Blog
Eva Fricke 2022 – ageless & peerless
First, a little history After the defeat of Germany in May 1945, one of the curious sights amongst the ruin and rubble were people chipping away at Stucco. En-stucking, was the practice of removing a buildings outer layer of decorative stucco. Usually full of flourish...
Sublime South African Chenin Blanc
If there is one varietal South Africa is known for, it is Chenin Blanc. With almost 20% of plantings, it is South Africa's most widely planted variety. Revered and respected Known colloquially as Steen, Chenin is to be found all over the Western Cape, adapting...
Mayford Wines – Quality & Value, Alpine Valley
Tempranillo often plays second fiddle, third or fourth for wine lovers and growers alike, so it is a delightful surprise to discover an Australian producer focusing on the Holy Grail that is Tempranillo and, as it turns out, crafting the country's finest example -...
Traviarti New Release – Nebbiolo & Chardonnay
Always one of our favourite releases of Australian wine, Traviarti has established itself as one of the country's foremost Nebbiolo producers. Tiny vineyards alas sell through their wine quickly but here there are two wines from 2023, Chardonnay and the Rosso (93%...
Alheit Vineyards – Diamonds in the Rough
Alheit: "We practice simple and careful winemaking: no yeasts, no enzymes, no acidification, no sulphur before ferment, no blocking malo, no new barrels, no fining etc. No manipulation." I have come to love the idea that pure, fine wine can be harvested in the most...
Authentic Italian Remembrances Past
How often have I heard it said that wine tastes better in Italy or France, and drinking it here in Australia, just isn't quite the same. It's true of course, how could it possibly taste the same, or as good, sipping it as you are, in a snatched moment of relaxation,...
J&S Fielke – the magic in the glass
The Adelaide Hills it seems is a great incubator for young couples creating their own wine journeys. A region that was once defined by classicism, until a new wave of avante garde and contemporary wine producers, innovated and transformed the Australian vinous...
Apogee – Australia’s Grower Sparkling
Many of Tasmania's sparkling wines are crafted from bought grapes and made by a contract winemaker. Whilst there is nothing wrong with this, what with the cost of purchasing land and establishing a vineyard, it doesn't ooze the magic of a farmer growing, fizzing and...
Larmandier-Bernier Spring 2023 Releases
One of the most significant trends of Champagne in the last 20 years is the increasing prevalence of little or no dosage. Dosage is sugar added to the final blend, to balance out Champagne's naturally high acidity. Many growers began lowering their levels of dosage,...
Scions of Sinai – not to be taken for granted
Hmmm, syrah grown on granite. Bernhard Bredell became sick of seeing ancient bush vines simply grubbed up, as farmers didn't have the markets or the ability to harvest and vinify the grapes. Scions of Sinai is based on Sinai Hill in lower Heldeberg, Stellenbosch....
Juxtaposed New Release – perfect wine joy!
There are plenty of producers crafting good wines from excellent, well known fruit sources in McLaren Vale. It is, in a sense, crowded. But a crowd brings competition and competition, for the patient wine lover, gifts beautiful, authentic wines that most of us can...
A Rodda 2023 Spring Releases – The Gods are Smiling
If it's a lucky vintage, the weather gods will shine brightly to yield up the full compliment of Adrian Rodda's wines. Something almost always goes wrong, preventing the creation of some of Australia's finest chardonnays and Bordeaux blends. But for the time being, we...
Gilbert Family Wines – something we can all agree on
Gilbert Family Wines is a true rarity - an affordable, high quality wine producer who absolutely knocks the value stakes out of the park and gets excellent reviews from various wine journalists. For once, we are in agreement! Six generations of Gilberts have been in...
Bannockburn Single Vineyard Release 2022
I was lucky enough to receive an invitation to taste the 2022 release of Bannockburn single vineyard Chardonnay and Pinot Noirs, including back vintages all the way to 1995. Very few Australian producers of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay could boast that far back and...
Mac Forbes – When the Facts Change…
I have tasted the wines of Mac Forbes a number of times over the years, and was never entirely convinced. Bursting onto the wine scene in 2004 after stints at Mount Mary and Southcorp, he was and is a pivotal producer showcasing an alternative expression of the Yarra...
