It was wonderful to mark our 20th Anniversary with tastings in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, featuring 25 international growers and a further 30 from Australia and New Zealand. Producers from Champagne, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Alsace, Loire, Mosel, Pfalz, Rheinhessen, Wachau, Kremstal, Weinviertel, Piedmont, England and Armenia rubbed shoulders with exceptional homegrown talent. And of course we thank all those from the trade and wine-loving public who came out to show them love! (more…)

“Yet again, Cullen is leading the pack.” Those were the prescient words with which Gary Walsh concluded his note on the previous vintage of Diana Madeline. And that’s how it is. The Margaret River pack is an impressive one, globally celebrated for the quality of its Cabernet Sauvignon. The balance of ripe, layered Cabernet fruit and the structure that signals the grape’s nobility seem to come naturally to this region. And yet there are degrees of excellence. To realise a flawless sense of ripeness with…

This is a tremendously exciting moment – a huge step for Chalmers where they claim their rightful place as champions of these grape varieties, in every sense. This modest, hardworking family of pioneering growers has firmly planted a flag as all-round vignerons at the top of their game. It’s all aligned: the grapes and parcels they’ve chosen; styles they’ve mastered; and no-adds winemaking in their skilful, sensitive hands.   To mark this, the start of a new chapter, we’re pleased to unveil a new-look across the…

2017 in Germany broke a few records – in some cases the smallest crop, earliest harvest and shortest vegetative cycle ever. Late frost and hail caused the dramatic reduction in yields, and then lovely late summer sun brought everything on at a fair lick. The wines, meanwhile, will break a few hearts. They’re open, juicy wines of presence and detail. The results have been well received from a critical standpoint, and are devastatingly good to drink from the outset. What follows is a compendium of…

An all-star cast of international winegrowers is heading down under to celebrate the 20th birthday of their Australian importer. Producers from 25 estates covering Champagne, Alsace, Burgundy, Beaujolais, the Loire, Piedmont, Germany, Austria and beyond are on the way to mark CellarHand’s milestone in February 2019. They will be joined by some of the best-loved estates from Australia and New Zealand at various trade and public events in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth. CellarHand was founded in 1999 by former sommelier Patrick Walsh and…

That intro to the ’15 Schlossberg GG review is a reminder of what we’ve known for a long  time now:  When it comes to German Pinot Noir, Weingut Bernhard Huber is the best there is. Once upon a time, one might have been tempted to crack a cheap gag about one-eyed kings in the land of the blind. But not only has Spätburgunder in general taken great leaps in quality and desirability lately; Huber has spent decades as Pinot royalty on a global scale. Michael…

We kick off this month spreading seasonal goodwill, inviting you to delve into our compendium of magnums and save time shopping with our 12 wines of Christmas list. On the domestic front, the big releases come from Vanya Cullen (Kevin John Chardonnay) and Pip Farr (Mornington Pinot Noir), alongside vintage rolls for clos Clare reds and Stefano Lubiana’s gangster gris. Besides that, there's praise galore being heaped upon the likes of Airlie Bank, Shadowfax, Geoff Weaver and Wantirna Estate. In international news, Austria's the big…

Our first full shipment of 2017 wines from Austria’s Riesling and Grüner Mecca came to us from Franz Hirtzberger, the family that calls Spitz – at the cooler, western end of the Wachau valley – home. Having looked at a broad range of 2017s during our time at ProWein, we’re really excited about what this harvest brings. We’d heard that it had been warm and record-breakingly early, but as we know – especially these days and even more so with the calibre of winegrower we’re…

Whenever you read about the wines of Emmerich Knoll, it’s striking how even seasoned critics deeply familiar with them can’t help but marvel at the seeming contradiction at their heart: such power and depth, yet so sleek, fresh and energetic. The warm 2017 season here might have run things close, but Emmi Knoll told us at ProWein in March that they were saved by September. A freshening dose of rain and the arrival of some cooler weather held things nicely in check. For this is…

It’s always great to see nice guys come first, so it was fantastic to see Willi Bründlmayer awarded the 2019 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Gault & Millau restaurant guide. This is recognition for a career in which he’s tirelessly flown the flag for quality Austrian wine, led the way in the sphere of viticulture, furthered the terroir cause by spearheading the Association of Traditional Austrian Wine Estates - and continued to be a thoroughly decent all-round gentleman. He has a diverse and talented team…

“I was lucky enough to get a few hours with Vanya Cullen on her property in mid-October, a fascinating exploration of culture, history, agriculture, spirituality and art, as always,” wrote Mike Bennie in his introduction on The Wine Front. “So many outstanding wines to emerge.” But first this, just in time for Christmas: the latest iteration of Vanya’s Cullen Vineyard in the form of the purest organic-grown Chardonnay. It won’t surprise you to know that it’s fantastic again. “2017 turned out to be another great…

“These are some of the very best wines I have ever tasted from La Spinetta,” says Antonio Galloni of Vinous Media. “Proprietor Giorgio Rivetti and long-time winemaker Stefano Mazzetta have turned out a superb set of wines. The 2015 Barbarescos are racy and intense – as they always are – but the wines are also increasingly translucent and finessed.” It’s a pleasure to be able to offer an extensive range from this distinctive and visionary Piedmontese grower, taking in three Barbaresco wines from 2015 as…

Our tasting with Lucas Pichler at ProWein this year was a highlight. The file of identically-labelled bottles lined up in their crate like soldiers on parade gave nothing away. And yet, to taste!  So intricately etched, so pure, penetrating and individual.  Many of the Danube growers commented that 2017 was pretty warm and early, and all voiced the same surprise at the animation and detail that their sites had achieved. That was borne out by what we tasted here: an abundance of juicy, open fruit with…

When it comes to the festive season, it's go large or go home. With that in mind, we've thrown together our complete listing of magnums for you  to crack open and share this summer.  We all know there are few sights more welcome in a bathtub of ice than a towering 1.5-litre bottle of Riesling, and we have the best in the world from the likes of Dönnhoff, Heymann-Löwenstein, F.X. Pichler, Frankland Estate, Gunderloch and Georg Breuer. But then Champagne en magnum is a must,…

Germany hasn't exactly had it easy over the past few harvests, but boy did the top growers pull it out of the bag time and again. Conditions in 2015 were famously auspicious, while the years around it threw up more than their share of challenges and heart-in-mouth moments. What materialised, however, is little short of miraculous - as these wines predominantly from '16 show. What follows, then, is a raft of dry wines from top sites to kick off your summer of Riesling... ANSGAR CLÜSSERATH…