Stephen Pannell is a future maker, still ahead of the curve after all these years. For many winemakers, winning the Jimmy Watson Memorial Trophy might be the pinnacle of their career. When Steve won his first Jimmy Watson in 1996, he wasn’t even getting started. Steve could almost be the poster child of Max Allen’s 2010 book, The Future Makers, in which Pannell speaks about growing climate-appropriate grape varieties, such as Aglianico, which has made a happy home on Olivers Road, McLaren Vale. “I’ve been…

The Wantirna Estate release is an absolute highlight of the CellarHand calendar. The icing on that cake used to be the annual visit from Reg and Maryann to taste the wines with us. These days, Reg doesn’t make it out, so we make do—and it’s a delightful consolation—with Maryann. Reg Egan, who established this haven on the fringe of the Yarra Valley back in 1963, is pushing 94 and still drives a tractor and tends the vines a couple of days a week. He thought…

The Vairas are not your average wine-growing family. You can take as a given the things many producers are striving to catch up on these days. Organic viticulture? The estate’s been at it since the beginning. Light-touch, hands-off winemaking to show off the fruit and terroir? Ditto. Innovation in the vineyard and cellar to keep raising the bar in the minutiae of purity and precision. Again, tick. It’s maybe doing all the right things initially, instinctively, incessantly, that has freed up bandwidth for other artistic…

Joe Holyman describes his public persona as somewhere between Gary Farr and d’Arenberg’s Chester Osborn. Though hardly pinpoint, this is still accurate insofar as he’s probably somewhere on that spectrum. It’s also quite amusing. But the point is that Joe prefers telling you something you want to know rather than mansplaining stuff you don’t care about. Sometimes, what you see is what you get. And sometimes, what you get is bloody good. This goes to the heart of the Holyman wines: they only show what…

“The ’21s charmed with upfront fruit, but the ’22s have something extra, less obvious—strange considering the similarity between the seasons. Just goes to show the importance of tannin ripeness, a concept we are only just starting to come to grips with in Australian winemaking. The longer hang times made the difference.” Stephen Pannell The honours Australia sees fit to bestow upon its greatest winemakers are many and varied, and Stephen Pannell had enjoyed them all before he launched Koomilya. The two-time Jimmy Watson winner and…

Choices, choices! We’re hitting you with a stupendous set of wines from three fantastic winegrowers: Gunderloch, Christmann and Dönnhoff. The quality and character on offer among these Grosses Gewächs bottlings will make for tough choices. However, our German friends are practised at the art of selection, triumphing in another extreme vintage with a set of pulsating, memorable whites.     Generally speaking, the rollercoaster season was wet, and slow, then dry, then wet, then warm and frenetically fast. Nothing fazes these smooth operators, though. They count…

It has been truly refreshing—really, there’s no refreshment quite like it—reminding ourselves, and everyone else, how scintillatingly original these wines remain. It was a pleasure to welcome Alexandre Garandel to Australia at the end of July to mark 20 years since the inaugural 700-series release. The first wine, released in 2005 with 2000 as its base vintage, did more than rewrite the rulebook on the non-vintage concept; it turned Champagne on its head. Suddenly, the big houses weren’t on top. Small was beautiful. Site, not…

It's Never too Slate for Great Riesling   At Dr. Loosen, history runs deep, but the future is just as thrilling. For over two centuries, this storied Mosel estate has been rooted in some of Germany’s most breathtakingly steep and slate-rich vineyards. Under the vision of Ernst Loosen, the estate has become a beacon for Riesling lovers worldwide, celebrated not only for its iconic fruity styles, but increasingly for its world-class dry wines. The pinnacle of that dry wine journey is found in the Grosses Gewächs (GG)…

Clare Valley legends, the Barry family, of Jim Barry Wines & clos Clare fame, are a genuine Tour de Force. The multi-generational family business (Jim Barry wines) has seen the family not only be standard- bearers of all things Clare within Australia, but as custodians of some of the regions’ most brilliant vineyard sites, they have taken the wines of the Clare to the world and helped establish the region as one of the most exciting sources of site-specific wines coming out of Australia today.…

The annals of time are filled with great collabs & partnerships. Laurel & Hardy. Cagney & Lacey. Fripp & Eno. Duos that just work. Duos that work in symbiosis with each other. Creative forces that are great in their own right, but that as a duo offer something different; something that allows another side of their personality to shine. The remarkable & enduring friendship between Mosel superstar Ernst Loosen of Dr. Loosen fame and Clare Valley legends the Barry family goes back some 30 years…

Dalwhinnie is a site that just makes sense.  The majesty of the views, the truly mesmerising nature of the steep amphitheatre, the ancient mineral & rock-laden soils; it just seems like a place that should make amazing wine…and yes, yes it does just this.  For us to be able to continue this winemaking legacy at what I see as a peerless Victorian Shiraz site is a great honour and an even bigger thrill. Dalwhinnie’s Eagle Shiraz was one of the first cult wines I ever…

It's a Family Affair!  After 26 years, CellarHand is still a family-run business.  The ‘bosses’ (as much as they don’t like to be called that) are still that same husband and wife dynamic-duo that decided to “give it a crack” in 1999, starting up operations from their house, their bedroom in fact. And, after 26 years, CellarHand is still a business that prides itself on representing and celebrating some of the greatest winegrowing family businesses from both here in Australia and across the globe. But this one,…

What a lot of people don’t realise about the Peninsula is that it’s very sub-regional. The difference between the Tuerong Chardonnay and the Main Ridge – it could be different regions. It’s completely different aspects, different bodies of water that have a huge influence on it as well. - Will Byron, Onannon Will Byron has spent years exploring the nooks and crannies of the Mornington Peninsula, unearthing some of its most exciting vineyard sites along the way. After a long & successful stint as winemaker at Stonier,…

There’s something special about a change in season, particularly when it’s timed with welcoming a wine that is grown at a place that is truly one with its surroundings and works is complete symbiosis with the environment that has brought it to life. The 2022 Burn Cottage Pinot Noir, a wine that perfectly captures the character of this exceptional Central Otago vineyard, is one such wine. The 2022 growing season was beautifully settled, with minimal frost pressure and ideal ripening conditions, allowing the fruit to develop purity, balance and finesse. Winemaker Claire Mulholland describes…

"This is the best vintage yet!" - Julian Langworthy   Julian Langworthy is quite the wordsmith and many of his, let’s say, taglines, are well known (and loved) to those who have come along for the journey throughout his illustrious winemaking career.  And, as much as they’re often received with a chuckle, these turns of phrase are a big contributor to his reputation as one of the most admired and highly-regarded winemakers in this country.  Not only is he one of Australia’s most gifted talents, his ability to…