In the talented hands of Tash Mooney, this is a beautifully defined expression of this single vineyard at Oakbank. It displays excellent fruit concentration, ripe and full, reminiscent of black plums and blackberries, layered with black pepper, liquorice straps, violets and that unmistakable mineral note of rain on granite that characterises Adelaide Hills shiraz. A […]

read

I have long admired La Línea as one of Australia’s more authentic takes on tempranillo, and 2011 is a particularly flattering vintage for this wine. The cool season has coaxed out more varietal integrity than ever, in an elegant and poised demeanour of black fruits, mixed spice and classic 2011 pink pepper notes, topped off […]

read

All of Barratt’s pinot noir is harvested, fermented and sent to barrel as if it’s going to be reserve wine, and it’s only a barrel selection down the track that declassifies part of the crop to this second label. From two of the Adelaide Hills’ great pinot vineyards, the result is predictably impressive, and 2009 […]

read

A barrel selection of Nepenthe’s most elegant shiraz from across nine different blocks has assembled a beautifully focused, restrained and textural wine of firm, finely honed tannins. Understated plum skin and cracked pepper accents linger on a long finish. It exemplifies that elusive balance of refinement and long-ageing endurance.

read

Here’s a top shelf Adelaide Hills pinot at the same price as most other regions sell their second label – and that’s worthy of celebrating! There’s a gentle interplay of fruit and structure here, with elegant red berry and cherry fruits, sarsaparilla and dried herbs, underlain with tannins that are fine and supportive, yet with […]

read

This wine is a delightful juxtaposition between the gorgeously pure fruit of a warm site in a warm vintage in a cool region, and the profoundly mineral, textural, granite-like tannin structure that defines this special vineyard. A wine of outstanding length and refinement, with fragrant notes of lifted violets, pure red cherries, plums and blackberries. […]

read

This is a tactical wine that we all need to keep on hand in our sparkling arsenal, an impeccably crafted Adelaide Hills style that ducks strategically under the price of any champagne worth drinking. There’s impressive drive of taut, lemon juice acidity derived from high altitude Piccadilly Valley vines, offset beautifully with the subtle spice […]

read

Gathering 2009 is one of the most intellectual sauvignon semillon blends you will encounter this year. It’s at the same time challenging and engaging, with profoundly exotic allusions. But for all of its frivolity and complexity, it’s taut and tense, agile and edgy, pulling into a disciplined, focused and disarmingly honed finish, defined by monumental […]

read

There is a harmony between pure, concentrated fruit and finely restrained, textural structure that marks this among the great vintages for Petaluma Chardonnay. White peach, fig, grapefruit and lemon blossom each find excellent definition, impeccably supported by understated ferment complexity and struck flint lees notes. Finely textured structure and outstanding persistence draw into a finely […]

read

The precision of Jeffrey Grosset is as apparent in his Adelaide Hills chardonnay as it is in his revered Clare rieslings. In 2010 it carries beautiful definition of finely perfumed lemon and grapefruit, pristine white peach and notes of almond blossom, underlined by exceedingly classy and restrained almond and cashew nut French oak. High altitude […]

read