2007 is a thoroughly worthy Grange and an outstanding expression of a hot drought year, albeit the least vintage of Grange since 2003. The season is generally characterised by the drying tannin finish of drought stressed vines, but it is a credit to Penfolds’ fruit sources and winemaking polish that this deficiency is but a […]
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10A completes a trilogy of successive 97 point vintages – an unparalleled record in my score book! This alone must qualify Reserve Bin A as the finest Australian chardonnay of the modern era. 10A carries on the legacy as much by its ultra-fine Adelaide Hills fruit purity as its delightful lees-derived complexity of flint and […]
readThere is an immediacy to the vibrant and ripe fruit core of 2008 St Henri that makes it particularly enticing. The finest vintage since 2005 may prove to rank among the greats, certainly for the enjoyment it affords in the medium-term, even if it doesn’t qualify among the longest-lived. Hints of soy and dark chocolate, […]
readA personality that contrasts 2008, the greatest Yattarna yet, thanks to less Tasmanian fruit (50%) and more Henty (43%, the remainder Adelaide Hills), but every bit as distinguished. In the Aboriginal language, ‘Yattarna’ means ‘little by little, gradually,’ and finally its most recent vintages have refined its personality to match. In the same spirit, this […]
readPenfolds’ only single vineyard flagship cannot benefit from the blending advantage of its stable mates, making this a particularly impressive result after a hot January and the earliest harvest in history. A classic expression of Magill, in a vibrant, sweet-fruited and perfumed style, with impressive fruit expression framed in milk chocolate oak (French and American) […]
readA mild vintage has given birth to the best RWT since 2006, a brilliantly inky black shiraz of dense fruit presence and an undercurrent of classic Barossa milk chocolate and liquorice. Nuances of game, charcuterie and dried earth hover around a ripe, black core, lingering long and lush amid firm, fine tannins.
read2010 DM makes a vital statement: its phenomenal predecessor was no fluke. At thirty-nine years of age and privileged to fanatical biodynamic care, the Cullen vineyard is in a remarkable place indeed. At a tantalising 13.0% alcohol, elegance meets the strictest definition. Utterly enticing, profoundly pure, effortlessly seamless and earth-shakingly long-lived. Margaret River graphite, high […]
readIntroducing the finest sub-$15 chardonnay that’s hit the ground since Armchair Critic Under & Over Tumbarumba Chardonnay made its debut splash in Wine Taste Weekly eleven months ago. Varietal definition of white peach is framed in the taut, zesty structure of the cool 2011 vintage. With a whip crack of acidity and a chalky mineral […]
readHere’s the perfect way to convert any pinot drinker to shiraz. The cool 2011 vintage has blessed young Galway with a little more perfumed violet lift, a little fresher red berry fruit and a touch more pepper spice, making for an alluring, fruit-driven style with soft, supple tannins. $9.50 at Dan’s.
readCaptain Barossa is up to all kinds of tricks, and no one expected petit verdot to shine as one of his more clever stunts. Petit verdot doesn’t stand alone particularly comfortably – but this doesn’t taste a lot like petit verdot, and that’s the point. Instead, it’s a luscious and rich Barossa red, in the […]
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