Benchmark Paulett Riesling from a standout vintage! Beautifully defined fruit concentration melds with scintillating acidity and fragrant lime blossom perfume, built around a core of crunchy granny smith apples and kaffir lime spice. A high-tensile core of acidity and impressive fruit poise and persistence make it sensational now, and charge it with the stamina to […]

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From the uppermost reaches of Skillogalee’s estate at a high point of the Clare Valley, this is a pristine riesling that unites approachability and great cellaring potential. A stunning bouquet captures the taut zestiness of lime and lemon, the freshness of granny smith apples and the subtle, generous exoticism of guava and fig. The palate […]

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One of the most southerly vineyards in mainland Australia, Drumborg delivers a particularly chiselled and honed style of chardonnay, charged with high-tensile acidity. The cool 2011 vintage is leaner and tighter than ever, yet carries itself with considerable confidence and persistence, promising a long future. An impressive marriage of struck flint with taut lemon and […]

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Cliff Edge is baby Langi, crafted from the same estate in a similar manner to one of Australia’s most celebrated shiraz wines. It celebrates whole bunch fermentation at full voice, with layers of complexity of mixed spice, dried flowers, pipe smoke and, of course, the signature of the site: pepper. The finish lingers with impressive […]

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The warm 2011 vintage in Margaret River has nurtured a strong and impressively concentrated Prelude. Lemon, grapefruit and white peach of considerable volume draw out tight and long on a finish of finely poised acidity. It upholds an impressive harmony in spite of its proportions, finding a comfortable balance of fruit concentration and poised acid […]

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This is a powerful and alluring Majella, a vintage of considerable fruit intensity and well-defined structure. It’s a very dark wine, even by Majella standards, with a deep, impenetrable purple hue and a vibrant rim. The bouquet displays wonderful definition and concentration of crunchy, tiny blackcurrants and cassis, accented with bay leaf and tobacco. Impressive […]

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Seville Estate’s Upper Yarra Valley Chardonnay rises to ever higher planes of refinement with each passing vintage, but never has it seen the breathtaking heights achieved in the cool 2011 season. This is a wine of grace and harmony, with perfectly judged fruit concentration, understated persistence and confidence. Impressively elegant notes of spice and struck […]

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It is quite a feat to craft a sparkling wine that captures richness within a frame of delicacy. Quartz Reef has met the brief impeccably, celebrating the power of Central Otago pinot noir (almost two-thirds of the blend) in its rich stone fruit, mixed spice and baked apple glory, then toning it with the pink […]

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Rippon is one of the original vineyards of Central Otago, and its site on the banks of Lake Wanaka must be the most spectacular place to grow grapes in the southern hemisphere. It’s hard to imagine that the wines of this estate could continue such a steep trajectory of refinement, even after some twenty-four years, […]

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Oxford Landing is the benchmark against which I compare all sub-$10 sauvignons and I am yet to find anything that is its equal. The cool 2012 season made for long and consistent ripening, which proved to be a blessing for this early harvest style, producing great synergy of punchy passionfruit and crunchy lemon zest flavours […]

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