Clonale has hit the big time! Auditioned next to Pierro Chardonnay 09 for inclusion this week and Clonale got the gig – it’s a better wine! Ooh, aah! Ricocheting with grapefruit, fig and persimmon exoticity, nuanced with smoked ham, pulling into a clean-crafted finish. $22 at Kemeny’s, $23 at Dan’s.

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I stood up at the TempraNeo! roadshow and declared that if this is what twenty-year-old vines can do, I look forward to Australian tempranillo in a decade or two! Truth is, as much credit is due to the talented duo of Narelle and Don as to their crusty old vines for this perfumed, poised and […]

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Pinot is the grape behind some of my favourite rosés (and red and sparkling wines, too – there’s a theme here!) for its beguiling fragrance and captivating spice. The cool Adelaide Hills has infused this bird with watermelon, pink grapefruit and strawberry, finishing taut and dry. $17 at Dan’s.

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This is not the finest Oxford Landing Sauvignon of the past five years (it may just be the least) but at $6.65 at First Choice and Dan’s it’s so far above everything else on the bottom shelf that even the vintage ravaged by climactic Armageddon is worthy of your table! More crunchy and green-edged than […]

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The new age of Burgundy is here! Rémi is on about clean, pure fruit and restrained alcohol without the distraction of winemaking tricks or oak (unusually favouring the more subtle Austrian oak and rare 4000L Fudres). Les Chevalières is just a village wine, but from old vines near the heart of Meursault, it way overperforms […]

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Previously blended into Shiraz Viognier, now for the first time, pure, unadulterated Clonakilla shiraz! It sings with the vineyard, determined, directioned, flawlessly linear, hugging rails of fine, taut tannins that carry its opulent black fruits, anise and violets into an unrelenting finish. $90@Winestar, $85@ www.clonakilla.com.au

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Just when I thought the greatest champagne vintage of my lifetime was all over, one of the best bargain vintage wines of all appeared in the Dan’s catalogue at $75 this week. Be careful – there are plenty of lesser vintages on Dan’s shelves at the moment, but 96 has the most power and structure […]

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Calvert is Central Otago’s true grand cru vineyard, its fruit making the finest pinots of three different makers. Pyramid Valley is the wildest of all, loaded with exotic cherries, black plums, cinnamon, vanilla, spice, dried flowers, sarsaparilla and subtle chocolate. Fine, soft, silky, lingering, monumental.

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One of the most pristine riesling bouquets I have ever encountered. The most delicate lemon and lime blossoms, white lilies and green apples don’t do it justice. Pure, focused palate of mineral definition; textural presence on the back provides body; lime finish of epic persistence. Exact Polish Hill.

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Clonakilla genius for the masses, this year cooler and more pepper-edged than ever. It’s chiselled, angular and honed, with mineral granite nuances, generous layers of edgy pepper and crunchy blackberries. Given time, it will unravel into something profound. $37 at WineStar, $38 at Dan’s and $35 at www.clonakilla.com.au.

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