Patrick Sullivan – Old Masters for A Young Country
Every winemaker has an ambition to express the complex notion of vineyard and vintage. But how best to do this? Patrick Sullivan works with chardonnay and pinot noir across various sites in Victoria. Both varieties have the advantage of producing stunning wines from...
Gentle Folk – Beautiful, soulful wines
From three barrels in 2012, marine scientists Gareth and Rainbo Belton have grown to 8 hectares, five staff and between 6 and 7 thousand cases of wines. All vineyards are farmed organically and biodynamically with absolutely no additions in the cellar, save for small...
Bindi – a first amongst equals in Macedon
It's been too long, about four years, since I had the opportunity to taste the wines of Bindi, so when invited to a trade tasting that included this wonderful producer I jumped at the chance. From the very first sniff, Bindi once again confirmed its status as a first...
Mercer Wines – rich and sumptuous
It is every Hunter Valley wine lover's labour and curse to preach of its glories and delights. Whenever I happen to write of the Hunter Valley, I find it impossible not to mention the indifference of most Australian wine drinkers. Ah well, let's keep on keeping on....
Bicknell FC – Fresh, intense and vivid
Bicknell FC is the label of Nicky Harris and David Bicknell, chief winemaker at Oakridge. David Bicknell is one of Australia's greatest winemakers and we have had many a superb cellared bottle contest between Oakridge and Bicknell FC. All the fruit is from a close...
Crawford River – Poise and power
Henty must be a pretty tough place to live, let alone grow grapes. Its isolated location and freezing temperatures mean there are just two wine producers that define it - Crawford River and Hochkirch. Both producers are definitive of the grapes they grow and the...
Thibaud Boudignon – defining Savennieres
Much of the literature surrounding Thibaud Boudignon begins with phrases like "bright new star", "most exciting", or "young star" and so on. I'm not sure what a man needs to do to be the star, or how many vintages one needs to work, or wines made to become part of...
Agricola Vintners – savoury and ripe Barossa
Agricola Vintners' shiraz's begin in their vineyards, which are some of the grandest fruit sources in the country. Three Rivers, Asbroek and Dimchurch, to name a few from vines up to 170 years old. In a sense the wine that encapsulates the Barossa, according to Callum...
Haddow and Dineen – Australia’s best Gris and more
I first came across the wines of Haddow and Dineen at the Israeli restaurant Ezra in Sydney. The food was superb and suited the wines perfectly. But what was immediately apparent, and these moments don't happen that often, was that I had tasted Australia's best Pinot...
Weiser Kunstler – Powerplay Riesling
Weiser Kunstler’s vineyards of Ellegrub, Steffensberg and Gaispfad are Grand Cru vineyards, by any measure (except the VDP’s, who coincidently have no members working these sites). They accorded the status of Grand Cru to their vineyards based on the 1897 Prussian...
Frederic Savart – Champagne Thrills
Frederic Savart produces some of Champagne's most thrilling wines in the quiet corner of Ecueil. From just 4 hectares he makes around a dozen Champagnes. Founded by his father in 1947, like virtually all growers they sent most of their grapes to the local Co-Op but...
Heroic Viticulture in South Africa
South Africa's Cape Town may have dodged 'Day Zero', when the possibility of the city running out of water was nail bitingly close, but the country's water crisis isn't over yet. Drought still afflicts much of the Cape and the threat of Day Zero remains very real. It...
Polperro 2021 Single Vineyard Pinot’s – Mornington’s Finest
Polperro 2021 Single Vineyard Pinot Noir’s – Mornington’s Finest Great Pinot, like great Shiraz, Chardonnay or any other varietal is elusive. You would be forgiven in thinking otherwise, evidenced by the rather eye watering uppity scores awarded by wine critics to...
Francois Millet – Melody of the Old Guard
“Be sure that the land is visible in the glass. That is the essence of what we do”. Francois Millet If I could add my own caveat to Francois’s imperishable phrase, it would be to do justice to the fruit. Is the wine as delicious as the fruit and vineyard promised and,...
