Category: Australia

A recent dinner with the theme for the start of the evening being “Grand Marque Champagne”. All wines were tasted blind by me except for the Savaterre and the Carpineto. Comte Audoin de Dampierre Family Reserve Grand cru Blanc de Blancs Champagne 1996 A hyperactive bead with the most mousse of any of the Champagne […]

A fun offline in Sydney focusing on “Cult” wines – generally defined as small production (and often hard to obtain) wines that receive large scores from prominent overseas wine critics. All wines except for the two sparkling wines were tasted blind. The identities of the wines were known (except for the mystery wine) but not […]

  Fast Facts: Variety: Riesling Region: Clare Valley Country: Australia Winemaker: John Wilson Closure: Cork Alcohol: 12.5% Source: Gift from friend Winery Website: Wilson Vineyard Tasting Note: Straw yellow in colour with specks of green throughout. Honey, toast and fresh lemon zest on the nose. An explosion of lime and honeyed mouth-filling intensity with a […]

What a great night and opportunity this was to taste wines from the two leading big name Cabernet producers in Margaret River from some generally good to great vintages. These wines were all from the same cellar and only the Mount Langi ring-in was tasted blind. Lanson Black Label NV The nose is fresh and […]

I started this event by looking at some varied set of six Pinot Noir with wine writer Peter Bourne and the winemakers from Willow Creek and Ten Minutes by Tractor on the opening Friday night. Willow Creek “Tulum” Pinot Noir 2004 – (Mornington Peninsula, Victoria): Ah, I’ve wandered into the Shiraz tutorial by mistake. No? […]

A fun night recently with some of my wine drinking associates where we celebrated the birthyear (and in one case the conception year) of the people attending with wines from that vintage. The years we were celebrating were 1963, 1968, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1981 and 1984. None of the years are especially legendary or classic, […]

I had a chance to very briefly sample a few of the mid-year new release Giaconda wines earlier this evening. Giaconda from Beechworth in Victoria, is famous for its Chardonnay and Pinot Noir which are released along with the Cabernet and Shiraz towards the end of the year, but they sell two interesting white wines […]

Some quick notes from an excellent evening hosted by David Lole in Canberra. All wines were tasted and scored blind except for the Curlewis, the St. Henri and the Petaluma Essence. Rockford Sparkling Black (Sept. 2005 disgorgement) – (Barossa Valley, South Australia): Bright, clean raspberry, cherry, pepper, vanilla and blackberry aromas as well as a […]

Fast Facts: Variety: Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc Region: Geelong Country: Australia Winemaker: Nicholas Clark & Janet Cockbill Closure: Screwcap Alcohol: 13.0% Cost: $30AUD Source: Winery Sample Winery Website: Amietta Vineyard and Winery Angels’ Share is a blend of 60% Shiraz, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Cabernet Franc that demonstrates the correct use of an […]

Fast Facts: Variety: Shiraz Region: Geelong Country: Australia Winemaker: Nicholas Clark & Janet Cockbill Closure: Screwcap Alcohol: 13.8% Cost: $35AUD Source: Winery Sample Winery Website: Amietta Vineyard and Winery Of all the wines sent to me, I was probably looking forward to trying this one the most, it received a glowing review from Ralph Kyte-Powell […]