Expectations exceed, considerably! Curtis Family Vineyard’s Martins Vineyard Shiraz 2016 is a beaut... serious quality on show here. -

Blackberries and plums, hints of blueberry combined with anise and a touch of vanilla. Fresh, definitely in no way dense or jammy, there’s a real elegance here. The body is full, palate rich, texture perfect, and the fruit shines. Blackberry, plums, dark chocolate richness that’s silky and smooth. There’s oak, American, but it’s extremely well integrated giving the slightest vanilla notes, more complexity than expected, and super velvety tannins. What a ripper!

 Expectations exceed, considerably! Curtis Family Vineyard’s

A wise man once said “I like it, I like it a lot”, and that’s exactly how I feel about the

 Brothers Shiraz, named after Malcolm and Colin Campbell, the top-shelf drop from the Rutherglen producers. What’s not to like…  big blackberry fruit flavours, subtle hints of vanilla, savoury, almost leatheriness going on that’s well balanced by the tannin and acidity. No shrinking violet here! It’s certainly at home in glass, or the cellar.

 A wise man once said “I like it, I like it a lot”, and

Things are starting to get a little serious... ⁣

Drink or cellar, that's the question?!⁣

 Things are starting to get a little serious... ⁣ Drink or

To all Nebbiolo fans out there, keep your eyes peeled for this! Here’s a stunning example of an Aussie Nebbiolo by Virago in Beechworth that’s well worth tracking down. It’s the result of five different Nebbiolo clones grown by Karen and Prue, the Vignerons, and a little helping hand from none other than Rick Kinzbrunner. What a riddiculously good set-up!!

On the nose the 2015 shows beautifully lifted florals, cherries, anise, and undergrowth in what can only be described as a heavenly perfume. It steps up a gear on the palate as the dark cherry flavours and bright acidty intermingle with darker fruits and rustic, earthy, leathery notes. It’s  perhaps the best Aussie Neb I’ve had!!

 To all Nebbiolo fans out there, keep your eyes peeled for

If you’re like me and haven’t had the greatest experience then I can highly recommend Campbell’s The Barkley… this is a totally different proposition! It feels like a proper wine, if that makes sense at all. Super expressive nose of dark fruits and savoury spice, big but not “wow here comes a headache” big. On the palate it is rich, opulent, and elegant with a velvety texture. Plenty of ripe dark fruits, blackberries and black cherry, followed by graphite-like, leathery, liquorice savoury layers. One for the cellar, but also very fun now!

 What’re your thoughts on Durif? If you’re like me and

. Classic Barossa, intense colour, full bodied and fruit forward. Less oak than I was expecting, but the power and concentration more than suffice. Blackberry, spices, chard meats and a feint fennel edge, balanced brilliantly with crisp acidity and grainy tannin. Quality find! If you see it grab a couple, it’s bloody good 🍷🙌

 Magical Moppa Hill by @laughingjackwines . Classic Barossa

Is bigger better? When talking wine, my answer is most definitely yes. Aging at slower rates the large formats produce rounder, lusher wines with age yet retain freshness. What’re your thoughts... is bigger better? ⁣

Certainly no shrinking violet here, just pure Barossa class at its best. Grant Burge Meshach 2008, magnum, 1500ml of outstanding grape juice from 100 year old Barossa Shiraz vines. Awesome stuff! ⁣

Surely it’s almost time to see how this beauty has developed! Just need to find some willing drinkers to join me!!⁣ 🙌 🔥 ⁣

 Is bigger better? When talking wine, my answer is most

I’ve waxed lyrically over the past few months about Aussie Rizza so bear with me for one more post! It’s a bargain variety here!

Vickery produce some serious Riesling, and despite being the entry into their range this Eden Valley example is about as classic as it gets. Pale straw in the glass with fresh limes and lemon rind on the nose. Intense citrus fruit on the palate, very concentrated and crisp, with lively acidity bringing it all together nicely. It’s light, dry, sweet and sour, refreshing and moreish. A candidate for the cellar and who can argue with the price, cheap as chips!