The Americans in Sydney
A recent invite to an American wine tasting had me wondering what did I really know, or think of American wines? Well, very little as it happens, but enough to know that there are treasures to be had and the first wine tasted confirmed this - not just not bad, but...
New – Ravensworth Estate Release
The 2021 estate release are wines grown on Ravensworth’s own immaculate vineyard. Ravensworth also produces a number of excellent wines, with fruit purchased predominantly from Hilltops. After 20 vintages, owner/winemaker Bryan Martin has refined his style into a...
Pabiot Loire – Sauvignon but not as you know it
'Forget Sauvignon as you taste these wines' comes from an Andrew Jefford article titled Sancerre and Friends, published in Decanter in late 2017. Needless to say that all the wines of Pabiot are Sauvignon Blanc, yet as you taste through them, the less Sauvignon Blanc...
Kabinett – Understanding Germany’s Emblematic Wine
Kabinett is the lightest of all wines in the German Pradikat system. Measured in degrees Oechsle (a hydrometer scale measuring density of grape must), many wine growers have struggled to produce the differences that made sense of the Pradikat in recent years. Warmer,...
Chateau de Pibarnon – Benchmark Rose
Pibarnon is Bandol’s highest vineyard at 300 metres, an amphitheatre of vines facing the Mediterranean. Vineyards planted in this way generally trap heat, creating a cauldon effect, but at Pibarnon, the amphitheatre provides shelter from the regions strong winds,...
Traviarti 2022 Chardonnay and Rosso
Nebbiolo it seems is the new Holy Grail of Australian wine. Simon Grant's vision for Traviarti has always been about crafting beautiful Nebbiolo, and so he does; Australia's best alongside Pipan Steel. But never mind all this. The Holy Grail for Australian wine's...
2021 Fritz Haag and Burklin-Wolf
The concentration, balance, complex flavour and textural profiles, extract and sleek velocity of the 2021 wines will make these some of the greatest and longest lived German Rieslings this century. A cool and late vintage of cut and finesse, but also fleshy mid...
Discovering Guillot-Broux, Maconnais
Based in Cruzille, Guillot-Broux was founded in 1978 when the land was cheap and the wines of the Maconnais not exactly known for their grandness. Cruzille is gifted with limestone, marl and iron rich soils; sunshine, rainfall and elevation - an area gifted with fine...
Daniel Bouland 2021 – Serious and joyous Beaujolais
Daniel Bouland's 2021 releases are pure, juicy, and cool - all tangy fruit, coupled with incredible energy and weightless power. The tannins and shape vary from wine to wine, from velvet to silk, angular and round. Incredibly refreshing and gourmand, they are...
Quinta do Noval Ports – World Beaters
Quinta do Noval's style, and Portuguese Tawnys in general, are very different to Australian equivalents. Firstly, the alcohol levels are higher and you can taste the spirit and feel the heat. Secondly, the increase in spirit also changes the shape. Portuguese Tawnys...
Introducing Ossa Wines – Grand Cru Tasmania
Ossa was founded in 2017 by Rod and Cecile Roberts, eponymously named after Tasmania's highest peak - Mount Ossa. Situated on the East Coast, joining the rush for land which many observers believe harbours Australia's greatest cool climate potential. Planting 20...
Vanguardist 2022 Spring Releases
Twenty years ago, it would have been inconceivable to drink wines of the Vanguardist style. Large producers, aided by compliant wine critics and journalists churned out full bodied, sweet fruited and extracted wines. Small producers were no different, and it seemed...
Verget – New Spring 2022 Releases
Every year, Verget confuses us all by releasing wines from various vintages and appellations. For the neat, logical and rational people out there, this must seem perverse. Why not concentrate our minds and tastebuds on one vintage and better still, release wines from...
Josh Cooper’s 2021 Summertime Cabernets
Josh Cooper's three Cabernets from different sites across Victoria are some of the most important wines released in Australia this year. Cabernet Sauvignon is so often overlooked, and many Australian iterations are unexciting corporate wines. I feel we have forgotten...
