A running reviews of wines we love as we discover them!
In recent years, it seems we find fewer and fewer Yarra Pinots that really excite. But every once in awhile, you find one so heart-breakingly good that it reminds you why it’s still worth the hunting. This Pinot has a firm, but oh so plush backbone, like the finest Italian mattress, which supports the long-winding ride […]
We generally (on average and in the main) find that AUS wines drink best (and safest) at five to seven years of age, but every now and again, a true museum wine really turns our heads! Idavue Estate’s 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon is one such example. The nose of this Cab Sauv immediately greets the drinker with […]
We love St Ignatius Vineyard and their fastidious commitment to producing wines of old world quality. Even for a reserve range, how many wineries can you name today that release a wine over three years after its underlying fruit has been picked? Two years in quality oak and a year in the bottle before it […]
Straight off the nose, it is clear this is an aged wine of stature – marmalade and citrus zest, tempered by the gentle hand of slow oxidisation. On the palate, an instant miracle – brioche and marzipan, flecked with savoury olive tapenade, all carried on a broad wave of creek floor minerality and tempered to […]
A surprisingly delicious and altogether captivating wine that captures that rare-as-hens’-teeth dialectic of satisfying plumpness and bewitching complexity. (Gewurztraminer, Pinot Blanc, Riesling & Pinot Gris – who would have guessed?!?) Honeysuckle, soft citrus, & minerality entice on the softer side but are well balanced by more contemplative pine, nettles and musk notes – they are […]
Owing to its intimate size, the rigorous nature of its judging and the exceptional quality of the wines on show, the Heathcote Wine Show is our favourite wine award night on the Australian calendar. It is an unparalleled experience – a Wine Hunter’s best dream made real. We were beyond thrilled to be able to […]
Blowfly must be Australia’s most intriguing winery. It offers a suite of unique wine experiences that are simply unmatched. (And so refreshing from the monotonous and neutered fare offered at most of the big retailers!) Viz, we recently got ahold of four vintages of Blowfly’s Petit Verdot (2006-09). Hard enough to find Petit Verdot as […]
We recently did a vertical tasting of Chirping Bird‘s delightful Mornington Peninsula Shiraz. At release, Chirping Bird Shiraz almost always strikes such an inviting balance – offering enough heft and dark fruit to engage, but never overpowering or assertive. With that said, it was intriguing to discover how some of these wines have aged, with […]
Dense blackberry. Hints of soft vanilla. A delicate symphony of dark spices. Wave after wave of polished flavours spread broadly across the palate – broadly but with unified intent. A meaty, substantial wine, and yet somehow a ballerina’s grace across the palate. The holy Heathcote unity of elegance and might are nowhere captured better than […]
That tenacious nudge. The tendrils of the cab sav’s lusty flavours inch their way forward, but always refined by the merlot’s polish and shine. Dark chocolate, bramble, and mild winter spices – plump but engaging yum! This wine is built off great fruit. The bottle notes say it most succinctly: “a damn fine wine.” Australian […]