Allan Varney's Grenache-based reds are uniformly good. All of them. Let's call it a talent. This Varney GSM 2018 is my pick of the lot. Handling-wise it ticks all the boxes. …
Rusty Mutt is the label of Geoff Merrill Wines winemaker Scott Heidrich, who crafts generous, warm-hearted McLaren Vale reds (and a chunky Viognier). This Rusty Mutt Rocky Ox Grenache Shiraz …
"Three varieties very well suited to McLaren Vale. Bush Vine Grenache provides aromatic lift and bright red fruit characters. Shiraz lends powdery tannin, spice and mid-palate weight, while Mourvèdre rounds …
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, …
S.C. Pannell Grenache Shiraz Touriga 2017Known as ‘the purple one’ at cellar door, this is composed of old vine Grenache from Seaview cofermented with Shiraz from Steve’s Koomilya Vineyard. Includes …
Chapel Hill The Parson Grenache Shiraz Mourvedre 2018 Another McLaren Vale red under $20, and another value champion. GSM is so good at this sort of thing - reliable, bright, fruit-driven …
Torzi Matthews 1903 Old Vines Grenache Shiraz Mataro 2017 Today is Grenache Day, and while I hate grape days (there's now a Lambrusco Day and a Carignan Day FYI), I'm a …
In what has become something of a tradition (posts here, here, here, here and here for starters), I went to this year's 2019 Sydney Royal Wine Show exhibitor event tasting …
Not all wines can be great. Plenty are just ok drinks. And some are just bad… Here’s a selection of wines that almost made it in July 2019. I like plenty …
St Hugo Grenache Shiraz Mataro 2016 It's interesting to see how the St Hugo style hasn't changed over the years, despite new wines being added to the range. Still ripe, old …
Millon Estate The Royal GSM 2017 Every time I see Millon Estate I write Million Estate.... This is a tick up on the Shiraz, if also a little syrupy. 12 months …
Barossa Valley Wine Company Gravel Track Grenache Shiraz Mourvedre 2017 The Mataro/Mourvedre contrast goes on. I've seen it called either in either region now. Mataro is more Australian for mine. Anyway, …
Not all wines can be great. In fact plenty are just ok drinks. And some are just bad... Here's a selection of wines that didn't quite excite me in May. Several …
Following on from Monday's article on blends, I thought it only fair to back it up with a selection of the better white and red blends to pass the desk …
The premise with this collection is very very simple - I've been hitting the sample pile hard over the past week or two, and these 30 wines were not only …
From near misses to faulty junk. Here is a collection of the wines that almost won me over in October 2018. A special, frustrating mention to the two Leasingham wines. I …
This edition of the Almost Club is a few days late as I was busily not doing much in Noosa (photo attached. We love Noosa). Here than are 20 wines that …
Brave Souls The Able Seaman GSM 2016 My pick from the Brave Souls releases. Just to recap, Brave Souls is ulia Weirich with the Sons of Eden crew making quite classic …
There isn't much that Stepen Pannell - aka S.C. Pannell - hasn't done. Here's a winemaker that has won a Jimmy Watson Trophy (twice if you count Hardys). Worked for a …
From solid drinks to faulty train wrecks (and everything in between), the Almost Club is for wines that didn't hit the Australian Wine Review 'recommended' mark (17/20, 90/100) in August …
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