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 grew up worshipping the mid …
Oh yes, this is a big edition! As the name suggests, these are the 34 wines that almost made the Australian Wine Review top grade (of 17/20 or 90/100+) this month. Some missed the mark by a …
From great value quaffers to absolute train wrecks, this month's compilation of 'almost' wines is a biggun'. I'm always conscious of my prejudice against overripeness and heavy-handed oak, but I call both as symptoms of poor …
It's 3 days late I know, but here are a few wines that almost hit the mark this month. Some are just good, simple drinks. Others are genuinely average to poor... Hand Crafted Montepulciano 2016 From Geoff …
Here are a few of the wines that have passed the desk this month and almost made the grade. Some weren't far off the mark, others are absolute disasters. A few big disappointments of note: The …
This comes from Robe, the town forever immortalised in this cheese ad. Pretty part of the world it is too, if isolated (a long and boring drive from Radelaide). Not known for its Gris/Grigio though, and …
Following similar thoughts on the Pinot Gris, the back label talks about a wine with ripe lemon sherbet and Turkish delight and I was expecting something rich and evocative. Yet it's again quite neutral, the nose …
Cape Jaffa Riptide Limestone Coast Red Blend 2014 70% Viognier and 30% Shiraz? Push those boundaries! Bright purple red, it's an odd aromatic beast too, perfumed and yet tropical too, the stonefruit of Viognier touching up against …
While I don't always share his point of view (he fired some cheap shots at me years ago and wouldn't print the replies. But that's another story), I read with interest Tony Keys' investigation of …
So, I'm happy to announce that the official Australian Wine Review sample pile is now nearing a manageable level! That's a very welcome improvement from the point it was at a few months ago when …
St Mary's Limestone Coast Pinot Noir 2013 For an intro on St Mary's, start here. I'm yet to meet a Coonawarra Pinot Noir that I like, and this doesn't change that. Dark ruby with a little purple, …
St Mary's Wines Carillon 2013 I always love it when samples from a winery who I like - but don't normally get samples from - turn up at the door. It's like a wine Christmas. St Mary's …
Just for interest, today I opened up 3 Cabernet based wines, all from the 2007 vintage, all available for $15 a bottle (though the Angoves & the Taylors have a higher RRP), from 3 different …
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.