Australia’s great white is back, says Tyson Stelzer. What would you name Australia’s best varietal wine at the moment? The buzz among wine judges this year might come as a surprise. Chardonnay. Australia’s great white grape has had a tumultous journey since its humble beginnings in this country just forty years ago. Between the mid-80s […]
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Australia’s fortified wine capital is reinventing itself. When the door of the old barrel shed at Chambers Rosewood winery is thrown open, visitors are greeted by a breath of warm air of intoxicating aroma, rich, sweet and generously inviting. Inside the humble, dusty space within, scores of giant, ancient barrels aligned in haphazard rows emanate […]
readIn the tiny outback town of Dunkeld in Victoria, Australia, it’s a nightly occurrence to spot sommeliers dashing across the highway clutching a bottle of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, an old Château Latour or an Australian icon. Plucked from a giant climate-controlled cellar, a steady stream of prized bottles make their way to The Royal […]
readChampagne rosé has never been more popular, says Tyson Stelzer. It wasn’t long ago that we wouldn’t be caught dead drinking pink. How times have changed. Rosé champagne is now a highlight of every champagne dinner I host, and connoisseurs can’t seem to get enough of it. So much so that Champagne is struggling to […]
readCoonawarra is hardly renowned for riesling, but there’s great value to be found in Majella’s reliable and well-made style. It’s crisp, fruity, clean and precise with citrus notes of lemon, lime zest and tangelo, supported by softly textured acidity and good persistence. $15 direct.
readMajella’s estate shiraz vines are responsible for a well balanced rosé of enticing appeal, subtle fruit sweetness and soft, finely textured structure. Pretty strawberry and raspberry fruit notes linger with pomegranate and pink pepper on a long finish. Great value at $15 direct.
readJacob’s Creek’s entry sparkling rosé isn’t what it used to be, making the small trade up to Trilogy a worthy investment. Sourced predominantly from the great 2012 vintage in Langhorne Creek and the Adelaide Hills, this blend of pinot noir, chardonnay and pinot meunier is a soft and creamy rosé of elegant strawberry and red […]
readThere must be wizardry on the go at the great Primo Estate to conjure a wine that transcends the nature of the region and the variety in summonsing a white wine more zesty and refreshing than anyone would expect for McLaren Vale Colombard. Fresh lemons and crunchy nashi pears are accented with a subtle sea […]
readIf you’re into shiraz, love a bargain and out to try something different, here is your wine. Enticing aromas of violets waft over a deep core of black plum, black cherry and liquorice fruit. Exotic nuances of spice and black pepper add interest. Matured in new and old French oak barrels, the wood influence is […]
readFrom the foothills of the French Pyrenees, south of the legendary walled city of Carcassonne, where the hills rise to an altitude of 400m, cooled by refreshing winds, this is an even and balanced sauvignon upheld by fine acid tone. Three months maturation on lees has built a softly textural mouth feel and apple cider-like […]
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