It’s precisely two years since we began working with the Labruyère family to bring you these refined burgundies from some of the most exalted parcels on the Côtes d’Or. Once again winemaker Nadine Gublin and the team have shown their sensitivity in translating the land and the vintage conditions in a very special range of wines. The exceptional mildness and sunshine of March and the first fortnight of April led to rapid development of the vines. The drop in temperatures at the end of April…

Intense and tensile wines are the calling card here, pure and unadorned by style and consistently high in quality. Indeed, I sometimes think that Louis Michel is the most underrated of Chablis's great domaines. Certainly, prices remain very reasonable. As usual, certain cuvées stand out... but the overall standard, even for the lower appellations, is regular and high. They come warmly recommended. William Kelley. Wine Advocate THE WINES  2018 Louis Michel Petit Chablis RRP $46 screw cap Portlandian soils on the right bank plateaux. Very…

Will Byron of Onannon came to visit us in January, with a raft of new and future vintages. Exciting times, with a range on song and so much personality in the pipeline. Will, Kaspar Hermann and Sam Middleton have hit a sublime groove with this venture. “Such a genuine, honest ease to the wines,” was CellarHand purchasing manager Michael Jappy’s apt summary after the tasting. Rarely is he so articulate. The two newsiest new things are the exceptionally clean and classy new label on the…

Welcome to the CellarHand newsletter for March. Let's start with the sparkling, shall we? There's Champagne aplenty this month, most excitingly with the hotly anticipated release of Jacquesson's Cuvée No. 742. Every release of the Chiquets' exquisite fizz is a major event, and this one based on 2014 is sure to set your life alight. There's other great Champagne out, too, from young Pierry hotshot Jean-Marc Sélèque, as well as a new set of Verzenay grand cru wines from the Labruyère family. And, closer to…

They’ve spent that many good times together with the Riesling flowing, it was perhaps only a matter of time before they started inter-breeding. But jokes aside, this is a serious collaboration bringing together two tireless, fearless pioneers. These estates have been pushing boundaries and flying the Riesling flag for decades. It’s a great pleasure to introduce their new wines to the world. The friendship between Erni Loosen of the Dr. Loosen Estate in Germany and Peter Barry of Jim Barry Wines in Australia’s Clare Valley…

Julian and Alana Langworthy appear entirely at home in the pages of the glossies, and are no stranger to the headlines. In the space of four vintages, their Nocturne single-vineyard releases have been one of the most hotly anticipated events on the domestic calendar. Now it's the turn of the '18s, and Julian reckons this is as good a Cabernet vintage as he's witnessed in Margaret River. That's saying somehing. Nocturne's news is the major domestic launch for February, but there's plenty of other goings-on.…

Massive congratulations to Jason Flowerday of TWR, who’s just been named NZ Viticulturist of the Year by Gourmet Traveller WINE. This is fitting recognition for an estate that – while tending some of Marlborough’s oldest vines – has recast this region in a fresh, nature-blessed light. The organic-certified, biodynamic farming undertaken by husband-and-wife team Jason and Anna Flowerday yields wines with pristine purity and transparent terroir expression. They’re layered, textured, engaging and delicious to drink. We’re delighted to see the Flowerdays recognised in this manner -…

Few people have done as much to revive the reputation of German Riesling as Erni Loosen, aka 'Mr Riesling'. His top single-vineyard wines are up there with the best. Anne Krebiehl MW, The Wines of Germany 2018 Dr L Dry Riesling RRP $25 Chalky fresh citrus. Zingy and so crisp that the residual sugar barely shows. Juicy, fresh and quite good value. 16/20. Julia Harding MW, jancisrobinson.com June 2019  2018 Dr Loosen Riesling Wehlener Sonnenuhr Grosses Gewächs RRP $74 Super fresh, flinty and fine aromas…

We're hugely excited to let you know that the 2018 German GG Rieslings have landed and are available to you right now. 2018 was a lovely vintage – a glorious summer with relatively abundant, healthy crops. We’ve tried the wines and they’re resplendent. Full of fruit, yes, and superbly expressive of site with excellent shape and freshness. These top producers are acutely aware of the changing climate and have adapted their farming to make the most of a year like 2018. Coolness, class and character…

Almost exactly a whole year ago, Alana Langworthy stood glamorously behind a table at the CellarHand 20th Anniversary tastings. She had wines to show but only having scavenged them from various cellars, maybe a bottle-shop fridge or two. The range – the last release of Alana and Julian’s Nocturne Single-Vineyard wines – had all sold out. Almost exactly a whole year ago... Demand for these wines has been red-hot since day one. Julian and Alana don’t hide their light under a bushel. They don’t hide…

A light breeze of floral & herbal aromas drifting across from a summer meadow. Quite exquisite. Michael Schmidt on '18 Pettenthal GG 2018 Gunderloch Fritz’s Riesling RRP $23 Fritz's Riesling grows in a very small and special part of Rheinhessen called the Roter Hang, a name meaning “red hill“ due to its red-slate soils. The Roter Hang is located between the village of Nackenheim and the village of Nierstein, 20km south of the city of Mainz. The red colour comes from a high proportion of…

Rieslings from Christmann are like balm. Though they are never loud, there is something subtle and true about them that gets under your skin. Anne Krebiehl MW, The Wines of Germany 2018 A. Christmann Riesling RRP $39 The Pfalz Riesling is produced from the first few picks of grapes in our classified sites. These are always harvested at the perfect degree of ripeness limiting the amount of fruit acid to a moderate level. The wine unites the minerality, finesse and elegant fruit of the sandstone…

“It’s more like gardening than farming. Everything has to look perfect!” says Philipp Wittmann as he leaps from a vineyard wall to clip a stray vine tip before it grows unruly. This isn’t vanity, though. Handsome though he is, Philipp is all about performance. It’s his duty to coax every vine into the most beguiling wine it can be. Organically certified since 1990 and biodynamic since 2004, Philipp’s parcels of his beloved Rheinhessen are a haven where nature thrives. Limestone rules around his home in…

You’ll recall how Dönnhoff pulled it out of the bag in ‘17. It was a vintage the family had practically written off, after spring frosts decimated the crop. Uneven ripeness across the parcels meant even more passes than usual for the pickers, but the late-season weather yielded a superb if depleted haul from these superb sites in the Middle Nahe. So how did ‘18 measure up? It was a year of abundance, with extreme rainfall in May and June setting things up for a bumper…

The whole idea of Burgundy is a convoluted one and the more you delve the more apparent this becomes. Inheritance laws play a big part in this. In the case of the Boisson family Bernard says ‘Je suis mort’ with a twinkle in the eye followed by a belly laugh by which you can’t help but be reminded of another Chardonnay and Pinot Noir great from closer to home who’s a great soul but doesn’t suffer fools - one G. Farr of Geelong. What M.…