Tasting Chateau Latour 2000 in Bordeaux at the end of 2001 was one of the defining moments of my cabernet experience, and my first taste of 2010 Bin 169 last year brought flashbacks to that moment like no other tasting since. The colour is phenomenal, pitch black, with a vibrant purple rim. The bouquet is […]
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2008 Grange took me by surprise. I was expecting a hulking, looming thing that harked back to the blockbusters of years passed. What I did not expect was a tasting note featuring ‘purity’ three times (even ‘aching purity’), ‘refinement,’ even ‘detail’. There is not an iota of heatwave effect here, but that’s not the point. […]
readThe definition, precision and persistence of fruit and structure here take RWT to a new level. It’s pitch black, a very dark RWT with a narrow, vibrant purple rim. The bouquet is tightly wound, like a coiled spring of black fruits ready to erupt. The palate contrasts outstanding depth of crunchy blackberry and black plum […]
read2010 is a big and robust 707 that commands attention and screams out for a very long time to fully come into its own. From the outset, an amazing depth of colour, intense black with a fingernail-narrow rim of vibrant purple. It’s desperately young, and closed up like a trap on the bouquet. The palate […]
readChapel Hill now boasts five tiers to its shiraz arsenal, each strategically positioned in price and style, and all the fun begins with Parson’s Nose. This is rightfully the most approachable of the bunch, with fine, supple tannins that make it ripe to go right away. This fun-loving thing has a serious side, too, clearly […]
readAn 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, […]
readCliff 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. […]
readFraser 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 […]
readAn 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 […]
read2010 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 […]
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