 Heathcote, Victoria We put this in an office tasting alongside several far more expensive reds, and for me it was the wine to come back to for a couple of glasses – each one as interesting as the first sip. Heathcote reds can be a bit heavy, alcoholic and over the … Continue reading Wine review — Taltarni, Yalumba, Shaw and Smith, Ballabourneen, Best’s and Grosset →

Handpicked Eduardo Jordan Selection Maipo Valley Carmenere 2008 Until a French vine expert identified it in 1994, Chile’s vignerons remained unaware that many of their vines, misnamed as merlot since the mid 19th century, were in fact carmenere – a variety that disappeared from Bordeaux after the phylloxera infestation. Chile now has a near monopoly … Continue reading Wine review — Handpicked, Clonakilla and Yalumba →

Jacob’s Creek Reserve Chardonnay 2008 $10.90–$17.99 Adelaide Hills, South Australia Reflecting the growing trend to regional marketing, Jacob’s Creek, part of French-owned Pernod-Ricard, recently moved to regional labelling on its reserve range. The range was originally launched in 2000 as multi-region blends. They’ve always hit the sweet spot for quality and value – especially during … Continue reading Wine review — Jacob’s Creek, Yalumba, Picardy, Coriole, Wynns and Robert Stein →

Draytons Vineyard Reserve Pokolbin Shiraz 2007 $30 This is one of those beautiful old school Hunter reds – medium bodied, gentle, supple and soft but savoury and earthy, too. It’s sourced from two old Drayton family vineyards at Pokolbin, a sub-district of the Hunter Valley – the 40-year old Bull Paddock Block and 110-year-plus Old … Continue reading Wine review — Draytons, Yalumba and Running With Bulls →

Yalumba South Australia Riesling 2007 $10-$12 Henschke Eden Valley Julius Riesling 2007 $27 Green’s Hill Lenswood Riesling 2007 Peggy’s Hill Eden Valley Riesling 2007 $20 This week’s recommendations are all rieslings from the outstanding 2007 vintage, selected at a tasting a few weeks back. The Yalumba wine, a Barossa-Eden Valley blend, and value champ of … Continue reading Wine review — Yalumba, Henschke, Petaluma, Mitchell, Grosset & Mount Horrocks →

Yalumba Wrattonbully Vineyards Marsanne Viognier 2006 $18.55 What a scrumptious drop – oozing with vibrant rich viognier, tempered somewhat by the more restrained marsanne, and with the silk-smooth texture that comes from barrel fermentation and ageing. It’s one of several outstanding new releases from Yalumba: Mawson’s Hill Block 3 Wrattonbully Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 and Bridge … Continue reading Wine review — Yalumba Wrattonbully, Paxton & Oakvale →

Yalumba Y Series Pinot Grigio 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 $11.95; Galway Vintage Shiraz 2005 $13.95 Yalumba’s on a roll with these mid-priced wines. They offer outstanding value and will almost certainly be discounted below the recommended prices given above. Pinot Grigio is a strong, distinctive expression of the variety with pear-like flavour, crispness and rich … Continue reading Wine review — Yalumba, Thomas & Chrismont →