An exclusive for Coles stores, Abacus is a logical step up from Parson’s nose. Your extra few dollars buys you deeper, more intricately coiled black plum and blackberry fruit, well framed in understated dark chocolate French oak. A vibrant, subtle black pepper and spice undercurrent and a fresh rhubarb tang proclaim the cool 2011 season, […]

read

Cliff Royle is tweaking the finer nuances of his wines with each passing season, and took the opportunity in the pristine season of 2012 to play with different yeasts, more solids in the ferment and oak fermentation of just ten percent of the semillon component, in order to improve the textural complexity of this blend. […]

read

Fraser Gallop’s blend showcases the strength of semillon in the warmer Wilyabrup area of Margaret River, toned with a little more than one-third sauvignon blanc from the cooler Karridale area further south. 2012 is a particularly powerful and rich vintage for this wine, carefully massaged through fermentation of one-third of the blend in French oak […]

read

An almost even blend of sauvignon from Karridale in Margaret River’s cool south and semillon from Xanadu’s estate vineyard, fermented partly in French oak barrels and stirred on its lees for several months to build complexity and texture. The result is powerful and punchy, shot with aromas of green peppers, mixed herbs, lifted frangipane pungency […]

read

2010 was an exciting season for West Cape Howe, producing a lively and attractively poised cabernet, capturing lifted violet perfume fragrance and crunchy black- and redcurrant fruit, with notes of tobacco and cigar box. The finish is defined by impressively vibrant acidity and lingering crunchy black- and redcurrant fruit. Tannins are finely structured and enveloped […]

read

Announcing one of West Cape Howe’s finest shirazes yet, a beautifully refined wine of silky tannins and well-defined blackberry fruit. There’s an understated intensity here of lifted violet perfume and luscious black cherry and black plum fruit, with notes of black liquorice that linger long of the finish. It pulls in taut and refined on […]

read

A delightfully poised Margaret River chardonnay that captures the taut definition of malic acidity, the rich intensity and generous mid-palate of the Gin Gin chardonnay clone in a warm, dry season and the lifted gunpowder complexity of natural fermentation and lees stirring. Its malic acidity pulls its generous proportions tightly into line on an impressively […]

read

It takes quite some skill to preserve such purity of aromatics in a warm vintage, and Cliff Royle has captured a lovely perfume of violets and blackcurrants with notes of sweet red capsicums, reflective of a dose of outstanding merlot in the blend. The palate leads out with a firm, finely gravelly tannin structure, true […]

read

Chapel Hill has elevated itself one plane closer to the gods with one of the most profound $30 shirazes I’ve tasted in a long time. A monumental testament to the incredible 2010 season, this wine will age magnificently and shows every sign of going down as the finest Chapel Hill McLaren Vale Shiraz yet. It’s […]

read

Fraser Gallop is now harvesting chardonnay at a slightly lower baumé than previously, which suits the generosity of the Gin Gin clone extremely well, producing a classy chardonnay of tense acidity and well-defined structure. This serves the double benefit of pulling its fruit profile back to delightfully fragrant lemon blossom and precise white peach fruit, […]

read