Picardy – Wines of Chiseled depths
Rarely is a wine region so defined by one producer as Pemberton is by Picardy Wines. Only identified as a potential region for vine growing in the 1970's, Pemberton can now boast over 50 wine producers, with Picardy at the forefront. Founded by Bill and Sandra...
Swinney Release Spring 2022 -Treading Softly
Swinney has never been less than awesome, creating new benchmarks and pushing boundaries. The 2021 vintage reds are the best since 2019 and the most charming and delicious. The vintage was cool, hence the harvest was late, creating ideal conditions for wines of...
Massolino Spring 2022 Releases – Gentle Masculinity
Vintage 2016 was a watershed moment in Piedmont. Universally acclaimed as a great vintage, many producers crafted their best ever wines. Standards across the region's varietals and styles were all successful and it seemed that no one had failed to make at the very...
Enderle and Moll – Nothing quite like it
This is not Burgundy. There, I said it. Is our love of Burgundy a love of Pinot Noir, or are we that obsessed with Burgundy we can't see past it? Pinot Noir is known as Spatburgunder in Germany and, like everywhere else, style and taste is as much to do with the...
CRFT Gruner Veltliner – Unsurpassed in Oz
CRFT Wines (pronounced croft) was founded in 2012 by winemakers Candice Helbig and Frewin Ries. Sourcing fruit from 10 single vineyards across the Adelaide Hills and Barossa Valley, they make wines from established varietals and relative newcomers. Indeed CRFT are...
A Rodda Chardonnays – New Premium Release
Vintage reports aside, 2021 is an exceptional vintage for A Rodda. Only one Chardonnay was produced in 2020, due to the bushfires, so it's a delightful relief to taste through the suite of 2021's. These wines are compact and coiled, packed with dense tangy citrus,...
Joshua Cooper 2021 Release – Taste a revelation
It’s not every day you’re lucky enough to taste a revelation, wines that alter parameters, perceptions and challenge beliefs. All tastings are worthwhile, and in a sense revelatory, but few illicit strong responses one way or the other. I still remember my first...
Rieslingfreak – there’s nowhere to hide
Something my dad used to tell me often, and advice I did not heed until middle age, was to 'know thyself'. Happily, absorbing wisdom came much sooner for John Hughes, who was called Riesling Freak by his friends as he always brought around a bottle of Riesling or two....
Stargazer Tasmania – Passion and True Grit
Stargazer, in a very short space of time, has become one of the most exciting prospects in Tasmania. Passion and true grit Founder/owner/winemaker and grape grower, Samantha Connew, released her first Stargazer wines in 2012, after previously working with Wirra Wirra...
Douhairet-Porcheret – sensual, ethereal Burgundy
Domaine Douhairet-Porcheret is a small domaine of 6.5 ha. Mademoiselle Armande Douhairet owned and ran the estate until her death in 2004. She bequeathed the property to her winemaker and great friend Andre Porcheret, former manager at Hospices de Beaune and Domaine...
Craiglee 2017 Sunbury Shiraz – Absolute classic
Can a wine taste historic, or old fashioned? Not old or dated, but from another era. Probably not, but that was my first impression when tasting the 2017 Craiglee Shiraz from Sunbury. It smells, tastes and feels savoury with seams of natural acidity, firm fruit and...
Maxime Francois Laurent Il Fait Soif 2020 – Thirsty out there
Grenache has got to be one of the most versatile of grapes. One of the first genuinely aged wines I ever had was a 60s vintage Vieux Telegraphe Chateauneuf-du-Pape in about 2002. I wasn't entirely impressed. Impeccably cellared, but alas dried out and tertiary. Even...
Domaine Barmes-Buecher – Another Level
There was a time when the wines of Alsace were all chisel and sinew, so plain under the clothes. Described as elegant, restrained, aristocratic and mineral, they often displayed shrill structures, hard textures and empty fruit profiles. They were Alsace's answer and...
CRFT Wines – Arranmore and Whisson Pinots
CRFT's stunning wines are the work of Candice Helbig and Frewin Ries from their serene property, tucked away in the Piccadilly Valley. Their certified organic Arranmore Vineyard is almost other-worldly, with 150 year old trees lining the driveway, old fruit trees with...
