Another very fresh and vital release under this label. The Wirra Wirra The Lost Watch Riesling 2020 is especially taut and lively. Water clear and ultra pure Adelaide Hills Riesling. Not …
"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 …
Matt East from Rouleur normally comes and visits at this time of year with all of his new releases in tow. We talk about wine, a bit of cycling, the …
On recent form, I like everything Anthony Fikkers touches (like the Gamay). and this In Dreams Chardonnay 2019 is compelling wine. From vineyards all over the Yarra with a smorgasbord of …
As the name suggests, these are the Top 20 Shiraz of August 2020. There was more Shiraz this month, there always is. But these are the wines I want to …
This is an awful lot of wine for $20. Harewood's best work is in Riesling and well-priced reds, and this Harewood Estate Shiraz Cabernet 2018 is bang on. It feels a …
This Bellvale Pinot Noir 2019 is one of the best $25 Pinot Noir you'll find in Australia. Period. Crucially, this packs an intensity that isn't normally found in $25 Pinot. Maybe …
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 …
Torzi Matthews Schist Rock Shiraz 2018 The second label to the glorious '18 Frost Dodger and is basically the non dried fruit portion and aged in ex-Frost Dodger barrels. What a $25 …
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 …
Yangarra Estate Noir 2018 At the end of 2018 I made a wishlist of 3 things I'd like to see more of in 2019. And number 1 on the list was …
Bellvale Pinot Noir 2017 As the old saying goes, you can either have good Pinot or cheap Pinot. But never both. Except for this Bellvale wine. John Ellis' dry-grown Gippsland vineyard can …
I'm finally getting back into some sort of normal programming this week, or whatever that means when you're a new parent. The little one is sleeping, but the days now …
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 …
Mylkappa Wines Pinot Noir Rosè 2017 A new name to me but with plenty of interest. Mylkappa is a small Adelaide Hills vineyard at Birdwood that has largely grown fruit for …
Rouleur Pinot Noir 2017 Matt East's superb Shiraz made my Top 10 Shiraz list a few months ago, and now the Yarra Pinot Noir lobs up and it's a beauty. I've …
Bremerton Coulthard Cabernet Sauvignon 2015 So much flavour and heart in this serious Langhorne red. $22 well spent. Less lavish oak on the nose this vintage, and better because of it, …
Yangarra Shiraz 2016 Astounding to think this is the 'entry level' Yangarra Shiraz. Pete 'Midas' Fraser is all over it. Wild ferment and matured in 25% new oak, it's a plush and …
Authenticity. It's something we need more of in the wine industry. More authenticity, less made up brands. Less mid-tier reserve wines, more genuine wine labels. More single vineyards, less South Eastern …
Alkoomi White Label Frankland River Shiraz 2016 More than once on this site I've had the criticism that I don't talk enough about widely-available, well-priced wines (and probably fair enough too). Consider …
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