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 …
Mike & Colleen from Mérite are probably better known for their dead-serious approach to Merlot, but I don't mind this Malbec blend too. It's a ripe, plushly oaked Wrattonbully red, …
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, …
d'Arenberg d’Arry’s Original Shiraz Grenache 2016 A bargain. The original d'Arenberg red and in classic form. Career-best form. Labuschagne form. Red fruits aplenty, as usual, and carries plenty of that tilled …
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 …
Pikes Los Campeneros Shiraz Tempranillo 2016 Clare Valley red blend that manages to be easily delicious (much like the Tempranillo). Exuberant and bright red fruited style that doesn’t feel forced. The …
Lou Miranda Shiraz Centarian Mataro 2015 Old vine Shiraz Mataro, with the Mataro component in particular over 100 year old. For all that old vine fruit it seems to have been …
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 …
Let's not bullshit, the vast majority of wines made aren't compelling. They're not. There's a tiny quantity that are compelling, but most are are pleasant, well made, if unexciting. And …
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 …
For this week's entertainment, I thought I'd pull out all the Shiraz dominant blends that aren't your usual suspects and ended up with these six wines. Some are just slightly unconventional …
On Thursday, a squad of Hunter Valley winemakers came to Sydney to show off some new releases at the new Brix Distillery. While I couldn't hang around and drink beer with …
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 …
Following on from last month's focus on other reds and Shiraz, this May I'm all about red blends. It's always frustrating that we seem so singularly focused on mono-varietal wines in Australia, as …
Hither & Yon Old Jarvie The Enforcer Shiraz Mataro Malbec 2016 From Hither & Yon's newish label that pays homage to Admiral John Jervis. There's character about the wines too. This is …
Here's a selection of wines that were almost great. Some are just good, solid wines that are occasionally unready, through to slightly underwhelming/unexciting, and rounded out with a few wines that …
I feel like I'm on an 'icon wine' streak after yesterday's Dom Perignon note. So heck, why not carry that forward. Here are two very different wines that both have Grange …
2014 Yarra Yering releases Although things are about to pause for vintage (which is half over in the Hunter), a few winemakers have been in town recently, and Yarra Yering's Sarah …
I've been engrossed in moving house this month so less wine than usual. Will be rectifying that this week. Eden Road The Long Road Canberra Pinot Gris 2016 A 'ramato' style skin contact …
Henschke Henry's Seven 2015 This is easily the tastiest vintage of this Henschke red I've tried. So Henry's Seven is named after Henry Evans who planted seven acres of vineyard at Keyneton …
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