Caroline Mooney's latest Bird on a Wire Chardonnay 2017 is a masterful wine. Sourced from the Willowlake vineyard, it's whole bunch pressed, wild fermented and 30% of the blend goes …
Every time. Every wine. There's a detail in all of the Levantine Hill 'Paddock' wines that is hard to ignore. It's a nod to winemaking skill (hat tip Paul Bridgeman), to …
Not all wines can be great. Plenty are just ok drinks. And some are just bad. Here then is a selection of wines that almost made it over the past few …
This is easily the pick of the new Brash Higgins wines, and reminds that Merlot can be delicious in good hands, even from McLaren Vale (which is hardly Merlot central). …
Graeme's Blend is always the best Passing Cloud release. Sure, the Macedon wines have the style, but Bendigo is the beating heart (and it shows). This red aims high and almost …
Immediately attractive Yarra Pinot from Brad Atkins & Matthew Davis' Dixon's Creek vineyard. All the Steels Gate wines are sapid and vital but this is a step up in weight. Sappy, …
The Hanging Rock site in the Macedon Ranges is famously chilly, so the table wines can sometimes suffer. But there's a delicacy of wines like this that is pretty attractive. The …
Enter another satisfyingly Barossan red. This stubby bottle of Schild Estate Narrow Road Vineyard Shiraz Cabernet 2017 lobs up an unending decadence that is undeniably attractive. It's not subtle, oak plays a …
Grenache is one of the most exciting varieties in the country. Australia is blessed with a wondrous resource of old vine Grenache and it's only in the last decade or …
Entry level Yarra Cabernet from Soumah and it's an easy drink. Proudly leafy, yet not unripe at all. it's light, lithe, tannic and well made, the alcohol a little noticeable, …
No. No, I can't see the joy in this Dead Arm. Conceptually, it's easy to appreciate the appeal of a handpicked, basket-pressed, foot trodden, super-premium McLaren Vale Shiraz in this mode. …
Last week it was the excellent Eldorado Road Chardonnay, now comes the Eldorado Road Quasimodo Nero d’Avola Durif Shiraz 2017 and it's a winner. This is a lot of wine for …
From the Millon Wines stable, though I've never seen a bottle of this Clare’s Secret Cabernet Sauvignon 2017 locally. Export special? Inspired by Lasingham Bin 56, this is chunky, rustic …
According to this benchmark New York Times article, our music tastes are set in our teens. For men, it means your favourite song is likely to have been released when …
Most wines that pass the desk at Graham HQ are like commercial white bread. Occasionally tasty, but mostly generic and predictable. This Chalmers Appassimento 2017, instead, is the weird revivalist …
It's not Rioja, but this Juniper Estate Small Batch Tempranillo 2017 nails the berry-laden varietal mode. As much Margaret River as it is Tempranillo really, with juicy dark berries, the mouth …
Reserve - aka more. With this Pike & Joyce W.J.J. Reserve Pinot Noir 2018 it means more oak, more power, more tannins. But more doesn't quite mean more drinking satisfaction …
We love Grenache Shiraz blends at Graham HQ. It's a formula that satisfies often and typically at affordable prices, this quintet of Shiraz/Grenache-based blends can be evidence. They're not superstars, …
Hunter Valley Pinot Noir - aka the missing component that has helped make some of the most famous Australian wines of all, the Maurice O'Shea era Mount Pleasant reds. As a …
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