decanted

I don’t get the chance to look at much Chablis so it was nice to have a peek at this on a Manic Monday. Or Tuesday. Or whatever day this is.
The nose is closed, with hints of flint, citrus and not much else really. Deliciously dry and lean on the palate, with light […]

I’m an Orange man, I am. And no, dear Scottish readers (Hi Mum), I don’t mean I’ve taken up the sash, the flute and sworn allegiance to King Billy. I’m referring to my growing admiration for the premium wines being produced from the Orange region of New South Wales, about 300kms west of Sydney. […]

You might not know the name Austin Wines, from Geelong in Victoria, but if you have been to any self-respecting bottle shop in Sydney and browsed the Pinot Noir section, you will have noticed, and possibly even bought, a bottle of SixFootSix. I only found out last year, from owner Pam Austin herself, that Austin […]

The Swinging Bridge Chardonnay 2006 caused a stir late last year by being selected in the Top 40 Wines at the NSW Wine Awards.
A label little known up to that point, the wines packaged under this label are made from the best fruit grown on the Ward family’s Canowindra property, half an hour from Cowra […]

This winery has a solid following amongst a number of people I respect.
When the boys at Vaucluse Cellars, a wine shop boasting one of Sydney’s better Chardonnay fridges, recommended this wine I was obliged.
Upon their advice I wasn’t compelled to drink it immediately, so I’m pretty sure this isn’t current release.
Pale yellow to the rim, […]

I’ve never tried any of Toolangi’s wines until yesterday but the winery has always stuck in my mind because of the fact that it uses three distinguished wine makers - Rick Kinzbrunner (Giaconda), Tom Carson (Yering Station) and Matt Harrop (Shadowfax)- to make various wines under the Toolangi label. It is not uncommon for […]

I must admit I’ve not tried many “cleanskins” and have had a natural aversion to them. More often than not they are the result of wineries suffering and selling their wines unprofitably, or, a symptom of over-production. Either way, what is good for the consumer in terms of downward price pressure generally means […]

Mountadam is an Eden Valley winery with an illustrious history.
Once a darling of the Chardonnay set, being one of Australia’s first vineyards dedicated to the variety, the brand has changed hands on several occasions over the last decade.
The upheaval of ownership change has manifested itself in variable quality more obvious than natural vintage variation can […]

Another superb value offering from De Bortoli who deserve every accolade that has travelled their way. I’ve previously written about two of the De Bortoli Estate grown wines, and the Gulf Station range also sources fruit from the Estate’s vineyard, as well as other low yielding Yarra Valley vines.
This is a refreshing cool-climate Chardy, with […]

Each year as we, the business, anticipate the release of the Chardonnay from our Mornington Peninsula producer, we set about buying the wines from other respected wineries in the region.
In opening and comparing the wines of our competitiors (usually referred to as “benchmarking”) we have a better idea of what we’re up against in a […]