Unless you’re related to one of its 685 residents, you’re unlikely to have heard of Greenock, a town nestled in the northwestern edge of the Barossa Valley, but you’ll certainly be hearing a lot more about their wine if they can replicate vintages like the 2009 Laughing Jack Greenock Shiraz! Owner and vigneron Shaun Kalleske…
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I’ve often said that there’s no such thing as a good cheap Pinot Noir but having tried the Jardim Do Bomfim 2009 Pinot Noir, I suspect that I might have to accept that I could have been wrong! The unusual name “Jardim Do Bomfim” means “Garden of Good End” and the name is fitting for…
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If ever you needed proof that bigger is not better, look no further than the Westlake Eleazar Vineyard in South Australia’s Barossa Valley. Their flagship Shiraz, the “Eleazar”, sells at around $55 a bottle but is as good a Barossa Shiraz as I’ve tried in the last year. They only produce about 70 cases of…
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The 2009 edition of the John Duval Plexus is a colourful affair – not just because of the lively purple hue of the wine in the glass, but the vibrancy and playfulness of the perfumed fruits as they hit the nose and then pass across the palate. John Duval is perhaps best known for his…
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Big, bold Shiraz is synonymous with the Barossa Valley and it’s difficult to think of a more prominent winemaker from the region than Peter Lehmann. The Stonewell Shiraz may be his flagship, but as the style goes, his second-stringers do much more than make up the numbers. The latest release of the Peter Lehmann Art…
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I occasionally hear Barossa Valley Shiraz described as “too ripe”, “too powerful” or “too expensive”, and while I don’t agree with those descriptors, there is a nice compromise currently available that exhibits the Barossa nose but in a medium-bodied style which won’t blow the budget. The 2009 The Father in Law Shiraz is made by…
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There’s little doubt that the average red wine consumer demands a “drink now” style that exhibits lively fruit and a well-balanced finale, but if you’re prepared to be patient, then the 2009 “The Gate” Shiraz (by Shingleback) will be very rewarding. I could be wrong about this, but I get the impression that the current…
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There’s no better time of year to grab a bottle of red and curl up in front of the fire with a big block of chocolate; and there’s not too many better candidates for the role than the 2009 Clonakilla Hilltops Shiraz. While I love the fruit driven, over-ripe blockbusting styles that we often see…
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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;…
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