This is the first time I’ve seen this blend of three Yarra vineyards, and I’m impressed with its poise, fragrance and refreshing price. A core of red cherry fruit and rose petal aromas denote a gentle and silky style of finely structured tannins, carrying the finish long and even. $32 at Rathdowne Cellars.
John Brown was the first Australian winemaker to recognise Noble Rot in 1934 and his descendents still make one of the best expressions in the country. A maelstrom of complexity of peach, fig, honey, persimmon, marmalade, passionfruit and mixed spice over a pure and well-focused core of lemon zest defines a sticky of lively elegance […]
A standout among warm region chardonnays, with a pretty, lifted fragrance of almond blossom, red apple and pink grapefruit. The palate leads out crunchy and citrus-infused, and finishes structural and chewy, with grapefruit pith-like mouth feel, a squeeze of lemon acidity and almost ripe fig notes. Best price direct.
Rosé of such grace and refinement is a rare thing, a fitting tribute to arguably Australia’s finest three sparkling zones: maritime Tasmania, the cool reaches of the Upper Yarra Valley and the high altitude Whitlands Plateau. In the months since its first unveiling it has blossomed magnificently into a pretty, pale, elegant and delicate rosé […]
Albert has never been more polished and dignified, a wine of stature and depth, yet upholding impeccable poise and control. The fruit definition and density paraded here are something to behold, with depth and concentration of black plum and blackberry fruit, underlined by high cocoa dark chocolate and liquorice, lifted by a fragrant violet delicacy. […]
Brown Brothers has sold its historic Whitlands vineyard to Domaine Chandon, to instead focus sparkling production in Tasmania. There’s no question Tassie is the most exciting frontier for fine fizz in the country, but Whitlands has made some of the best sparkling wines on the mainland, and this is the last from Brown Brothers. It’s […]
Grace meets grandeur. A wonderfully dense, compact and coiled McLaren Vale shiraz, impressively dark and vibrant in hue, and deep in its black plum, blackberry and liquorice fruit. An impeccably shaped core is suspended by long, taut strands of finely textured tannin structure, drawing very long and linear through the finish. Wow. Best price direct.
Distinguished, coiled and driven, this is a blend of impeccable structure, fragrant finesse and enduring longevity. It’s restrained, gently and alluringly floral, with rose hip notes and wonderful purity of blackcurrant and blackberry fruit and pepper of focused purity. Fine chalk mineral tannin texture is particularly pronounced in V&A Lane, a signature of this part […]
Uniting fragrant, elegant, medium-bodied lift with intensity, depth and structural confidence is a hallmark of the greatest cabernets, embodied compellingly here. Excellent, exact, crunchy red- and blackcurrants and rose hip fragrance ride over a commanding core of black fruit intensity, all tightly caged in firm, finely structured tannins. Dark chocolate oak supports a long and […]
In 25 years of Moda, 2012 is set to go down among the greatest and longest-lived. The power and concentration on parade here are monumental, a towering structure of looming grandeur and yet simultaneously graceful and streamlined, impeccably scaffolded by firm, fine, dusty, tightly strung tannins and lively fruit vibrancy. Such a paradox is only […]