No signs of things cooling off on the home front this winter! We have warm celebrations for the wonderful Smith Cullam family at Frankland Estate, toasting 30 years since planting Isolation Ridge with a great set of '17 single-vineyard Riesling plus the '17 Isolation Ridge Shiraz and Olmo's Reward Cab Franc-dominant Bordeaux blend. Stephen Pannell, McLaren Vale-based maestro of contemporary Aussie wine shines a light on provenance with a deliciously diverse set of new releases, plus Burn Cottage of Central Otago has put out its…

“Open a bottle of Stephen Pannell's wine and you will enjoy it. No, you will probably love it.” So wrote wine writer Ray Jordan earlier this year in selecting a seriously diverse quartet of wines that epitomised Steve’s approach to this whole wine thing. “He combines the best features of the vineyard with sympathetic fruit-enhancing winemaking to produce wines that are suited to the modern style of Australian cuisine,” is how Jordan summarised that approach. Put like that it sounds pretty simple – but then…

By now I have run out of superlatives for Vajra. Suffice it to say these are some of the finest, artisan wines being made in Piedmont today. Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media It is with enormous pleasure that we welcome G.D. Vajra of Barolo to the CellarHand portfolio. We’ve long been enormous fans of the wines and – through various personal means – enjoyed crossing paths with the Vaira family. It’s clear they share so much in common with CellarHand and the growers in our portfolio:…

"Remarkable site that the fruit is grown on here. Verdant, buzzy with Bambi-like scenes of animals and flowers and insects and stuff. Biodynamic farming, loads of care, a selected place to grow great grapes. Good ingredients. Clever winemaker, Claire Mullholland, and in the mix the wonderful consultant in Ted Lemon from Littorai, California." Mike Bennie, The Wine Front Mike Bennie’s observation, which served to preface his review of the “lovely” 2015 release, is spot-on in pinpointing the unique charm of the Burn Cottage vineyard. It’s…

Frankland Estate is to be revered and celebrated in equal measure. Quietly going about its work, it continues to delight and surprise. Mike Bennie, Gourmet Traveller WINE That’s right, it’s time to celebrate. It’s 30 years since Judi Cullam and Barrie Smith laid down the first vines on Isolation Ridge in Frankland River. It’s well known, with thanks to the naming of Frankland Estate’s top red wine, that Dr Harold Olmo singled out this remote patch of Western Australia as a singularly bright prospect for…

Irrewarra has been a happy hunting ground for Nick Farr. The name comes from a local Aboriginal term meaning “long spear throw”, and denotes the Nick’s venture in Victoria's Western District, out near Colac. He’s enjoyed unleashing his immense talent in a new realm of regionality and flavour. “The wines proved to me how different a concisely moist environment like Colac can be texturally,” he says. “The Chardonnay has had great feedback from the start, perhaps because of its slippery moreishness. The Pinot was a…

Welcome to the newsletter for May 2018, a month that sees a pretty even spread between domestic happenings, and incomings from overseas. A couple of big bits of news from Mount Mary, with the second set of releases from the Middletons' Marli Russell "Rhône Project" as well as a '16 Fumé Blanc and Chardonnay under the Réflexion label. Shiraz news comes in the guise of a lovely first review of Ben Glaetzer's 2016 Bishop, while Tim Shand of Punt Road is excited to unveil his…

Hats off, Hattingley Valley! This English estate has enjoyed more than its fair share of spoils in its relatively short life to date, with two world-champion wines to its name in the Champagne & Sparkling Wine World Championships, as well as two Winemaker of the Year trophies for Emma Rice. This time the estate is celebrating winning the Winemaker of the Year 2018 award from Luxury Travel Guide. The award comes as we celebrate a new shipment arriving from the Old Dart. The 2013 Rosé…

It was at L’Assiette Champenoise in Reims last October when a match in the early stages of a dég menu threw up, as well it might in Champagne, a glass of something local we hadn’t heard of. It was poured, and it was good. Damn good. So good, in fact, that it was immediately followed by a bottle and a barrage of questions to the sommelier. The wine was JmSélèque Solessence, from a third-generation grower enjoying a meteoric rise. The next day we were on…

It’s a shining example of a legend not living on former glories, an historic estate looking to the future. Marli Russell, the project named for Dr John Middleton’s wife, got its first airing last year, with wines from the 2014 and ’15 vintage. The vines were planted in 2008 and ’09 by Dr John’s son David, and the project since nurtured at the deft hand of his children, Sam and Claire. Its genesis was part response to climate change, part a pioneer’s natural desire to…

It was, naturally, great to be in France in spring. Among myriad highlights, it was a reminder just how revered André Ostertag is in his homeland, the full charms of the estate gracing every great wine list in Paris and Beaune, and across the border in neighbouring Germany. André is a treasure, and he’s a man who treasures nature as highly as any other being on planet wine. It’s apt, then, this reimagining of the so-called Vins de Fruit of his range - henceforth known…

Domaine André Bonhomme has proved a blessing on multiple fronts. Let’s start with the one that really counts: This certified-organic family estate, the first domaine of Viré-Clessé – arguably the finest appellation of the Mâconnais – makes beltingly fine Chardonnay that is a respectful, enthralling expression of its myriad terroirs. The indirect – but significant – advantages of these wines are that they are available at a time when great white burgundy options are scarce and spiralling in cost. And it’s great white burgundy we’re…

Ben Glaetzer called it early. The fruit had barely come of the vine when he raved about one of the best harvests he’d ever seen – and this Baron of the Barossa has seen a few. When we visited Ben last summer, he was the cat that got the cream. He was in the midst of vintage on a baking hot day in the valley, and yet was fair dancing around the tanks as he reflected on the wines we’re now presenting, a huge smile…

Sandra de Pury describes it as a “near faultless” season on the hallowed hill that is Yeringberg. “At Yeringberg we make elegant single-vineyard wines with remarkable longevity, such as the wines made in 1915 by Guill’s father George, which were still drinking well at 80 years old.” Remember 1915? Well, Yeringberg does. Its incredible history is well documented, and the way it continues to forge ahead as a standard bearer for the Yarra Valley is really something to celebrate. We tasted these wines in that…

Couple of monster releases on the home front this month, from two nigh-on perfect vintages for their respective regions. Sandra de Pury has put out her spellbinding 2015s from that jewel in the Yarra crown, Yeringberg, while Ben Glaetzer is gaga about 2016 in the Barossa - his Anaperenna and Amon-Ra will show you why. Other exciting vintage rolls include clos Clare's Riesling from super '17 in Watervale, perhaps Tim Shand's best-ever Pinot for Punt Road, plus a range of wines from Marlborough's brilliant biodynamic…