 I’ve waxed lyrically over the past few months about Aussie

Ever found a wine you’d forgotten about?! -

I’ve dug up a gem during a late night cellar tidy up! Langmeil Freedom Shiraz 2010, made from the oldest Shiraz vines in the world that’re a mere 176 years young. -

 Ever found a wine you’d forgotten about?! - I’ve dug up a

Hard to beat a cheeky trip to Magill Estate when you’re in town. Bin 150, it's a pretty classy drop. ⠀

 Hard to beat a cheeky trip to Magill Estate when you’re in

Dowie Doole BFG, Big Friendly Grenache perhaps, and big it certainly is. The nose shows the trademark aromas of raspberries, red candies, rich strawberry compote, not overly sweet with a dried herb note to finish. On the palate it’s lush and smooth with a big hit of red berries up front providing great texture and vibrancy. As the fruit fades there are lovely residual notes of earthy minerality coupled with fine tannin providing nice length. Elegant. Great for a Tuesday! -⁠

 Dowie Doole BFG, Big Friendly Grenache perhaps, and big it

 range with this 2017 Aglianico from the northern Adelaide Hills. Aglianico, late ripening, spends a few weeks on skins and sees a mixture of older oak and stainless steel. The result? Zippy, cherry, candy-cane on the nose. Slight touch of fresh greenery, yum. Excitable palate as the cherry, sweet sour combo of fruit goodness gets a boost of fine tannins. For a varietal I’m not that across this is a bloody tasty little number! ⠀

 ​Continuing my exploration of the @spinifexwines  range

That feeling when you definitely shouldn’t, but you do. My excuse, you don’t see these very often! Straight to the cellar! ⠀

 That feeling when you definitely shouldn’t, but you do. My

Standish Wine Co, the Relic, 2016... Monumental. Serious contender for Red of the year. ⁠

Firstly the colour ridiculous. The purplest of purple with a depth and vibrancy that's off the scale. Unashamedly full bodied, but fresh. Beautiful blueberries, spicy characters, in the smoothest of smooth packages with the tannins and acidity there holding it together. Awesomely made. Buy it, try to cellar if you can and if not rest assured either way you'll probably be smiling for a week.

 Standish Wine Co, the Relic, 2016... Monumental. Serious

By Farr can do almost no wrong in my book and having recently visited the Mornington Peninsular I thought I should pick up a Farr from the region. Philippa Farr’s 2017 Pinot Noir ought to do the trick and with vintages completed at Bellvale, Bouzeron, Domaine Dujac, By Farr and Purple Hen I’m hoping for a great drop. If you’ve tried it let me know what you think. I’ll let you know either way 🤗🍷🙌

 By Farr can do almost no wrong in my book and having

Welcome the the cellar Sami Odi 2019. You’re in good company 👏🏼🍷🙏🏼

 Welcome the the cellar Sami Odi 2019. You’re in good

Cracking way to start the week. Cheeky little

 Mataro / Grenache / Shiraz (​54/28/22% blend) providing heaps of pretty fruit and floral notes from the Grenache, deep richness from the Shiraz and a robustness from the Mataro. Loving the berry fruit acidity, supporting those pretty floral notes, raspberry creeping through early and the grippy ⁠tannins providing great texture to the finish. ⁠-

Also, just a little side note... considering the pedigree of the winemakers (ex-Grant Burge) and their experience with some true classic Barossa GMSs it's no surprise that this is a quality drop. You’d be hard pushed to find much better at this price point for sure. Save your time and give this a go it’s a real crowd pleaser!! -

 Cracking way to start the week. Cheeky little

If you could pick one to try, which would it be? Lamella, Relic, Schubert Theorum, or The Standish?

In my opinion these Standish Wine Co wines are amongst the best Australian examples of Shiraz I’ve been lucky enough to stumble across in recent years. With 4 different expressions covering Eden Valley / Marananga / Greenock and a Shiraz Viognier, the only challenge is picking which one to drink!

 If you could pick one to try, which would it be? Lamella

I’m getting my fill of hearty Barossan reds this winter and this Calabria Bros Old Vine Shiraz is such a find. Dark, inky purple with magenta hues. Medium to full bodied, fitting the traditional Barossa Shiraz style effortlessly. Lots of dark fruit. Less fresh, more stewed and rich. Great oaky characters, obvious but well balanced. Grippy tannins and persistent flavour. For under $30, it’s a classy and impressive Barossa Shiraz.

 I’m getting my fill of hearty Barossan reds this winter and

Beautiful, back and front. It’s hard to find a better “package” out there in my opinion. Year on year, they get prettier and prettier! Can’t wait to see what’s install for the next release. For now though, these will do VERY nicely! ⠀

 Beautiful, back and front. It’s hard to find a better

Here’s a bit of vertical love for your Thursday evening. If you could pick a vintage, which one would it be? 🍷 ​

 Here’s a bit of vertical love for your Thursday evening. If

This Grand Cru Pinot Noir from New Zealand’s iconic producer

_rangi is simply sublime. It’s the result of the legendary gumboot clone, a single Pinot Noir cutting taken from Domaine de la Romanée-Conti in Burgundy, smuggled into New Zealand in the mid-1970’s. This legend provides both pedigree and a degree of mystery to the wine.⁣