Greenock Creek – The Bold and the Beautiful
If there is one producer that embodies what most of us would come to expect from the Barossa Valley, then Greenock Creek is it. That is not to say that there aren't other styles and regional interpretations, but for wines of scale, this has to be the benchmark...
Olivier Riviere Rayos Uva 2020 – Joyful drinkability
Rioja hosts many international winemakers including Bryan MacRobert of MacRobert & Canals, Tom Puyaubert of Bodegas Exopto and of course Olivier Riviere. Rioja is vast, and with multiple red and white varietals, microclimates and soils, allowing winemakers to...
Akutain Cosecha Rioja 2019 – Made Simple
Cosecha literally means harvest and, in the context of Rioja, is made without extended ageing in cask. Designed to be consumed young, usually described as fresh, vibrant, fruit driven - these are taverna wines. Like all classifications, it's important to look past...
Paralian Grenache Shiraz 2020 – A sun-kissed salute to Europe
A tip of the hat to McLaren Vale's historic blending of Grenache and Shiraz, Paralian's beautiful rendition poses the question - are blends better than the sum of their parts? I don't know for certain, but this is a thoroughly complete wine, gourmand and versatile....
La Soufrandiere – Tensile and Tippy-Toed
Knowing we were to taste some of the new releases from La Soufrandiere, we dusted off a bottle of Bret Brothers (the original La Soufrandiere) Terroirs du Maconnais 2016. And what a lovely bottle of wine it was too. Vintage 2016 in Burgundy is a favourite of mine....
The Golden Wines of the Maconnais
For descriptive and conceptual purposes, we tend to discuss and taste wines from a huge area and call them Burgundy. Varietals aside, the wines of Irancy for instance, at the northwestern tip of Burgundy bear little resemblance to those of the Cote d'Or. Their taste,...
New South African Wine Arrivals
With its long and often tragic history, South Africa has developed a unique vinous character, markedly different from anywhere else in the 'New World' or in Europe. Grapes arrived with the first Dutch settlers, but much needed expertise would only arrive in the colony...
Pooley – 2022 Winter Release – A Watershed Moment
It is ironic that this year Pooley were awarded Australia's best winery in the 2023 James Halliday Wine Companion, an award that may need to be followed up in 2024 as the (yet to be reviewed) 2021 wines are some of the best yet! All great vintages express an element...
The magnificent wines of Luis Seabra
I first came across Douro reds in the UK, around the early 2000's. Quinta do Crasto comes to mind, and they were excellent. Full bodied and round, they wore the sun on their shoulders. Not the scorching stab of mid afternoon Australian sun, but a warm, cosy coat of...
Rippon’s 2019 Pinot Noirs et al – Hit that perfect beat
Pinot Noir outside Burgundy has never been more diverse, exciting and rich in expression. Rippon, from New Zealand’s Central Otago region, crafts structured, tense, ethereal and decadent pinots to rival the finest of the Cote d’Or. And the white's are pretty...
Falkenstein Altenberg Spatlese Trocken 2020 – One year on
Spatlese is a term that denotes ripeness, not sweetness. Hofgut Falkenstein's Altenberg Riesling Spatlese is dry. Very dry, intense and flavourful. I often write about 'traditional' wines but Hofgut Falkenstein, more than any other producer, encapsulates the roots of...
Albino Rocca 2019 Barbera d’Alba – One year on
I have a love of sleek, bright, intense reds. Lip smacking, long on the palate, full flavoured, savoury tannins, medium bodied and angular frames. The sort of red that will match most budgets, foods, seasons and company. Such is Albino Rocca's 2019 Barbera d'Alba....
Giant Steps Wombat Creek Chardonnay 2019 – One Year On
The Yarra Valley is on the cusp, or possibly over it, of defining a regional style. Cool, high toned citrus and orchard fruits, coupled with sinewed flesh, linear shape, a boney structure and high, piquant acidity. Of course, there are variations on the theme, but I...
Cascina delle Rose – softly, softly and unhurried
First a little history. Founded in 1948, in the village of Tre Stelle Barbaresco, the estate comprises 5 hectares, 3.5 are vines. Tiny? Certainly. I find it hard to imagine such a small scale enterprise can support a family of four: Giovanna Rizzolio and Italo Sobrino...
