Refining nature is what it’s all about at Stefano Lubiana. During the course of 30 years since setting themselves up on the banks of the Derwent River, Steve and Monique have never wavered in their quest for ever higher quality. They’ve continued to raise the bar through painstaking organic viticulture and cutting-edge cellar technology and practices. These single-block Pinot Noir wines are the prime example of their microscopic attention in the vineyard; this is the culmination of three decades of devotion. The three plots –…

Congratulations to the Smith Cullam family of Frankland Estate. This organic pioneer – long celebrated as one of Australia’s finest Riesling producers –took out three trophies at the 2019 Royal Melbourne Wine Awards, including highly prestigious Trevor Mast Trophy for Best Shiraz. The win, taking in trophies for Best Organic Wine and Best WA Shiraz, is the culmination of 30 years of devoted work here, first by Barrie Smith and Judi Cullam in planting the vineyard and setting a determined course towards elegance and depth in…

Massive congratulations to Gen & Rob Mann, whose Corymbia Tempranillo/Malbec/Cabernet blend has just been named inaugural Wine of the Year at the Western Australian Good Food Guide  awards. There's a lot of fantastic wine grown in WA, and it's a huge credit to the Mann family to take out this award. It's hardly come out of the blue, though. The Mann has long been tied to pioneering brilliance out west, with Rob's grandfather Jack famously working 51 consecutive vintages at Houghton. Rob's dad Tony planted the Swan…

We're starting to feel those first tingles of the sunny season as this latest missive goes out to the wine-loving universe. Exciting time to be picking up a glass of something fresh - like the wine leading the domestic headlines this week, the 2017 Pinot Noir from the buzzy, beautiful, biodynamic home vineyard belonging to Central Otago's Burn Cottage. That's winemaker Claire Mulholland pictured above, taken from her recent trip to the east coast. She had a blast, and so did those who tried the…

A new screw-capped Pinot Blanc is a handy addition to a fullish and utterly idiosyncratic range from the brilliant Dominik Sona of Koehler-Ruprecht. This is joined by a new vintage of the village Riesling, while the inclusion of our first Spätlese Trocken from Saumagen means we now have four ‘tiers’ of Riesling from this phenomenal limestone-dominant vineyard. The vintage depth is pretty cool, too; these wines are exceptionally long-lived, with mind-boggling complexity building over time. 2017 Koehler-Ruprecht Pinot Blanc RRP $33 Some fresh-nut character, as…

“From one of the most beautiful, biodynamic-farmed vineyards on earth,” wrote Mike Bennie in the introduction to his review of last year’s Riesling / Grüner release from Burn Cottage. It really is a slice of heaven. Looks aren’t everything when it comes to wine, of course, but there are some places that cast a spell. If you’re lucky, the divine surroundings where grapes grow are matched by exquisite wines – wines that leave you with the impression that you’ve basked in all that beauty. Burn…

We’re into the second year of our partnership with Joe and Lou Holyman, the wonderful Tamar Valley complement to the Derwent Valley wines of Stefano Lubiana. For this pretty much one-couple show – Joe has a part-timer helping in the vineyard, but that’s it – it’s become a multi-faceted release, albeit with most of the wines appearing in minuscule quantities. There’s a range of vintages on show, too. Long, cool 2017 will go down as one of the great harvests, Joe reckons. Slighter warmer ’18,…

 “The style here 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.” This was the summary from Wine Advocate’s William Kelley in delivering his latest report from the Matrot family. It’s right on the money and points to the no-nonsense common sense of Elsa and Adèle Matrot: When you’re lucky enough to have old vines sitting in the best sites of Meursault and Puligny, why…

What a season spring is! The verdant land and waking flowers, the lengthening days and the soothing balm of sunlight on the skin. You just want to drink it in. Apt then, that we have an especially juicy edition of the CellarHand newsletter coming to you this month. The key domestic release is the brand-new suite of Nocturne sub-regional wines from Margaret River power couple Julian and Alana Langworthy, while Tim Shand of Punt Road has a whole set of Airlie Bank releases with the…

Margaret River is, in many senses, a blessed place. The wild yet implausibly perfect beauty of its Indian ocean coastline hints at effortless epicness. The nonchalance with which it seems to knock out immaculate, flavourful and aromatically beguiling fruit year in, year out similarly hints at a preternatural gift. Charismatic, ebullient and virtuosic husband-and-wife team Julian and Alana Langworthy embody the magic of Margs. They’ve been making wine together for well over a decade but it is Nocturne – which debuted with the 2015 vintage…

Jean-Pierre Latour is not a man given to overstatement, but he was super-excited about the 2017 vintage. Where some recorded a boost in yields following the hail- and frost-hit harvests that preceded it, his production from the premiers crus was only on a par with '16. “As to the wines, I view the 2017s as appealing to two different audiences, which is not always the case,” Jean-Pierre told Allen Meadows of Burghound. “Casual consumers will like the fact that the whites will be both approachable…

Many of you will have had the pleasure of meeting Virginie Taupenot when she visited Australia for CellarHand’s 20th Anniversary celebrations in February. She’s a warm and cheerful presence, and as president of Femmes et Vins de Bourgogne, she’s the best ambassador imaginable for her region and the estate. Loveable as she and brother Romain are, they’ve also established themselves in the first rank of Côte de Nuits producers. “This is a domaine that I have followed since before writing about wine. Over the years…

“It is a bijou operation, just half a dozen or so crus in small but fortunately not microscopic quantities. Tardy is always welcoming and affable. He creates relatively fruit-driven, concentrated wines that lean towards the black side of the fruit spectrum rather than red. “You might categorize Tardy’s wines as leaning to the more modern, intense side of Vosne-Romanée winemaking... There is always density and grip to these wines, which benefit from bottle age.” – Neal Martin, Wine Advocate It would be an exaggeration to call…

Winter's days are well and truly numbered, and we hope that this month's newsletter can cast an inner glow on your soul as spring begins its advance. It's an import-dominated month, with Mornington Peninsula champion Paul Scorpo hogging the domestic limelight. And why not? This quiet achiever has got the entire range - with has praiseworthy depth, breadth and brilliance - absolutely purring. We're also celebrating our position as Paul's new distributor in NSW and ACT this month. In foreign affairs, it's Austria making the…

Hannes Schuster was one of a Burgenland trio to hit Australia back in August alongside Gerhard Pittnauer and Roland Velich of Moric. He was a hit – understated and yet you could sense the confidence behind a dry demeanour. It was his first time here but he showed admirable awareness, telling us how important it was for his entry-level wines – a Blaufränkisch, Zweigelt and Sankt Laurent – to be way better than people imagined, and cost far less than their quality would suggest. He…