Usually, verticals have a purpose. An excuse for the winery to show off a wine, launch a new one, or just to remind everyone how good something used to be. But sometimes, a vertical has …
Highlights from the 2014 Vin de Champagne Awards Monday night I went to the 40th anniversary presentation dinner for the Vin de Champagne Awards - a biannual competition held by the CIVC that offers one local …
Charles Heidsieck - my new favourite NV Champagne That title is a bit of a misnomer actually. The Charles Heidsieck 'standard' NV is not actually all that new to me. Indeed, 10 years ago the Charles …
Quintarelli Amarone della Valpolicella 2000 (Verona, Italy) 16.5%, Cork, $650 (if you can find some) Source: Kindly fellow wine judge Another wine that had a starring role at the NSW Wine Awards Judges Dinner, and again it …
Champagne: 30 tasted I was struggling for inspiration tonight and so, instead of just writing something half-heartedly, decided to attack the pile of papers here on my 'work desk'. Whilst the tidying, rearranging and such didn't …
Trimbach Cuvée Frédéric Emile Riesling 2000 (Alsace, France)Served from magnum at the tail end of one of the recent Riesling dinners at Fix St James. Personally I've never had a stunning bottle of this wine …
'The World's Greatest Wines that aren't...' When I first started this blog, almost four years ago now, I did so with purpose - I wanted somewhere accessible (online) where I could store all my tasting notes …
Old Maurice would be proud... A mini Hunter Shiraz vertical I'm a little tardy in writing up these notes, but the following Hunter Shiraz vertical was held in Sydney a few months back. As you can see …
Bollinger - a quick snapshot of the range 100 years of Bollinger Special Cuvée I like Bollinger. I like their uncompromised winemaking approach and I like their understated marketing. No flashy Moët-esque packaging either, just class. In fact, the …
Croser LD 2000 So very close! Petaluma Croser Late Disgorged 2000 12.5%, Cork, $56 Source: Sample www.petaluma.com.au I'd like to start this tasting note by talking about acidity. Skip ahead a few paragraphs to just read the review (particularly if you …
Premium Shiraz Night June 2010 63 Wyns Hermitage. Amazing. As ever I'm playing catchup at the moment, discovering random forgotten tasting notes in equally random places. These notes have been sitting in paper form for some 10 …
Chris Ringland (Three Rivers) Shiraz 2000 (Eden Valley, SA) $700 (approx), (Beautifully long) Cork, 15.3% Chris Ringland Shiraz 2000 There are times in my life when I wish that I was a more talented writer. I mean, …
Freycinet Radenti 2000 $50, Cork, 12.5% Source: Cellar Door http://www.freycinetvineyard.com.au/ Freycinet Radenti 2000 60% Chardonnay, 40% Pinot Noir. 8 years on lees. Serious stats for an Australian sparkling, and part of the reason why this works. Surprisingly enough it's actually quite lean and …
I've been a bit slack in transcribing my notes from the messy scribbles of my wine wankerish notepad into electronic form, so this is the first of a few compilations to come.Enjoyed over a degustation …
It's another less detailed note this one, of a wine that is more of a fine representation of the Summerfield house style than a great wine, worthy more for its style and context than its …
Tasted recently over dinner at Rubyo's in Newtown (Sydney), this vertical tasting reminded, quite simply, why this wine is considered to be one of Australia's best (and we didn't even get started on the more …
Tyrrells Vat 1 Semillon 2000 (Hunter, NSW) $40, Cork (which snapped in half), 11.1%Winery WebsiteThe most curious thing about this wine comes from the back label, which announces 'excellent drinking now and through until at …
The search is over.After years of promise, suggestion, innuendo, perseverance and unendingly positive press coverage, an Australian wine producer has finally produced a great wine from a traditional varietal. It will come as little surprise …
Wynns Cabernet Sauvignon 2000 (Coonawarra, SA) Cork, $20 Every time I taste an older Wynns Cabernet, I am reminded how much of a cellar friendly bargain this is. It will unquestionably last ten years in the …
At 18 I started working in a small suburban bottleshop, largely to buy cheap beer. It was my first year of university, doing a degree that I didn't really like, and a liquor shop seemed like fun. Needless to say I discovered wine, my uni degree morphed into something completely different and wine/beer took over my life.
Almost twenty years later and I currently spend my days wearing many (wine) hats, mostly as a writer, presenter and marketer.
While wearing my writer cap I write features for the likes of National Liquor News, Gourmet Traveller WINE and the RAS plus I'm a Lifestyle FOOD channel wine expert. Read more about me here or get in touch to book your next wine event with me here.