I admire the pristine development in the Hunter’s best 2007 semillons, and Maxwell is a benchmark of unhurried development. A core of lemon and pear fruit, with wonderful, primary aromatics of lemon blossom, very slowly evolving to become nutty and toasty. An excellent acid spine upholds focus, drive, persistence and completeness. Best price direct.

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One of the finest wines to emerge from First Creek yet. Even in its just-bottled state, its classic, medium-bodied Hunter styling is apparent, while showcasing delightfully succulent yet impeccably focused fruit presence. It hails almost entirely from the Black Cluster vineyard, a site that presents an outstanding core of fruit right from the outset. With […]

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Remarkable, first in that this is a 2012 Hunter red and second in that it’s good. Very good. It rained so much during vintage that Lake’s Folly harvested no shiraz, only half its usual crop of merlot and a low yield of cabernet. The result is a production of just 2,000 dozen, half the usual […]

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First released in 2011, when I gave it a massive rap in these pages. Three years later, Alexander the Great has returned at the same price, a rerelease to bring the release age up to five years. It’s upheld great fruit integrity of black cherries and dark plums, layered with spice and a subtle backdrop […]

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Vat 9 is one of the great success stories of the Hunter, and the Tyrrell’s team names the eradication of brettanomyces from the winery in the last decade as perhaps the biggest development in the company’s history. The result is a purity, an effortlessness, an elegance and a delightfully characteristic medium-bodied Hunter Burgundy restraint. Its […]

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A magnificent Musician and perpetually great value, this is a succulent and enticing blend of 60% cabernet sauvignon and 40% shiraz from Majella’s legendary Coonawarra vineyard. It’s immediately appealing in its berry compote and mixed spice flavours, supported by well integrated milk chocolate oak and fine, supple tannins. $17 at Nillumbik, Aussie Wines, Wine List […]

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Balnaves is one of Coonawarra’s reliable go-tos, consistently well made, ageworthy and the same value-for-money prices as always – the price of this wine hasn’t moved in more than five years. Co-fermented with a dash of viognier and aged in French oak (25% new FO), this is a fleshy, fruity and spicy Coonawarra shiraz that […]

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All the allure and elegant intrigue of Best’s shiraz at an affordable price. A beautifully fragrant bouquet of violets and black pepper is set against a deep black plum background. Impressively intense and seamless black plum and black cherry fruit is backed with mixed spice, liquorice and dark chocolate French oak. Fine-grained, well-textured tannins carry […]

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When I first tasted this new restaurants and cellar door only label from Xanadu I had no idea of the price point and I would have guessed more than it’s $24 price tag. From mature vineyards, wild yeast fermented in barrel, this is an evenly poised and elegantly refined chardonnay. It captures the generosity of […]

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One of the greats in De Bortoli’s legendary line of chardonnays, this is a magnificent wine of calm effortlessness and yet tension of structure, from what Chief Winemaker Steve Webber sums up eloquently as “a bloody good vintage.” It’s beautifully balanced, poised, refined, finely structured and impeccably focused, uniting lovely complexity of struck match and […]

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