It was again a tremendous honour to chair the jury of the Terre de Vins Best Old Vintage Awards, leading the panel of what must be the finest set of nine champagne tasters from nine countries ever assembled! The line up of 32 cuvées bore grand testimony to the incredible endurance of champagne from the […]

The highlights of this year’s Penfolds Collection are Yattarna 2024 and St Henri 2023! The trilogy of cool seasons across South Australia in 2021, 2022 and 2023 were particularly compelling, and while 2024 was generally warmer and drier, it has produced impressive and enduring exemplars of Bins 389, 169, 707 and Magill Estate. For some […]

I am devastated and heartbroken by the passing of Matthew Jukes, who suffered a heart attack while holidaying with his family in Portugal yesterday, at the age of 58. My heart goes out to his wife Amelia and his children Isadora, Elspeth, Rollo and Victor. The wine world has lost one of its greatest; a […]

When I visited Billecart-Salmon in the depth of winter 2025, I knew something big was brewing, but I could never have anticipated just how big. My suspicions were confirmed the moment we sat down around the oval table in the eloquent new tasting room of the house. Over sixteen years and some fifty visits at […]

When I first started collecting wine 30 years ago, creating ideal storage conditions in the harsh Australian climate became something of an obsession! I visited all the greatest cellars across Australia and France to discover exactly what made for perfect conditions to store and enjoy wine. This proved to be the inspiration that launched my […]

Are you a champagne house aspiring to grow your presence in Australia or to find an importing partner? Or are you an Australian agency seeking a new champagne brand or an opportunity to grow your existing brands? It’s my great pleasure to announce my exciting new collaboration with Skale Australia! Skale is a new luxury […]

I am very proud and humbled to announce that The Champagne Tour has just been named Tour Operator of the Year in The Global Awards 2025 and I have also been awarded winner of Wine Presenter of the Year in The Prestige Awards 2025. Special thanks to my Global Events Manager Sharron Turgeon, to Annelies Pieters […]

Penfolds Bin 51 Eden Valley Riesling 2025 $45 10.5% A particularly dry season of warm conditions and small yields, which Kym Schroeter describes as a bit too warm for riesling, though perfect for chardonnay. In its youthful state at just a few months of age, it carries the power and ripeness of the season in […]

Last month in Paris, Penfolds released its most contentious wine since the very creation of Grange itself: Penfolds Grange La Chapelle Shiraz Syrah 2021. On paper it could not be more bewildering. Grange is an official Heritage Icon of South Australia. It’s definitively and idiosyncratically Australian – the Uluru of shiraz. La Chapelle is the […]

Australian wine is in a very exciting place in 2024, for reasons completely missed by the headline news. This is a year in which reporting has been dominated by dramatic oversupply, diminishing consumption, waning exports, drought, frost and economic calamity. Many wineries find themselves at a particularly challenging moment in the cycle. But there’s a […]