The diligence of the Barossa’s most attentive makers shines more in the tumultuous 2008 season than in any before it. The Barlow-Blackwell duo has tamed this voluptuous vintage, hand-carving their Old Block into a honed structure, tightrope balance and consummate control, to land an opulent wine at a tantalising 13.9% alcohol. $68 at Dan’s, $70 […]
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Crank out the vinyl! Never before hitting the true high notes of Laurent-Perrier, LP is finally on song! The toasty complexity of three years in the cellar adds richness to a tightly defined lemon juice backbone. Without a crackle to be heard, the fidelity is exact. $50 at Kemeny’s, $60 at Randall’s & WineStar.
readHome of one of Australia’s most illustrious wine histories, when McWilliams says ‘old,’ you’d better believe it! Old Paddock was planted in ‘21 and Old Hill in ‘80. 1880, that is. Blessed by the ‘07 season, they’ve yielded black plum skin and cherry fruits, cola, pitch and fine, textural tannins. $29 at Dan’s.
readOn a mission to hunt down the best value for your wine dollar? This is as good as it gets anywhere. Such mesmerising purity, undeviating persistence and neverending longevity command ear-splitting prices in every other corner of the wine world. Yours for $25 at Kemeny’s or $30 at WineStar.
readAll the magic and intrigue of one of Margaret River’s grandslam vintages without the need to mortgage your castle! Taut, sinewy tannins draw out beautifully defined blackberry and blackcurrant fruit long and linear. Hints of liquorice, wisps of fireplace. $24 at Kemeny’s and Dan’s, $28 at WineStar.
readBlimey! Has such pinot purity ever paraded at $13 (Dan Murphy’s)? With no less than eight pinots in its carnival of love, there’s no operation on earth that hits every price point as thrillingly as De Bortoli. Steve Webber is the ringmaster and he’s pulled all manner of roses, violets and cherries out of his […]
readRiesling’s rapier-like spine too much for you? 2010 to the rescue! Generous, soft and more approachable to drink young, there are rich notes of guava and honeydew under this wine’s lime blossom perfume, finishing with sufficient zesty freshness to keep the purists at ease. $15 at Kemeny’s & Dan’s.
readDrink it now, drink it in a decade, you can’t lose in any great vintage of this ambidextrous semillon! Lemon and lime now, lanolin and toast later, with a glorious undercurrent of minerality that won’t fade. $17 at Kemeny’s and Dan Murphy’s and $18 at WineStar.
readSauvignon snobs, go jump in a vat of colombard! The rest of us will keep drinking Marlborough sauvignon, and why wouldn’t we when one of the most dependable cheapies is $13 at Dan Murphy’s? It tastes precisely as you’d expect: crunchy pink lady apples, gooseberries, cut grass, zesty lemon and grapefruit.
readIt’s a happy day when a stonking new bargain red is born! The latest member of the Stumpy family is so young it hasn’t appeared anywhere yet. But when it does, be prepared to leap over stumps, barricades, whatever to get to it because this bright, chirpy and exactingly varietal cabernet will show up under […]
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