The latest Angove McLaren Vale reds are very serious. You could close your eyes and imagine wines like this Angove Warboys Vineyard Grenache 2018 could have come from a small, …
While the label is nowhere near the titan of McLaren Vale wine it once was (the late 90s, black, wide-shouldered bottle era Tintara reds were exceptional), there are still some …
Aged release Semillon from Gundog. Sourced from the Somerset Vineyard too which is A-grade dirt and this feels classic. Still, the Gundog Estate Poacher’s Semillon 2013 is an unready wine. …
I seem to be flooded with whites wines at Graham HQ at the moment. Not a bad thing when it's 29C outside (like it was yesterday) of course... Here then is …
Given my hatred of doctored low fat/low sugar/mid strength/etc foods and drinks, I'm not a likely candidate for an alcohol free beer. Skim milk = gross. Session IPA = waste …
Right, birthday over, we're back to normal programming, and straight into a dead serious Tasmanian sparkling that spent over 10 years on lees. This Moorilla Estate Cloth Label Late Disgorged 2007 …
This is where I was for the past week: Well, not right there, but just a few clicks off to the right on the beautiful NSW South Coast. Would you look …
Apparently, 40 is the new 30. Or such. I hit the big 40 on Friday and to celebrate; I've been digging deep into the cellar (and beyond) and using it …
Serious Yarra fizz is this Oakridge Local Vineyard Series Blanc de Blancs 2015. Spends 52 months on lees, the juice wild fermented in tank and cask. Classy, full-tilt, table-wine-with-bubbles style (which …
No Canberra Riesling for Gundog in '20 (thanks asshole bushfires), so this Gundog Estate Riesling 2020 comes from De Bortoli's Yarra Valley vineyard. Tangy, pristine white with bright lime fruit and …
January is a little slower for wine deliveries to the Australian Wine Review PO Box, as most local vignerons are either on holidays, preparing for vintage, or picking grapes. That means …
Merlot is dead and buried as a straight variety in Australia. As a blending component it has a place, but really, lots of Merlot vines would be ideally grafted over …
It's that time of the year again... After emptying a few bottles from the cellar over Christmas, I'm on the buying hunt again. Normally I just live vicariously through others with …
This is great dry Australian rosé. More importantly, it's delicious. Apparently the key here is the clone, with 1-11 tagged as the rosato clone. Early ripening, nice aromatics. Fits the bill. This …
Always like Tim's Mataro, and this Tim Smith Wines Mataro 2019 is smart (again). Sourced from two vineyards 70+ yrs old. Luscious blackberry fruit, it’s plush, deep, varietal and yet with …
Mount Gambier has a surprising volume of Pinot Noir in the ground. Limestone soils too. But Pinot country? Yeah nah. The delicacy is almost never there. Even for the Coola …
Why would you drink middling $45 Mumm when you can have this charismatic Clover Hill Vintage Release 2014 for the same price? I know, it's a rhetorical question, one that I've …
13 months ago a fire ripped a swathe through the Adelaide Hills, destroying some 30% of the Hills vineyards and torching vines, wineries, homes and equipment. Now, on the back of …
For some reason I was sent two bottles of this Curly Flat Chardonnay 2019 for review rather than one. Normally when this happens, my family and friends score the extras. …
Marlborough Gruner has lots of promise. It's going to take time for the vine age and w winemaking to catch up, but I can see the promise. This Jules Taylor …
At 18, I started working in a small suburban bottleshop, largely to buy cheap beer. It was my first year of university, slogging through physics and chemistry, so a liquor shop seemed like fun. Needless to say, I discovered wine, and my life evolved with a unique dual focus - wine and environment.
Twenty years later and I spend my days wearing many (wine) hats, mostly as a writer, presenter and marketer.
I now judge at wine shows around the world, sit on the Australian Wine List of the Year awards panel and was once a Wine Journalism Young Gun (but baby that was years ago).
Currently, I write features for a variety of publications including National Liquor News, Gourmet Traveller WINE and the RAS, plus I'm a former Lifestyle FOOD channel wine expert.
In 2019 and 2020 I was voted in the Top 30 Best Wine Critics in The World, and in my spare time, I'm a sucker for punishment and run trail ultra marathons, much to the delight of my long-suffering family. Read more about me here or get in touch to book your next wine event with me here