by Norris Waters | Sep 6, 2022
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...
by Norris Waters | Sep 6, 2022
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....
by Norris Waters | Sep 3, 2022
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...
by Norris Waters | Aug 30, 2022
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...
by Norris Waters | Aug 24, 2022
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...
by Norris Waters | Aug 18, 2022
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...
by Norris Waters | Aug 18, 2022
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...
by Norris Waters | Aug 18, 2022
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,...
by Norris Waters | Aug 17, 2022
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....
by Norris Waters | Aug 17, 2022
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...
by Norris Waters | Aug 15, 2022
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...
by Norris Waters | Aug 10, 2022
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...
by Norris Waters | Aug 1, 2022
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...
by Norris Waters | Jul 27, 2022
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...
by Norris Waters | Jul 26, 2022
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,...
by Norris Waters | Jul 21, 2022
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...
by Norris Waters | Jul 16, 2022
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...
by Norris Waters | Jul 11, 2022
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...
by Norris Waters | Jul 5, 2022
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,...
by Norris Waters | Jun 30, 2022
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...
by Norris Waters | Jun 21, 2022
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...
by Norris Waters | Jun 16, 2022
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...
by Norris Waters | Jun 16, 2022
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...
by Norris Waters | Jun 16, 2022
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...
by Norris Waters | Jun 10, 2022
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...
by Norris Waters | May 28, 2022
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,...
by Norris Waters | May 20, 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...
by Norris Waters | May 16, 2022
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,...
by Norris Waters | May 4, 2022
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...
by Norris Waters | Apr 26, 2022
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,...
