When we think of pinot noir, I suspect that most of us drift towards wines from Burgundy in France, Oregon in the USA or Central Otago in New Zealand’s southern isle, but there are a number of Australian districts that are producing stunning examples of the style and creating what is almost a cult following…
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It’s been more than a few years since I’ve made the sojourn across our continent to visit the wineries of the west. We are blessed in Australia to have so many wine districts around the country that offer 5-star cellar doors and also turn out world-class wines. It’s a shame that for those of us…
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The Great Southern wine region in Western Australia has been producing table wines since the late 1960s, but to this day remains largely underrated, if not undiscovered, by consumers. Perhaps it’s a product of the commercial success of the Margaret River that sees it stealing the Sandgroper’s limelight, or it could just be the tyranny…
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Turns out a good chardonnay runs in the family genes It could be a case of unconscious bias, but I’ve never been keen on writing about the Dan Murphy’s or BWS stable of highly promoted and often, overhyped reds and whites. Leaving aside the big brands like Tyrells, Penfolds, McGuigan, Taylors and De Bortoli, many…
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Riesling is on the rise as versatility adds to her attraction. Move over Fonz, after years of being courted by sauvignon blanc, there’s a new cool kid in town and her name is Riesling! It seems that what started out as just a small group of friends and family lip-syncing the chorus, has become a…
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There’s naturally a degree of hesitation in expressing an opinion about wine, wine regions and winemakers. After all, opinions are rather self-indulgent and often, ill-considered, half-baked and formed in ignorance of the facts. So when I was recently asked for my view as to which region produces the best Shiraz in Australia, I baulked! How…
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Stand aside nerds, there’s a new kid on the Margaret River Cabernet block, and with her oenological charm, she seems destined to fit right in with the popular crowd. Devil’s Lair have recently released a new “on premise” Cabernet, the Dance with the Devil which sells at around $25 a bottle and is crafted to…
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I’d never heard of Billy Goat Hill let alone their wines until I recently acquiesced to a glass of red with my lunch on a domestic Virgin flight to Sydney. The name may sound like something out of a Norwegian fairy-tale, but the lesson I received in geography was well worth the adventure! The Billy…
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There’s no better place to source Cabernet than in Western Australia’s Margaret River region and you’ll have to search high and low to find a more approachable example than the 2010 Killerby Cabernet Sauvignon. I can’t help but enjoy the slightly dusty mintiness that hits you on the nose, but it’s the full-bodied blackcurrants and…
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Buying wine at the value end of the spectrum can be a little hit and miss, but you can vastly improve your prospects of scoring runs by buying a type of wine that is the strength of its region of origin. Like the Valley of the Giants Sauvignon Blanc Semillon 2013. It’s an example of…
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