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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Drew Noon’s powerful reds were toned down a notch by the cool, wet 2011 vintage and his bargain quaffer has taken on an alluringly perfumed, savoury, spicy lift. Pink pepper, rose bud and savoury spice are expressive of both the season and the prominence of grenache in this McLaren Vale blend. Its undercurrent of savoury, […]

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Fermented purely in tank, the focus remains squarely on zesty grapefruit and crunchy white peach fruit. Without the benefit of oak, a few clever tricks in the winery (gentle lees stirring and partial malolactic fermentation) build some texture and mouthfeel to this fresh and lively style. $19 at Hunt for Wine.

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I’ve learnt more about New Zealand chardonnay over the past decade from Kumeu River winemaker Michael Brajkovich than anyone else, and a recent visit revealed that the learning curve at this celebrated estate is as steep as ever. Clever techniques of lees ageing in tank, of pressing for both finesse and tannin texture and of […]

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