by Norris Waters | Jun 26, 2019
The annual JJ Prum tasting is my favourite event of the year. I try to come to the tasting without prejudice. It’s hard to resist reading what the critics are saying, or the views of other wine merchants. I’m curious, but by the same token, prior knowledge...
by Norris Waters | Jun 20, 2019
Recently, we opened two different bottles of Bourgogne Blanc. Both wines shared some superficial similarities – they were a similar price, from the 2015 vintage and both made by famous producers. We were looking to have a Burgundian experience on a budget. And...
by Norris Waters | Jun 2, 2019
Hochkirch is one of Australia’s greatest small estates. Tasting and drinking Hochkirch wines is always a study of vivid, luminous fruit, chiseled structures and luxurious texture. Too often cool climate wines can taste hollow, with hard boned structures and sour...
by Norris Waters | May 28, 2019
I get asked all the time – what is the best wine you’ve ever had? Or, who is your favourite producer? I always find these questions impossible to answer. There are infinite variables and, equally, infinite responses. But if I had to choose a single...
by Norris Waters | Feb 24, 2019
The recent Riesling Galaxy tasting in Sydney provided an unmissable opportunity to try some of the best value Rieslings from around the world. My overwhelming impression from the tasting is that quality and value is consistent at all price points. The Riesling market...
by Norris Waters | Jan 5, 2019
For some time we have wondered whether Bordeaux fits into our idea of good value. The wines are in such demand and so heavily prized, which can make them unaffordable to many wine drinkers who rightly ask themselves – is it worth it? Further, many of the more...
by Norris Waters | Dec 27, 2018
From the first sniff and taste, it is clear that 2016 is a wonderful vintage for JJ Prum and tasting these wines is a special experience. Prum’s wines are often described as reductive or closed when released. This is not the case with the 2016’s, which all...
by Norris Waters | Dec 16, 2018
It is difficult to describe the pleasure we experienced tasting the wines of Garagiste. Usually within a range there would be something that marks a wine whether you like it or not. Something that makes you into a critic and you start assessing the wine a little too...
by Norris Waters | Dec 6, 2018
‘All other creatures look down toward the earth, but man was given a face so that he might turn his eyes towards the stars and gaze upon the sky’. I could not help but ponder this thought (Ovid’s) when tasting the new releases of Koomilya. The ambition to...
by Norris Waters | Nov 26, 2018
The latest release of the Maison Leroy wines caused a stir at Waters Wine as we had never had the opportunity to taste a Leroy wine before. A legend in the wine world, Lalou Bize-Leroy was until 1992 a co director of the Domaine de la Romanee Conti. After leaving DRC...
by Norris Waters | Aug 16, 2018
I was lucky enough to attend the recent Taste Champagne event held at the Four Seasons Hotel in Sydney. Known as one of the best wine events around, it featured a marvellous array of producers from small artisan growers to the largest houses. Three things in...
by Norris Waters | Jul 20, 2018
Much has been written in the wine press about the greatness of Riesling. According to many wine writers and Masters of Wine it’s the greatest white grape of all. So why then has it not been embraced so warmly by the Australian consumer when it’s a perfect fit for our...