Distinctly pinot noir on the nose with lifted florals, red roses, delicious cherries, spices and savouriness all in one. You could sit and smell this for days... To taste, it’s a dream pinot. Refined, medium bodied, very long, encompassing power and finesse all at once. It’s a complex wine for sure as the dark cherry, dried fruit and herby almost stalky flavours unite and seductive your tastebuds. There’s a real energy about this wine which the flavours, acidity and tannins express from the moment you smell right through to the long, long, finish. Simply stunning!⁣

Let me know what you think of this New Zealand gem! And if you believe the legend...⁣

 This Grand Cru Pinot Noir from New Zealand’s iconic

I love a good nose around a quality bottle shop, especially when you find gems like this. Keller Frauenberg 2014 is certainly not a regular find in Sydney so this is coming home with me. Notes soon! 🍷 ​

 I love a good nose around a quality bottle shop, especially

If you’re a fan of Temprenillo then get your chops around this. From the Strathbogie Ranges near Bonnie Doon, ah the serenity,

 produce this Tempranillo and a Reserve. Firstly, this is a beaut of a wine. Ruby and garnet in colour, complex brambly, pomegranate and earthy aromas with hints of mushrooms... interesting. The Zalto captures it so well, smell, sip, wait, repeat and it evolves each time. The palate has powdery tannin, pomegranate again, spices and plums, with sherry notes adding complexity. It intrigues brilliantly. Can’t wait to try the reserve!

 If you’re a fan of Temprenillo then get your chops around

Rob Dolan has gone into stealth mode with the launch of his new Signature Series and they look stunning!

Looking beyond the aesthetics, these wines are the result of 35 years of winemaking knowledge, made in tiny quantities and only in exceptional years. The perfect trifecta by all accounts! These are an exciting prospect and I can’t wait to taste them!

 Rob Dolan has gone into stealth mode with the launch of his

This Sauvignon / Semillon blend is the business with Italian Sausage & fennel sauce and homemade pasta. Such a ripper wine from the Hunter Valley! -

 This Sauvignon / Semillon blend is the business with

What an absolute stunner! Mewstone Top Block Pinot Noir 2016, Magnum 12 of 25. Such depth of colour, and a nose that’s simply stunning. I could barely put the glass down! On the palate, it’s plush, no messing, awesome blue fruits and savoriness in a mouthwateringly beautiful package. I really think this is one of my favorite Pinots to date. In short, stunning. 🍷

 What an absolute stunner! Mewstone Top Block Pinot Noir

Everything about my recently delivery of Quin wines has impressed me. From the packaging and tasting notes, right through to the bottles and labels. If this tastes half as good as it looks it’s going to be awesome!

The wine… Single Vineyard Eden Valley Shiraz. Latitude: 34⁰32’06”S  Longitude: 139⁰02’46”E. 450m above sea-level and planted in 1982. The fruit is traditionally handed and sees 10 months of French oak.

 Everything about my recently delivery of Quin wines has

Treated myself to a cracking Adelaide Hills Chardonnay from Sanglier. Three different vineyards, Woodside, Lenswood and Piccadilly,  with an average age of 35 years combined produce a zingy, fresh, mineral bomb of a Chardy. Funky, flinty, full of stone-fruit flavor and impressive length. It’s bloody good! -

 Treated myself to a cracking Adelaide Hills Chardonnay from

Hmm, considering a Grenache in the middle of Winter? Well, if you find yourself in one of those "I fancy a Grenache" moods then do yourself a favour and grab few of these cheeky little Barossa beauts from

. This is a cracking example of a varietal that's having somewhat of a rebirth! What was once destined for fortified alone is now highly prized and rightly so! ⁠

Did you know, the Barossa is home to the oldest productive Grenache vines in the world? What an incredible part of the world!⁠

 Hmm, considering a Grenache in the middle of Winter? Well

On the scale of iconic vineyards and producers this Mount Pleasant 1880 Old Hill is in the Pantheon of great Australian wines. Despite this status it amazes me that between 1965 and 2013 this incredibly old vineyard was blended with other wines in the range. Utterly mind-boggling when you think about it. Either way, since 2013 this single site expression of Hunter Shiraz has been a must have of mine. There’s not much, in my opinion, that can top a top-notch Hunter Shiraz in full swing. It’s just a bit of me.

 On the scale of iconic vineyards and producers this Mount

We're truly spoilt for choice when it comes to shiraz in Australia. Dare I say it... best place for it?!? ⠀

Either way, I'm loving the Shiraz now the colder months are coming in!⠀