Tag: New South Wales

De Bortoli - Sacred Hill Chardonnay 2015 Review

De Bortoli, Sacred Hill Chardonnay 2015

The value end of the retail wine spectrum is a busy if not duopolistic space, but if you can look past the “specials” promoted by the Coles and Woolworths operations, there are some Australian made wines punching well above their weight. Like the De Bortoli Sacred Hill Chardonnay 2015. It’s a product of the Riverina…
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Andrew Thomas, Braemore Semillon 2014 Review

Andrew Thomas, Braemore Semillon 2014

Once upon a time, the Hunter Valley produced enjoyable wines that only became top shelf once you got past the forest floor dirtiness that tended to dominate the nose and taint the front palate. But the new generation of Hunter Valley winemaker has purged the barrels of any yeasty residue and developed a clean, unadulterated…
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Whispering Sisters, Old Block Shiraz 2012 Review

Whispering Sisters, Old Block Shiraz 2012

You’ve got to love Australian wine regions and more so, their diversity. From the gravelly loam soils of the Margaret River to the cool windy climate of Tasmania and the temperate Mediterranean feel of South Australia’s McLaren Vale. The regional traits of the wines our country produces are remarkably varied, but their wildly different character…
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Meerea Park, Terracotta Syrah 2011 Review

Meerea Park, Terracotta Syrah 2011

There are a lot of tricks and traps in this wine buying caper and it’s true that a lot of new players often overlook the fact that seasonal variations can have a dramatic impact on the quality of the same wine year by year. So when a region experiences a season with perfect climatic conditions…
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Lindeman's, Regional Series Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 Review

Lindeman’s, Regional Series Cabernet Sauvignon 2012

I am not sure whether it’s for the preservation of a wine’s integrity, it’s marketability or just plain elitism, but in the Australian wine industry, it’s relatively rare for a winemaker to blend grapes of the same style from different territories. But the aversion to regional blending might be a thing of the past given…
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Meerea Park, ‘Hell Hole’ Shiraz 2010 Review

Meerea Park, ‘HellHole’ Shiraz 2010

I’ve regularly given a big “thumbs up” to Hunter Valley whites like their Verdelho, Semillon and even Chardonnay, but rarely have red wines from the region captured the attention of my taste buds like the recently released Meerea Park ‘Hell Hole’ Shiraz 2010. While the Hunter reds are typically “dirty” on the nose and forest…
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Meerea Park, 'The Aunts' Shiraz 2010 Review

Meerea Park, ‘The Aunts’ Shiraz 2010

Look out South Australia, here come the new styles of Hunter Valley Shiraz that have cast off their earthy coat of viticultural mouldiness and arrived clean, glammed up and ready for a rich berry-fruited party on your palate! And the guest of honour on this occasion is the Meerea Park 2010 ‘The Aunts’ Shiraz. Made…
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Clonakilla. Hilltops Shiraz 2009 Review

Clonakilla Hilltops Shiraz 2009

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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Wild Oats, Sauvignon Blanc Semillon 2009 Review

Wild Oats, Sauvignon Blanc Semillon 2009

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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