Guffens-Heynen 2020 – Hammer and Chisel
Two of our favourite white Burgundy producers are Goisot and Guffens-Heynen. Ironically they are of opposing styles and one is from the northern reaches of Burgundy - Goisot, while Guffens-Heyen the south in the Maconnais. Goisot's wines are sleek, chiselled and...
Joh. Jos. Prum 2020 New Release
Coming off the universally acknowledged 'great' vintage of 2019, 2020 would always be a vintage looking over its shoulder. But considering the silky lusciousness and richness of recent vintages, 2020 is a welcome return to Mosel classicism. Shimmering purity, intense...
Rivulet Wines – Capturing the Magic
Of all Australian wine regions, Tasmania (if we are still able to lump the state together), is touted as the most exciting. It's certainly popular and the price of grapes is the most expensive in the country. New regions present a new hope and enthusiasm, but great...
Yangarra Ironheart Shiraz 2018 – One Year On
Just for the heck of it, we recently decided to open a bottle of Yangarra's 2018 Ironheart Shiraz a year or so after its release. The 1.8Ha Ironheart vineyard is set high in McLaren Vale, and consists of sandy ironstone soil, and in these exposed almost arid...
Eisenstone Ebenezer Shiraz 2019 – One Year On
The Barossa Valley is Australia's most important fine wine region, owing to its history, size, commercial and qualitative success. When I first started drinking wine the Barossa Valley, as with all Australian wine regions, was thought of in the singular. A big region,...
Domaine Tempier Bandol Rouge 2019 – One Year On
Bandol is synonymous with rose and despite the high price, demand outstrips supply of Domaine Tempier rose every year. Their red, however, is another story, yet I can't help think wine drinkers are missing a trick by not taking their southern French odyssey a little...
Badia a Coltibuono Chianti Classico
Chianti Classico is one of the least understood wine denominations. Most of us, if asked where and what it is, would say something like 'it's the original part of Chianti', or 'the best Chianti's are Classicos'. Although these statements may be true, it doesn't really...
La Torre – Classic, complete Brunello
Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde would have loved Brunello di Montalcino. There isn't a wine region anywhere else in the world that encompasses so many personalities and styles, and at their best, perhaps conveys them all. Full bodied, or not, tannic, chewy, rugged, savoury,...
La Rioja Alta New Release – Autumn 2022
Autumn is the best season to drink the wines of La Rioja Alta. The first smoky wisps of winter, scents of fading flowers and the irrevocable sweetness of summer are glimpsed in these, most delicious bottles. The fruit is brighter than when I first drunk these wines 20...
Quealy Wines – Put an edge on it
I think it was Tolstoy who said that you will never be content if you look for perfection. I believe wine lovers are absorbed by the twin concepts of greatness and perfection, and thus narrow their drinking habits to fewer varieties. Varieties such as Chardonnay,...
The true taste of Spanish traditions
Do you remember when you were young, thinking and acting like your parents were idiots? You might have even thought that they didn't understand you, that nowhere within their combined realms of experience, were circumstances that resembled yours. I thought like this,...
Polperro – Australia’s Best ‘Burgundy’
You can't call an Australian wine Burgundy anymore, and fair enough too. Burgundy and Bordeaux are the most imitated wine regions on earth, setting benchmarks for their varietals and styles, which at their best, have no equal in the world. So, in Australia,...
Weingut Rings – You’ve discovered a star
There are very few genuinely exciting wines. Light bulb moments might only happen a couple of times a year, if you're lucky. Great wines are not necessarily crowd pleasers either. Indeed, many of the world's great wines do poorly in blind wine tastings, struggling to...
German Rieslings of 2020 – Castles and Gardens
Sometimes I wonder what people get out of fine wine. The cheaper stuff, fault free and full of pleasant flavour, will do for most of us, most of the time. Wonderful wines are like wonderful books. They are thought-provoking and evocative, sentimental and familiar. I...
