The true star of Roederer, and by far the cheapest ($60 this week at Kemeny’s and Dan’s!), this is quintessential winter champagne. Three-fifths pinots, some old oak maturation and bottle aged for three years add honeyed richness, butterscotch, brioche and cinnamon, finessed with a cut of lemon.
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Beaujolais in its unadulterated glory, this enticing style is all about aromatics, singing with exotic spice, lifted violets and forest berries! From one of France’s more reliable natural winemakers, this vintage is shining after a few years bottle age.
readThe big daddy of tawny ports, the levels of complexity here are off the clock, thanks to some thirty years in the cellar. It’s oozing with every port flavour you could conjure, all intricately woven into a marvellous whole. Don’t wait until you’re a great grandfather to experience this flavourgasm.
readAt last, here it is! The long awaited sparkling from Kym Teusner is brimming with all the plums and blackberry fruit purity for which this young Barossa maker is renowned. When you need a classy sparkling red, count on this MC to take command of the room and create the perfect festive mood!
readLong-ageing Penfolds engineering at a price for the masses! I introduced KH76 to my mates after it won a trophy in my Great Australian Red comp last year and they’ve been eager to find it ever since. A cage of fine tannins encase pure black fruits and pepper. $17 at WineStar and myCellars this week.
readEvery time Steve Webber and Leanne DeBortoli return from a jaunt to France, their wines take on a little more Euro nuance. Detail and subtlety are always the hallmarks, captured impeccably by Rococo’s textural citrus. It’s as sophisticated as its baroque label – a monumental statement at $17 (WineStar).
readSteingarten is an institution and my cellar is loaded with two decades of it because it ages like your favourite antique and it’s dirt cheap. Another megavintage, nervy, spiney, scintillating and desperately long, long, long. $25 at Kemeny’s.
readOf the fifty year history of Signature in a monumental vertical recently, 2006 was my wine of the day. Low alcohol coaxes out elegant perfume, glittering spice and textural pepper. Mega potential. Pity about the tree bark. $37 at Dan Murphy’s.
readKevin Judd put NZ on the wine map with Cloudy Bay 25 years ago, and blow me down if he isn’t doing it again with Greywacke (‘Greywacky’). The most exciting Kiwi sauv this year, desperately honed, rippling with minerality, belying its age, its oak & – dare I say – the exuberance of its region.
readAdiós dried out, crusty Rioja! Hola tangy, vibrant black cherries, bitter dark chocolate and textural tannins! Restrained concentration, back-seat oak, enticing, but don’t rush. 100% glorious estate fruit. Carlos Martinez is working overtime in the vines to usher in the new Rioja. Bienvenida!
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