Another name has ascended to join the grand marques of Margaret River. The greatest Heytesbury to date has a thirty year future ahead. With molecular precision, gripping control, chiselled angles and coiled-up tension, it’s a blanket of blackcurrant over a graphite tannin wall. $70 at WineStar, $71.25 at Dan’s.
readA full five years of age on release, the cool edge of King Valley fruit instils this low alcohol blend of cabernet, shiraz and friends with remarkable, bright freshness. A spectacular, textural and exotic concoction of primary blackcurrants, cherries, woodsmoke, anise, tobacco, cedar, capsicum and even old leather.
readWinter has come, so bring on champagnes of weight and intensity. The characteristic juicy, fruit-focused style of small grower producer Gaston Chiquet is just the thing! Unusually pinot meunier dominant, it sings with flavours of nectarines and blueberries, meeting crystalline minerality. Buy taste over hype!
readBarrel fermented sauvignon semillon is the fastest exploding supernova in the Australian wine firmament in recent times. Pour it around the room, stand well back and watch Marlborough tragics go weak at the knees! Energetic, crisp, mineral, textured and cut, is this Australia’s longest lived SBS yet?
readThe hits just keep on rolling out of Margaret River in 2009 and, my goodness, the bargains that can be had! Such varietal and regional precision has ne’er been found for $16 (1st Choice and Dan’s this week). Violet perfume and a medium-bodied blackcurrant palate with superfine tannins and supportive oak.
readI’ve been waiting like an excited child for the results to hit the bottle after winemaker extraordinaire Sam Connew (Wirra Wirra) joined Tower in late 2009. Here they are, and the wait was worth every nanosecond! One of the freshest, most mineral and long-term entry level 2010 semillons.
readDoes chardonnay get any better than this anywhere else in the world under $20? No. Premium Yarra fruit in all its honed, mineral, grapefruit blossom and white peach glory! My score and drinking windows are not misprints. At $12.85 at Dan’s and $15 at WineStar and Kemeny’s, you’d better stock up by the pallet.
readThe calm restraint of Hunter shiraz makes it a mandatory and versatile inclusion in your drinking calendar. Thanks to the legendary Andrew Margan, you needn’t fork out a fortune for the privilege. Unleashed this week, his early picked 2009 is delightfully vibrant, with pure red berries, dried herb spice and supple tannins. $19 at Dan’s.
readIt takes as much fruit to make a half bot of botrytis wine as it does a full bot of anything else, such is its concentration! Seriously! This is full-throttle dessert wine, brimming with golden syrup, apricot, peach and melon, with just the right dash of fresh lemon to keep it zesty and lively. $16.15 […]
readWA’s most famous riesling maker has concocted a refreshing, bargain shiraz viognier that’s set to cause quite a stir! It’s honed, complex and unashamedly elegant, with all the graceful hallmarks of cool climate shiraz: cracked white pepper, sage and game, riding on fine-grained, chalky tannins.
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