Bernard Defaix – 2020 Chablis & Petit Chablis
Despite losing close to half of their crop due to late frosts, the Defaix's still count themselves lucky. Numbers are terrible for much of France; most Chablis producers being hit with losses in the vicinity of 80%. So, volumes are down, prices are relatively stable...
Onannon – 2021 wines and single sites
Our first trip to the Mornington was an excercise in tasting very light coloured reds and frisky, early picked whites. So much so, that I wasn't sure (still not sure), if it was the nature of the place or the wine producers. Crunchy red fruits and green apple flavours...
Domaine Gueguen Chablis – sleek and finessed
Chablis' surge in popularity has come as a bit of surprise. Recently, a Sommelier told me that “it’s the new sav blanc”, and she seemed gratified with this, commenting that it was more versatile and food friendly than the famed Marlborough white. True, I thought, but...
Ravensworth 2021 Reds – Sweet Vibrancy
Sweet vibrancy is such a hard combination to achieve. I would normally associate wines made from healthy ripe grapes that are also refreshing and cleansing with Sangiovese from Chianti, Cabernet Franc from the Loire Valley or the reds of Valpolicella. But regional...
Goisot 2022 Release – Killers on the Fringe
Great producers define their wine regions and grand vineyards or no, they make the best of what they have. Goisot is always lumped into the broader paradigm of Burgundy, which is of course true, but what's the point in trying to compare wines as far afield as Chablis...
New Release Bannockburn 2019 – better than ever
Great things are happening at Bannockburn under the stewardship of Matt Holmes. All their organically managed, close-planted vineyards will be fully certified this year. Holmes believes that as soon as they had started the process of stimulating vine health years...
Eva Fricke 2020 Release – get excited
I first tasted Eva Fricke's wines almost 20 years ago, in the good old days when anything from Germany was cheap (save the cars). So cheap in fact, that the quality to price ratio was common talk in the UK wine trade. It's been twenty years since, and has taken this...
Giant Killers of Germany – understanding the rules
Our most read blog is Understanding Grosses Gewachs, but if I were to write a follow up, I would add a section called Giant Killers. Clearly there is good reason as to why most vineyards attract a grand classification, but it's also true that every year, wines are...
La Battistelle Soave – delicate and intense
Gelmino and Cristina Dal Bosco farm 9 hectares dotted around the hamlet of Brognoligo. Small parcels are planted to Garganega. The soil here is volcanic, and the best vineyards are ideally situated on south facing slopes, the steepest of which are the Cru of Roccolo...
Domaine de Marcoux – Complete wines
Styles of wine are in a constant state of flux and the idea that a wine is 'typical' or true to its origin is becoming harder to pin down. When we were buying our first bottles of red in the early 2000's, thick textures, prominent oak and extracted flavours were...
Tyrrell’s 2022 February Vat Release
One of the highlights of any year is a Tyrrell's Vat release. Essentially a museum release, as the whites at least have already been offered to their Private Bin membership about 10 months after vintage. Bottle age is always an advantage however, for either red or...
Clyde Park Wines – Museum Release
Brilliant wines, impeccably cellared and at the same price as current releases are very rare. We have five wines from one of Australia's best Pinot Noir and Chardonnay producers, Clyde Park. All wines have been aged at the estate and are just entering their long...
Understanding Soave – the grapes and the sites
Soave was trendy for a time, particularly when for some pocket change you could purchase a relatively bland, perfectly drinkable dry white wine. There was no need for tasting notes or serious critiquing. These supermarket wines were designed for serious economy...
Bellebonne Sparkling – Serious Frivolity
The best Champagnes are wonderful. Made from fully ripe grapes and a judicious dosage, if any at all. They are however, incredibly intense, concentrated and deep in flavour, so much so that it's hard to knock it back in 40 degree heat, or drink more than a glass...
Clemens Busch – Mosel Savagery
It is a truism that dog owners look like their dogs. The breed is etched into the fabric of the owner. Winemakers are no different. Their personalities, philosophy, politics, dress, you name it are etched into the liquid they produce. This is not meant to imply...
WINES FROM ARTISAN, ICONIC AND FAMILY-OWNED PRODUCERS
Waters Wine Company offers a great range of well-chosen, good value and interesting wines