Sometimes, you just need a wine of volume. Something luscious, indulgent, dense and cosseting. Something like a 14%+ Australian Shiraz. On a thousand per cent humidity Sydney January day, I don't …
Not all wines can be great. Plenty are just ‘ok drinks’, and some are just bad… Here is a selection of 22 wines that almost made it in September 2022. As ever, …
Oooh a Viognier streak! Don't get those very often. This Balgownie Estate Viognier 2021 is fabulous too. Wild fermented in barrel it has this evocative, proudly varietal nose that is just …
There is something very comforting about Balgownie Cabernet. I was talking last week about that sense of the right variety on the right site, and Cab looks perfectly at home …
From the almosts to the always. These are twenty of the most impressive Shiraz and Syrah to pass the desk during November 2021. What I like most when I scan down this …
Ahhh, the perpetual love-hate relationship. I love textural white wines so much, with the intoxicating sensuality of a mouthfilling Gewurz or the absorbing contrasts of a classic Bordeaux blend something bloody …
In the same vein as the superb Cabernet comes this commanding Balgownie Estate Old Vine Shiraz 2015. Much like the Cab too, this comes from 12 rows of the oldest plantings …
This is very good Australian Merlot. I don't get to say that nearly enough. Sure, our clones are junk (better clones = better Merlot, which is why Merite's Merlot is …
Bendigo via St Emilion? Nah. This Balgownie Estate Merlot Cabernet Franc 2018 is a very Aussie big red. Plenty of plums, a dash of eucalypt, the palate chunky, a bit minty, …
Sangiovese, from a region not known for Sangiovese (Bendigo), but looking everything bit as autentico as you'd want. Good, drinking fare in this Balgownie Black Label Sangiovese 2018. It's cliche, but …
I've written recently about the absolute glory of the commemorative release Balgownie Old Vine Cabernet, and although this Balgownie Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2017 is just the 'standard' wine, it shares …
Balgownie turned 50 in 2019 and to celebrate, there was this special bottling of Balgownie Estate Old Vine Cabernet Sauvignon 2015, drawn off the original 1969 plantings. Most winemakers might …
Balgownie’s best work is in reds, but Tony Winspear has proven his hand with some white outliers. This Balgownie Estate Viognier 2019is the first straight estate Viognier bottling since 2010 with …
Australian Chardonnay is in the midst of a purple patch, with quality - and value - as good as it has ever been, as this collection of the 16 best …
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. But then, I fell in love with wine and craft beer, and it took over my life.
Twenty three years later and I spend my days wearing many beverage hats and judge at wine shows around the world...Read more