From vines first planted in 1860 in the Southern Barossa Valley, the Linfield Road wines certainly have maturity of vines on their side! The 2006 “The Black Hammer” Cabernet Sauvignon ($18-22 a bottle) is slightly dirty in the glass but has a herbaceous, cedary nose that invites immediate imbibement. At first, the rich fruit titillates…
Read more
We’ve always been ‘the Lucky Country’, but if you ever needed to be reminded just how lucky…grab a bottle of the Shingleback 2010 Chardonnay and see for yourself! The wine hails from the McLaren Vale region in South Australia, which is renowned for its uncanny resemblance to the Mediterranean climate with wet winters, dry summers…
Read more
I’m normally a sucker for a Margaret River Chardonnay, but they really should have called this one “The Verse 1 Doughnut”, because I reckon there’s a really big hole in the middle. The French Oak and yeast lees are evident on the nose from the moment that you raise your glass. At first, the front…
Read more
If you’re a fan of McLaren Vale Shiraz, but don’t appreciate the overwhelming “sweetness” that can creep into some South Australian versions of the style, then this may be a wine for you. The fruit is full and rich and offers a hint of smokey chocolate; the texture is more glide than chew; and the…
Read more
Bob Oatley has made some great calls in his time. Firstly, in 2003 there was the sale of his Rosemount Estate empire to Southcorp for $1.5 billion; then there was his Wild Oats II yachting team which won five line honours in the Sydney to Hobart Race and remain race record holder to this day;…
Read more
There really is something fishy about the 2008 Fat Fish Shiraz from the irrepressible Barossa Valley. It’s not the dark (if not almost black!) colour of the wine that beguiles the palate. And there’s nothing unusual about a wine conceived in the region showing such deep ripe berries that rise to a crescendo on the…
Read more
The Shingleback McLaren Vale Shiraz is a wonderfully consistent wine and the 2007 release is no exception. It’s bright in the glass, bold up front with dark berries and mocha on the front palate, savoury cedar in the middle and has just a hint of spiciness in the finale. In its youthful state the obvious…
Read more
If you ask a dozen wine critics to prepare a list of their “top 10” iconic Australian wines, there’s little doubt that the Giaconda Chardonnay from Rick Kinzbrunner’s vineyard in Beechworth, Victoria would feature prominently on almost all of them. Just ask James Halliday who consistently rates it as a 95 plus pointer. Its richness…
Read more
Although you’d expect it at the $70.00 plus price point, winemaker Rick Kinzbrunner has crafted another cracker of a wine with his current release 2008 Giaconda Pinot Noir. The blend of Yarra Valley and Beechworth (Victoria) grapes strikes the perfect balance of structure and fruit. It’s mid-ruby in the glass, gamey on the nose but…
Read more
The west of this great land may best be renowned for its mineral riches, the Kimberleys and wildflowers, but in years to come, I suspect that its SSB (Semillon Sauvignon Blanc) will become just as well known. The Margaret River region is perhaps the State’s premier wine district and along with its Cabernet, the SSB…
Read more