Merry Christmas. Happy Holidays. Joyous Festivus (take your pick of chosen intro). This has been a very weird Christmas for us. Here, situated in the only part of Australia in lockdown, Christmas …
This Oates Ends Semillon Sauvignon Blanc 2020 is very much how I remember the best barrel-fermented Margaret River SSB styles that I first fell in love with back in the …
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 …
Notch up this Oates Ends Cabernet Sauvignon 2017 as another top shelf Margaret River Cabernet from Cath Oates, just like previous high quality releases (like this one). Maybe a little more …
I'm now officially back from holidays and have spent too many hours staring out the window and thinking about where I was just a few days ago - this beach …
Hard to keep up with all the Altus Rise wines, but this Altus Rise Ascension Cabernet Sauvignon 2018 is a cut above the rest. Margaret River Cabernet from an ambitious …
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 …
Grippy, tannin-led Margaret River Cabernet at a fair price. Drying and a little lean, but has classic perfume and a rather long palate. A little Merlot might have helped this …
Good packaging, but not much substance with these Altus Rise wines. This Altus Rise Wildlight Cabernet Sauvignon 2018 is firm and lean Margaret River Cab that ends up as largely …
Cath Oates' Margaret River wines continue to impress. Ever since the original releases using fruit nabbed from a Treasury contracted block, these wines have shone. And this Oates Ends Cabernet …
(This is a version of a print article on Western Australian wine published earlier in the year. The world has changed since, but there are some stories in here worth …
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 …
I'm in cleanup mode at the moment, sifting through the (physical) sample pile and my (digital) notes to tidy things up Kondo-style. While it's cathartic to delete some half-baked stories written …
In what has become a semi-annual event, I ventured out into the Armageddon-esque sideways rain on Saturday to taste the trophy winners (and more) from the Sydney International Wine Competition. You're …
Margaret River Tempranillo from Cath Oates, the ex-Plantagenet winemaker who now makes handy Margaret River wines tapping into fruit from her brother’s vineyard at Wilyabrup. I like Cath and I …
Today, the Geographical Indications Committee has made an 'interim determination' recognising Wilyabrup as a 'geographical indication' within Western Australia's Margaret River wine region. This would effectively make Wilyabrup the first sub-region …
Why stop at just 10 great Shiraz for the month? Here is the follow on list of the best 11-34 Shiraz to pass the desk in October 2019. Terre à Terre …
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 October 2019. I like plenty …
Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignon. The icon. A blue-chip Australian red with a history of glory spanning back decades to the beginning of Margaret River wine. Or at least that's the pitch. …
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 …
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