Whoever said 2011 was a disastrous red wine vintage? It’s a captivating sport to find the exceptions, and here’s another! I love the touch of the 2011 vintage in this wine, increasing its tangy vibrancy, texture and elegance. The result is an impressively refined and textural fruit focus of rhubarb, plum and blackberries, with notes […]

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There’s no question that the wizards at Yalumba have mastered this challenging variety more skilfully than anyone in the country, and they have worked their craft with special magic in 2011. A delightfully restrained and texture-focused vintage, with fine nuances of apricot kernel, ginger, white pepper and fennel. The palate is quite sophisticated, honed and […]

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The great vintages expose the poor winemakers but it takes a tough season to define the most skilful. Sandro Mosele needs to prove nothing, but his masterful talent is certainly on parade in a delicately focused Clonale of pristine grapefruit blossom and white peach purity, underlined by fresh almond nuances. The complexity of lees contact […]

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Don’t let the name slow you down, this is one of the great and age-worthy wines of the Eden Valley, and 2009 is a sensational rendition, a wine of immaculate varietal definition, structure and detail, capturing both the restrained, structural focus of the vintage and the generosity of Eden Valley cabernet and shiraz. Cabernet leads […]

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When Brokenwood legend Iain Riggs came to visit recently, his bag was loaded with new release sneak previews, and none impressed me more than this brand new semillon. The purity and energy of focused lime and lemon zest on show here are really something, and even after five years it’s barely beginning to show the […]

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Larry McKenna is at the cutting edge of the new Martinborough, and in 2010 his estate vines reached that magical transition age of twelve years. The texture and flavour of whole bunch are a key priority here, captured in wonderful complexity of lifted exotic spice and anise over a blanket of violets, black cherries and […]

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Exuberant, fragrant perfume captured within a shell of exacting control is a contradiction aspired to by many a young pinot noir, yet rarely attained. Kooyong’s Estate 2010 is captivating as much for its gorgeous, graceful and expressive bouquet of rose petals and pristine red cherries as it is for its immaculately silky yet consummately structured […]

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Celebrating their thirtieth birthday in time for the release of this wine next month, Lenton Brae’s estate grown Wilyabrup cabernet sauvignon vines have enjoyed a new pruning regime, making for richer, riper and less angular and austere character. The result is a wine that encapsulates the poise and definition of this outstanding vintage, in classic […]

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“There’s a balancing act to when you pick semillon,” Bruce Tyrrell said when he visited to introduce this wine recently. “Everyone said we were mad to pick this one so early!” Bruce had the last laugh, with a wine that captures a wonderfully ripe and brilliantly pure fruit profile, within a palate of searing acidity […]

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From the day the very last bottle of legendary 1996 Pol disappeared from the shelves, we have long awaited the dawning of another grand vintage. 1998, 1999 and 2000 came and went, and in October the much-anticipated 2002 will land. The odd sneak preview bottle has arrived to taunt us, and – my goodness – […]

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