Mike Press celebrates a half-century of winemaking this year. It’s been seven years since I first started avidly tracking his work, and in this time his vines have precisely doubled in age. His shiraz style has grown up with its vines, from the precocious, peppery wines of the early years to a deeper personality of […]
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Mike Press has been working like a demon to refine pinot noir in his single vineyard at Lobethal, high in the Adelaide Hills. His first release entirely from the 777 clone, it goes without saying that the magnificent 2012 vintage has given birth to his finest rendition yet. I challenge you to find a more […]
readTash Mooney’s great talent in crafting beautifully textured wines has hit breathtaking heights in the tremendous 2012 season. There’s real savoury allure and complexity here, hints of pepper and struck match over understated grapefruit, apple and pear fruit. The palate unites peppery fruit and reductive flintiness to build a very fine structure that draws the […]
readA multi-talented performer that captures the paradox of zesty crunch, perfumed freshness, textural depth and well-proportioned body all in one glass. This makes for a particularly versatile style from this single site in the Mount Lofty Ranges, the perfect partner to all manner of Asian fusion cuisine. It’s filled with lovely complexity of lifted apple […]
readThe cool acidity of Tasmanian riesling generally appreciates a little sweetness, but here’s a beautifully refined and chalky mineral exception, ranking among the best dry rieslings in the island state. Pristine focus of lime blossom, kaffir lime spice and pepper of outstanding persistence and great longevity, energised by intricately fine acidity. $20 at Grays, No […]
readA well balanced gris that captures the natural body and weight of this variety and transposes this impeccably into a cool, zesty, lively northern Tasmanian style. This gives a crunchy citrus zest backbone to its finely textured structure, finishing with impressive persistence and enticing poise. $22 at Trio Wine.
readJoshua was the wine that started the Teusner revolution in 2002, and a decade on he’s released one of the greatest editions yet. With a core of seventy-year-old grenache from the Riebke vineyard in northern Barossa, spiced up with almost one-quarter Williamstown and Stockwell mataro and a touch of Koonunga shiraz, Joshua sees no oak […]
readKym Teusner considers Avatar his standout wine of an outstanding season. There’s a little more shiraz in the blend than usual this year, (30%), but grenache retains the lead (40%), with strong support from mataro (30%), all from vines averaging an incredible 90 years of age. The result is an incredible expression of red and […]
readThe cool, peppery intricacy of vineyards between 460 and 500m in altitude in the Strathbogie ranges makes for a captivatingly fragrant and spicy style of shiraz in the great 2010 season. Oak is old and new, big and small, English and French, with an elegance thanks to one-third in a rare 140 year-old 5000L English […]
readAfter a tiny production in the difficult 2011 season, M3 is back up to racing spec in the great 2012 vintage. An enticing bouquet captures the fragrance of lemon blossom, the freshness of grapefruit pulp, the depth of white peach, the complexity of mixed spice and the exoticism of fresh fig. The palate is intricately […]
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