Patricia defines the benchmark of single vineyard Australian sparkling wines. Even in champagne itself, very few sites can confidently stand alone. This wine is a testimony to the fabled Whitlands vineyard, high in the King Valley. Generosity and complexity are built through a four-fifths majority of pinot noir and five years of lees ageing. The […]
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Devil’s Lair occupies a privileged position at the better value end of Margaret River’s top tier, and the 2010 release is particularly refined – not by showy extroversion, bold structure or breathtaking longevity but rather by an internal harmony, an elegant calm and an understated assuredness that make it irresistible. The bouquet, captures the definition […]
readRockford’s recent disgorgement (August 2012) is a particularly outstanding one. Gone are the gamey, brettanomyces notes that have at times plagued this label in the past. The theme here is all about sweet, plush black plum and blackberry fruits and liquorice, lingering with outstanding persistence through a lively, vibrant and well-defined palate of beautifully integrated, […]
readArt Series continues to wave the flag at the big end of Margaret River, and does so in 2009 with considerable flair. The bouquet delivers real power of focused grapefruit, luscious white peach, golden delicious apple and fig. There’s nothing at all blowsy about this release, which delivers outstanding poise, thanks to fruit captured at […]
readChampagne’s antiquated cru classification dictates that every vineyard in a village is classified at the same level, so even the very finest sites in a premier cru like Vertus cannot attain grand cru status. From old vineyards in the heart of Vertus, this premier cru is built around a purity and depth of fruit of […]
readWhat makes a bottle worth such a figure? What does it really cost to make? If you set out to create the most expensive bottle in the country, what is the most you could pay for raw materials?
readThe march of refinement in Australian white wines has left no variety untouched, but in the wake of the rise of new varieties there’s no question the quartet of chardonnay, sauvignon, riesling and semillon retain their monopoly on the upper echelons.
readAn eerie familiarity filled the room when Tim McNeil Riesling 2010 made its first public appearance. How could the first vintage ever made possess such profound echoes of wines the audience had tasted many times before?
readTasmania’s vineyards are among the most idyllically placed in the country, perfectly located to
nurture premium, cool climate wines. The fabled house of Taittinger holds a privileged position among the large, independent, family-
owned champagne houses.
Joe Grilli has been a daring innovator from the outset, and is the driving force behind a distinctive and highly
regarded set of white, red and sparkling red wines from his family vineyards in McLaren Vale and the
Adelaide Plains.