Astoundingly stylish chardonnay for this price, marrying the cool, primary, malic acidity of a great vintage on the Mornington Peninsula with the textural complexity of clever lees work. Linear grapefruit and lemon are no more than tickled by the charcuterie complexity of lees aging, finishing with considerable structure and stamina. $22 at Dan’s and Winecave.
readAn outstanding gewürztraminer and one of Australia’s best, not so much by virtue of its characteristic exuberance (brimming with pure lychee, juicy stonefruit, pulpy grapefruit and notes of mixed spice, fig and honey) but by its minerality. The elevation of one of the highest vineyard sites in the Clare blesses it with what gewürztraminer so […]
readRosemount is not a brand from which I expected such trail-blazing endeavours, nor results as compelling as this. The cool 2011 season is on full display here in green pepper, greengage plum and lime zest freshness, while five months on full solids has built textural fullness. With grapefruit pulp, crunchy pear and lime juice, it’s […]
readTim McNeil is a name to watch in Clare and his shiraz is ready to go. From a single, dry-grown vineyard near Auburn in the southern end of the region, it’s loaded with generous, sweet mulberry, blackberry and plum fruit. Surprisingly well integrated, fine tannins give the impression of softness, yet lack nothing in structure. […]
readWhen the previous vintage stunned me in a blind tasting last year, I was eager to meet Tim and learn his secret: his hand-picked, dry grown riesling is sourced from just over the hill from Knappstein’s Ackland vineyard, next door to Jeffrey Grosset’s Springvale vineyard. This is the magic triangle of Watervale, with a signature […]
readAn alluringly fragrant and restrained wine of low alcohol freshness. Graciano’s pink pepper is enhanced with the red liquorice and raspberry of grenache and the finely structured, earthy tannins of mataro. Its bright, aromatic fruit remains the focus throughout, while maintaining commendable composure and persistence.
readThe highest contours of Skillogalee’s estate yield mesmeric riesling of great concentration of lime zest, lime drops, lemon juice and pear. It ripples with fine, chalky minerality, outstanding definition and linear persistence. True to the season, this is a generous wine and ready to approach earlier than most vintages.
readSkillogalee’s rapid ascension has elevated it to become one of the more underrated estates in the Clare, if not in the country. Its flagship wine exudes an effortless, medium-bodied calm and yet at the same time a generous, plump demeanour. A sweet, ripe core of berry fruits is overlaid with signature Clare notes of mint […]
read2009 was an impressive season in Burgundy and produced the strongest set of Marchand & Burch wines I’ve seen yet. This is the pick of them (and it’s not the most expensive). Deep black cherry and plum skin fruit are enhanced with notes of nutmeg, cherry kernel, vanilla, wood spice and high cocoa dark chocolate. […]
readAnother arresting vintage of Comtes has landed and, unlike the three vintages that precede it, it’s ready to play right away. A warmer year has blessed it with layers of generous, rounded white fruits, but its core remains classic, inimitable Comtes: a revelation of intricately, epically spun minerality that bores to the very core of […]
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