Guillaume Michel has been living it for so long that it seems it was aeons before it became a cliché: “Great wine is made in the vineyard.” Let’s go back 50 years. That's when Domaine Louis Michel et Fils ceased using oak barrels. The point was that nothing should speak over the sound of Chardonnay speaking with a chablisien accent. Or rather singing in the dialect of each specific terroir. Across 25 hectares of vineyard, Guillaume has seven people working full-time in the vineyard. “If…

“As I wrote last year, the style at this important 19-hectare domaine is pure and understated, minimal wood influence meaning that it is the grapes — and the climats that shape them — that are front and centre at all times, and positive evolution is taking place.” So wrote Wine Advocate’s Burgundy specialist William Kelley following his tasting of the Domaine Matrot ‘18s. And that’s what you’d want isn’t it? A light shone pure and unadorned on the Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes growing in…

The road that took us to Dominique Piron was a long one. We love Beaujolais but it hadn't been easy to unearth a producer that brought together all the pieces of the jigsaw: Good roots, devotion to fruit, transparency of terroir and titillating interplay of flesh, tannin, acidity and minerality. Then we found Dominique Piron, which traces its roots back to 1590 and which made a spectacular debut in the CellarHand portfolio with its 2013 wines. The wines have been on an excellent trajectory, with…

Happy newish year! Yes, we had a hiatus in January - a traditionally slow news month in the wine world following the end-of-year excess. And then February sees us plunge straight back into the deep-end with a pair of A-list domestic releases alongside a host of international arrivals. At home, we have the 2018 release from the de Pury family’s iconic Yarra Valley estate, Yeringberg. Over from WA, it's the Langworthys of Yallingup making a splash with the 2019 single-vineyard Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon from…

Here it is, release number five. In that brisk half-decade this tiny-batch husband-and-wife outfit has taken out trophies for pink, white and red wines, and Julian Langworthy has been named Winemaker of the Year. Such bountiful talent – and the huge sense of confidence and fun embodied by Julian and Alana Langworthy – means Nocturne never got to enjoy life as a dark horse or best-kept-secret. No; this is a shining, strutting thoroughbred that wine-lovers among the trade and general public punted on from the…

Yeringberg always seems a timeless and tranquil place, never more so perhaps than during 2020. But behind the scenes, as ever, it's a hive of activity. The de Purys have been busy planting, with new vines going into the ground into the New Year. Buds from their favourite old vines were grafted onto rootstock and treated with tender loving care. They were given a month's warmth in Sandra’s house, then grown in the family's new hot house for a year. The de Purys are taking…

Summer is here! And actually, it kind of feels like it. That steady flow of optimism that built through spring seems to have burst its banks. After the year we’ve all had, it’s such a welcome feeling. On the domestic front, mainstream grape varieties have vacated the stage to make way for some alternative acts. From the Chalmers family we have Australia’s first commercial Falanghina and Pecorino release, and these wines are really making waves. Shadowfax has also ploughed a left-field furrow for years on its home vineyard. The…

Innovation. We tend to think of technology when we hear the word, but you get it in nature, too. Evolution entails innovation for survival, and good farmers adapt to thrive in changing conditions. Again, technology can intervene to solve problems - but how much simpler to let the plant do the work? Bruce Chalmers is no Silicon Valley type. He’s into plants – the kind that grow, not the kind that manufacture. But he’s most certainly an innovator, and his daughters Kim and Tennille have…

Huge congratulations to Steffen and Sophie Christmann! The father-and-daughter team from Gimmeldingen in the Pfalz has been named Winemaker of the Year by Germany’s Vinum wine guide. Judges praised the Christmanns’ entrepreneurial vision and craftsmanship in handing them the award, which was accompanied with another gong for best dry Riesling of the year for their Idig. “Despite our hundreds of years old tradition in winemaking as a family estate, we consider it our duty to question ourselves and our work constantly, always striving for improvement,”…

[caption id="attachment_15612" align="aligncenter" width="2000"] Fritz Miesbauer. © Robert Herbst[/caption] Congratulations to Fritz Miesbauer, newly crowned 2020 Winemaker of the Year. Whenever Falstaff Magazine announces the result, the winner is the toast of Austria. But this year it’s a little different; an entire city and 28 monks are celebrating because our friend Fritz is both head honcho at Weingut Stadt Krems and guiding light for the wines at Stift Göttweig. It’s mammoth achievement for someone to receive this accolade while representing both an entire city and…

Rejoice! Spring suddenly seems vibrantly fresh and benevolent, and Victoria has finally joined its interstate siblings by making a break for freedom. It’s been a long, cold, lonely lockdown. Here comes the sun… Fittingly, fresh juice is flowing from all corners of the globe with which to toast more hopeful times. From Germany, we have a brand-new wine from Georg Breuer called ‘Riesling Venture’, as well as the new arrivals from Heymann-Löwenstein and Koehler-Ruprecht. Across the border in Austria, it’s clear that 2019 was a really exciting harvest for Grüner…

2020 marks the 57th year at Wantirna Estate. During that time, the Egans have seen fashions come and go, likewise new ideas on viticulture and winemaking. "Many have been trialled by Reg, many ideas discarded, many implemented," reflects Maryann. Years later some of those same trials have been come up again as ‘new’ thoughts - Maryann's turn to give things a try. “The wheel really just turns and often ends up close to where it started, albeit with some tweaks here and there, some improvements…

So, this is something special. The three pinnacle, single-vineyard wines from the newly anointed Gourmet Traveller WINE Winemaker of the Year. It’s a richly deserved accolade for Nick, who follows in his father’s footsteps, 19 years after Gary Farr wore the same crown. For us, this release represents a chance to drink in the fruits of all the wisdom these Bannockburn slopes have bestowed on these indefatigable farmers over the years. That progression is neatly traced by these wines. Tout Près was Gary Farr’s ground-breaking…

The Terrassenmosel - the dizzying stone terraces over this part of the Mosel Valley - is such a distinctive place. Vineyards managers and pickers have their work cut out on these back-breaking slopes, and the vines don't have it easy. The exposed, rocky, drought-prone hillsides have a lot on their plate in a warm vintage. Vines can shut down at times, giving a shorter period for aromas and flavours to develop fully, and making the balance between ripeness and acidity that bit more precarious. But these…

Hard to remember back when Macedon was a place with interesting potential, or when Shadowfax was “one to watch”. Release after release, Shadowfax has piled on the evidence that Macedon is at least the match of any of Australia’s foremost cool-climate regions. And as it’s done so, it’s ramped up people’s excitement in the nooks and crannies of this rugged, rolling land. As the hits keep coming, the singularity of specific sites has become known and appreciated. Macedon is not simply a region to explore.…