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O’Leary Walker rieslings are the bargains of the Clare, especially when they nail a vintage as confidently as they did this year. The cool season’s kaffir lime, granny smith and lemon zest meets the approachable softness of guava and peach. $17 at Dan’s.

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Albariño is the perky little Spanish white we thought we grew here, but didn’t. Here’s the real thing, and it thrashes the more expensive contenders that tend to be too old and under cork. Young, fresh and screw capped, it’s soft and spicy, with apple and pear fruit finishing crunchy and pure. $18 at Sunshine […]

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Larry Cherubino’s wizardry for the masses – the textural finesse of the master for just $18 at Dan’s. An impressively medium-bodied style, clocking in at under 14% on the Richter scale, yet with sumptuous richness of dark plum, black cherry, black pepper and mixed spice.

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Gorgeous composition and seamless integration of finely-woven layers of hazelnut cream, coffee, preserved lemon, grapefruit zest, golden delicious apples, guava and almost ripe passionfruit. For such a maelstrom of complexity, it pulls into a tight finish of finely poised minerality and pristine line and persistence. Wow. $31 at Raffles Liquor Merchants.

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I poured this wine at a gig for 120 dentists last night and it was the wine of the night, outclassing more expensive Burgundies, Champagne, Chablis and Sancerre. The rule of buying the lesser cuvées of the greatest makers is sage advice indeed. Floral, spicy, savoury and finely textured.

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Stripped down to racing spec, this is a more classic M3 with less oak under the bonnet, less fat ripeness on the back end and more streamlined grapefruit zest and white peach. It’s set to hit the streets next week, so get in quick because it’s going very, very fast. $33 at WineStar, $36 at […]

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Grosset’s first botrytis in more than a decade is a gloriously unctuous wine with powerful botrytis presence and fleshy, viscous fruit. Stonefruits, honey, cloves and baked apples are balanced by the zesty kaffir lime of this cool season. It’s intensely sweet but has the acid carry to hold it. $43 at WineStar

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The great chardonnays of Tassie’s east are built on the definition of taut, cool, southerly acidity, here providing direction and drive to fleshy white peach, grapefruit and fig concentration. A wine of poise, line and lingering texture.

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Far too young to be showing its face just yet, this gloriously medium-bodied shiraz is no showstopper, but give it a decade, stand back and watch it emerge! The folds of its finely structured, firmly poised tannins hold many secrets of blackberry, blueberry, black pepper and dark chocolate. $26 at Dan’s.

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The precision of Larry Cherubino’s craft is well celebrated but never before has it reached such profound heights of razor-cut linearity, mind-blowing purity or dateline-traversing persistence. Immaculate kaffir lime, granny smith and green pepper. A new stratosphere has been transcended for the longevity of Great Southern riesling. $33 at Australian Wine Centre.

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