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 …
Finally, a serious Australian rosé worth your time. The Freeman family have enviable plantings of Rondinella at their Prunevale vineyard and it's a grape that seems well suited to textural …
Following closely on the Top 20 Chardonnay comes the Top 20 Shiraz of February 2020. For this lineup I dug deeper into the sample pile, searching - perhaps blindly - for …
Let's check in with some recent Shiraz and Semillon releases from the Hunter Valley (and beyond). A pleasure to see more experimentation with traditional Hunter styles too. Making the same wine …
I missed December's Almost Club edition (holidays), so this is a huge crop of almostness... As the name suggests, here are the wines that almost hit the mark for me in …
After last week's feedback I'm going to be sticking to just one roundup a month on site going forward (thanks everyone for the feedback). This roundup features a kaleidoscope of Australian …
Every time you look, the range of wines from Hunter Valley-based winemaker Gundog Estate keeps expanding, now with more Hunter & Canberra wines than ever. Gundog recently took over the old …
It’s that time of the month again – time to collate a range of wines that didn’t quite make the grade. Plenty opened this month, which is why this list is …
It's that time again! These wines haven't quite made it into full review status this month. I'm a bit behind (living out of a suitcase does that), hence why this list …
While I am slowly wearing down the mountain of samples that have arrived at Graham HQ over the past few weeks, it has still required frequent raiding, and today's target …
Moppity Vineyards Reserve Shiraz 2013 I'm in Rioja today (more on that later) and whilst the Hilltops seems a whole other world away, it's nice to have an Aussie reference point. This …
8 fine Aussie and Italian Nebbiolo I'll be the first to admit that Australia is yet to 'crack' the Nebbiolo formula. Sure, as some of the wines in this tasting show, we're …
Moppity Lock & Key Reserve Shiraz 2012 The Moppity Shiraz wines are typically festooned with medals and, judging by this bottle I can see why. It's the sort of style that wins …
Clonakilla Hilltops Shiraz 2013 (Hilltops, NSW)14%, Screwcap, $28 I've never quite loved the Clonakilla Hilltops Shiraz, simply because it isn't as sexy and svelte as the Canberra wines above it (often …
Manners Shiraz 2013 (Hilltops, NSW)14.5%, Screwcap, $45 I first met James Manners back in 2010 when he was a winemaker at Robert Oatley. At the time he was very proud to …
A.Retief 'The Alias' Mataro 2010 (Hilltops, NSW) 14%, Screwcap, $45Source: Sample www.aretief.com.au From the ever-smiling Alex Retief, this is one of very few straight NSW sourced Mataro/Mourevdre and presents as a quite interesting …
Freeman Secco 2009 (Hilltops, NSW)14.5%, Screwcap, $35Source: Sample www.freemanvineyards.com.au The only 'real' Amarone homage in Australia (real as it is a blend of Rondinella and Corvina) and always a wine that needs …
Freeman Vineyards 'Rondo' Rosé 2012 (Hilltops, NSW) 13.5%, Screwcap, $20 from the Freeman website Source: Sample www.freemanvineyards.com.au 'You don’t have to have a Charles Sturt University wine science degree to realise Australian drinkers don’t …
Tulloch Cellar Door Release Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 (Hilltops, NSW)13.4%, Screwcap, $25Source: Samplewww.tullochwines.com.au A cellar door only wine drawn from the vineyards around Young.Super dark colour on this. Carries that dark choc/mint …
Tyrrells Private Bin releases - the 2011 version 2011 Tyrrell's Private Bin releases It's always an impressive snapshot this tasting, a litmus test for the vintage if you will, illustrating with some …
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