Every winemaking trick in the sauvignon book has been thrown at this wine, and a few more besides. Wild fermented on its skins in French oak (and some Italian Acacia, too), long ageing on lees and partial malolactic fermentation. If you’re still with me, it’s for you! Cool season acidity meets a profoundly textural and […]
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From two of the oldest vineyards in the volcanic outcrop of Great Southern’s Porongurups, this is one of Howard Park’s most exciting rieslings yet. Tapping deep into this terroir, these vines extract fine, chalky minerality, restrained kaffir lime and lemon fruit while maintaining exact line and persistent length. $23 at Templestowe.
readAnother definitive red to raise the profile of any Australia Day BBQ! An impressively balanced vintage for Directors’ Cut, parading the black plum and blackberry glossiness of Langhorne with the savoury intrigue of black olives and the finely structured tannin support of new French oak. The result is seamless and intense, with considerable fruit energy […]
readHigh in the Upper Yarra, Gembrook maintains its lofty position among Australia’s finest sauvignons, if not proven in its detailed complexity on release, then certainly in its enduring energy to outlive virtually all others. The secret is a tightly strung backbone of honed acidity, providing linearity and finesse to its layered complexity of gooseberry pie, […]
readI am hopelessly besotted with the classic, fine-strung purity that so many Clare rieslings have achieved in 2011, and here is another! A wine of great fruit concentration and structure, built around a core of intense lemon and lime zest, with notes of red apple and quince. It builds incrementally in the mouth, to great […]
readThere are very few wines with a street price under $10 for which I can hand-on-heart recommend any vintage in the past five years. YSV is a serious blend that captures the spicy allure of peppery shiraz in all of its juicy stewed rhubarb and satsuma plum glory. Viognier adds the faintest lift of violet […]
readThe more 2011 Clare rieslings I assess, the more convinced I am of the fallacy of writing off vintages on weather reports. Here’s another stunner from a less familiar name. Beautifully textural, chalky minerality is the signature of the epicentre of Watervale, here accented with pear, granny smith apple, lime and even a hint of […]
readTuned for summer quaffing, the cool 2011 Clare vintage has made for a particularly elegant Annie, and she’s all the more adorable for it! Pomegranate, raspberry and watermelon are all here, with a tangy pink grapefruit finish. Fine-grained texture and subtle fruit sweetness make for a very fresh, vibrant blend of malbec, mourvèdre and sangiovese. […]
readI’ve never understood Geelong riesling. Or, perhaps I should say I’ve never understood it made in the traditional Australian way. Along comes an attempt made like a chardonnay, from old vines in a cold vintage, fermented by wild yeast on full solids, partly in old barrels, kept on lees for six months and bottled with […]
readMasters of chardonnay and riesling from the west, it was only a matter of time before Howard Park nailed sauvignon. Its moment in the sun came in 2011, and the dry, warm season through Mount Barker and Margaret River gave birth to a wine of poise, balance and style. Partial barrel fermentation adds notes of […]
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