Bilancia has managed to retain delicate poise in a gris of impressive exoticism of starfruit, nashi pear and ginger. A softly textured lemon blossom palate is built around well-considered, gently phenolic structure that heightens mouthfeel and definition. A well-crafted wine for food. $20 at Ki WiNZ.

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This vintage walks a tightrope between elegant restraint and fleshy fruit presence, and pulls it off with particular prowess. A brilliant colour of luminescent, medium purple heralds vibrant layers of violets, stewed plum and black pepper from start to finish, pulled in by tightly textured, gravelly tannins and taut acidity. Give it time to integrate […]

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The cool 2011 vintage exemplifies the rule that off-dry rieslings are all about acidity, making this a particularly long-lived Prima. More than a year after release, it’s still as pristine, primary, zesty and succulent as ever. Racy lemon zest and spicy kaffir lime notes are the theme here, with a wonderful tension between succulent sweetness […]

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Wine Taste is the first place you’ll read about new release wines, but occasionally I make purposeful exceptions. Once released in June, this wine sells so fast that it’s now released in April. I first tasted it in July but I’ve held off on the announcement because only now is it ready to go. Margaret […]

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In sheer precision, slow-evolving endurance and breath-taking longevity, Contours has got to be one of the best value white wines in the known universe. Having long since celebrated its fifth birthday, it retains a refreshingly youthful pale straw-green hue. Its primary lime and lemon are barely beginning to evolve to preserved lemon and toast. A […]

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This is the first time in Wine Taste history that any wine under $45 has achieved such a breathtaking score. After a line of more than forty new release Eden Valley rieslings from the spectacular 2012 vintage, it is preposterous to imagine that anything from the lesser 2007 season could compare, let alone trump all […]

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Signature is on a dazzling trajectory, taking one of the Barossa’s most revered labels to new heights. 2006 represents its most exacting expression to date, though sneak-previews of 2010 on the show circuit suggest that all before it will be eclipsed in a dramatic spectacle. 2008 is an altogether different expression, a more generous Signature, […]

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Heytesbury is a more profound expression of the direction of modern Margaret River chardonnay than perhaps any other, capturing the fruit power of the region and encasing it in high-tensile structure, overlaid with funky gunflint and sulphide notes. This is winemaking on the edge: massive volumes of solids in the ferment, wild yeast and more […]

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A brilliant vintage of New Zealand’s most impressive syrah. The complexity on parade here is mesmerising: violets, satsuma plum skins, black pepper, blackberries and liquorice straps, even a hint of pitch and coal dust, and in time mixed spice, dried flowers and dark chocolate. A revelation of intensity, thought the density of fruit is never […]

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Adoring fans of one of the most elegantly graceful rosé champagnes on earth will immediately recognise a change of pace in the new vintage release. On paper, the recipe is identical, but 2004 was a very different season to 2002 and 2000 in Champagne. Before you even lift the glass you will note a fuller […]

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