Ten buck red is the toughest nut to crack in the wine world, and this is the last place you want to take your chances. McPherson delivers a veritable fruit cart of plush plums and dark berries and a generous shake of mixed spice. Climb on board, enjoy the ride!
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Stonewell is the finest Barossa shiraz of the modern era. A monumental call, but no other comes close in its consistency across more than two decades, its core of profound longevity and the ever-escalating grandeur of its finest vintages. 2006 is a maelstrom of concentrated power and uncompromising composure like none that has gone before […]
readNo one in Australia has heard of it, but get ready, this delightfully peculiar and hauntingly brilliant wine is about to be unleashed on us. I discovered it and its maker, Lance Redgwell, over a long Martinborough lunch early last year, and I was floored by its perfume of pepper and violets and its concentrated […]
readThis wine rules the magic line above which I will buy champagne every time. Its secret is the icy Whitlands vineyard in the foothills of the Victorian snowfields, with an altitude that defines its taut, mineral backbone, overlaid with the toasty complexity of six years bottle age. It will elevate you to a new altitude! […]
readThe weakest seasons prove the greatest producers. Christian Sérafin is a fast rising star in Gevrey and Charmes is his finest turf. In 2007 it has blossomed into a thing of gloriously perfumed, cherry blossom beauty; a wine of spellbinding elegance and legendary longevity.
read“Chardonnay is close to my heart,” waxes Ruinart Chef de Caves Frédéric Panaïotis. It’s close to mine, too, when it’s as elegant and refined as it is in his B de B. This is the consummate autumn aperitif; a complete champagne, singing with pure lemon juice and high notes of cinnamon and wild honey.
readChasing a plush, juicy cabernet to crack with Sunday afternoon sangers? Well, forget this. The engineering is so impeccable it would put an Airbus to shame (hang on, make that a Boeing), and its serviceable life is longer, too! Stonking Margaret River cab from a legendary vintage. $30 at WineStar.
readThe Yarra Valley is famous for cabernet, although not from its cooler upper parts. Blessed with a magic season, this historic vineyard obliterates the mould! Such lift of violets, purity of blackcurrant fruit and drive of tannin structure, these parts have rarely seen. Miniscule production, get in line.
readIt’s frankly hilarious that you can pick up a wine for $17 at Kemeny’s and Dan Murphy’s that will shine for twenty years! I’d never believe it if I hadn’t been dazzled by a line of ‘80s and ‘90s Church Blocks recently. There must be some divine intervention going on here and 09 has sure […]
readLook out Central Otago and Martinborough, Canterbury pinot noir has hit the big time! With an ethereal air of exotic spice and a brooding structure, Bell Hill is the epitome of Kiwi cult sensations. If you’ve got cash to splash and you want all the bells and whistles, it’s time you ascended The Hill.
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