*COMING SOON* "Number 7. Lucky for some, especially if you’re the seventh son or need a break from creating the world but possibly more a beacon for change. "The world has unquestionably changed and so has Nocturne. After six vintages Alana and I have parted ways on our dream wine project and in this edition, I go it alone and without my original favourite vineyard of Tassel Park.  Now, a man after my own heart - with a build and a hairstyle I’m starting to…

I don’t know when it’s too early to reminisce on the origins of a classic. Probably depends how long it takes to qualify as a classic in the first place.Rob and Gen Mann’s Cabernet Sauvignon from their Calgardup Vineyard in Redgate Beach made its debut from the 2018 harvest. That’s recent in anyone’s language. Certainly, recent enough for the first taste to be crystal clear in the memory; as crystal clear as that blackcurrant-accented grape-pure fruit with is tapenade and nori accents, its rippling, fluid…

She was a cruel mistress in many ways, was 2020. The northern Barossa wasn’t spared Mother Nature’s miserliness. “The 2020 vintage offered us so much in quality, but so little in quantity,” says Ben Glaetzer. In fairness, some of the blame falls on the shoulders of 2019 – the driest season on record up in Ebenezer, where Ben’s grapes grow on ancient vines. That situation was exacerbated when frost struck in October, affecting flowering. “Smaller bunches with smaller berries were then offered the reprieve of…

by ED MERRISON Balance is a buzzword in wine, a sacred virtue all aspire to. But few know the meaning of balance like Alecia Moore. A performing artist, songwriter, mother, and winemaker: all of these require delicate and constant balance. The contemplative yin to the fan-crazed yang of stadium rock is a 25-acre vineyard in Santa Barbara County, California. In a sense, with Alecia’s Two Wolves wines - which make their Australian debut this month- a circle is complete, too. It was on these shores…

Back in October 2019, when the world was a very different place, I was getting ready for work one morning and as you do was checking the morning emails on my phone. Just like any other day. For whatever reason one in particular stood out and made it through the morning ‘cull’. Thank God! Beautifully written by someone who’s name wasn’t immediately familiar to me, it had been sent to both myself and Virginia - which in itself was unusual in the best possible way.…

  [caption id="attachment_18513" align="aligncenter" width="8022"] Photo credit: Krisoffer Paulsen[/caption] Apparently this place is “best known for wonderfully intense Pinot Noirs and ultra-complex Chardonnays under several individual vineyard labels, plus equally mesmerising Viognier and Shiraz, the Viognier arguably Australia’s best.” That’s according to the blurb confirming the Farr family's position as the number-one estate in this year’s Real Review Top Wineries of Australia rankings. Say what you will - and people do - about these lists, but it isn't just coincidence that just one year ago…

“Wait till you taste the 2020s - they will definitely knock your socks off!” Monique Lubiana told us at the tail end of last year. “A good vintage in Tasmania,” was how Gary Walsh prefaced his write-up of Monique and Steve’s Estate Chardonnay. Here we have the single-plot Pinot Noir wines. We have some sort of precedent, since 2020 Sasso – a blend of these three special parcels – sold out in a flash in March. “Any way you come at this you see quality,”…

Make no mistake: This is a landmark. And just for a moment take in that land on which the Chalmers family is making its mark! Drink in that colour, that warmth, that space! It’s undoubtedly Australia. Inland Australia, with its own rhythm, its warm, red dirt and blazing sun. It is a place where grapes – millions of tonnes of them – have grown. But till now, none have grown like these. It has taken a lifetime of journeying, enquiring, importing, planting, propagating, trialling, observing…

Grenache has an ability to bear the hardship of a changing Australian climate. Seeing how it handles each season leads me to wonder why Grenache is compared to other varieties, and why isn't it the other way round? We've often heard the expression 'warm-climate Pinot Noir' used to describe Grenache and used 'pinot-like' in previous tasting notes. Perhaps it's Grenache's medium-bodied nature or the tendency for some winemakers to disguise the variety's abundance of tannin. Either way, I can no longer agree with the comparison.…

Huge congratulations to Eva Clüsserath! She's just become the latest CellarHand portfolio member to be crowned Winemaker of the Year. The accolade is further confirmation that this humble estate in the Mosel Valley is a force to be reckoned with on the global Riesling scene. Eva, who is married to Rheinhessen winemaker Philipp Wittmann, juggles the running of her estate with bringing up their two children among the goings-on at the stellar Wittmann winery. She is, in short, a superwoman. It’s great to have a…

Vintage 2019 in Malterdingen was characterised by warm summer days, for us optimally dosed rainfall and very cool nights during harvest, so that the grapes ripened perfectly and the wine fully expressed its essence. Due to little rainfall in winter and spring, the vegetative development was delayed at the beginning of 2019. In mid-June, flowering was very even across the various vineyards amid good weather with cool nights. Later on, the vegetation in the foothills of the Black Forest benefitted from well-distributed precipitation during midsummer.…

  Wines from Germany's 2020 harvest are starting to flow a little more fully into Australia, with Riesling from Mosel, Rheingau, Rheinhessen and Pfalz arriving now from some of your favourite growers. These include your first chance to taste Eva Clüsserath's wares since she was crowned Germany's Winemaker of the Year. And from Baden, we have taken possession of the ripping 2019s from Weingut Bernhard Huber, the nation's greatest exponent of the Burgundy varieties. Fun times all round... MOSEL – Including newly crowned Winemaker of…

For a family that hangs its hat on innovation, Dott. is the extreme avant-garde. The Chalmers family’s forward-looking celebration of the frontier of vine diversity is also a retrospective ovation for the late, great Dr. (“Dottore”, or Dott. for short) Rod Bonfiglioli. He was the viticulturist whose extraordinary passion and vision helped paint Australia’s vinous landscape in all the bright colours of tomorrow, while all eyes were on the same old, Old-World prize. He sought out these rare grapevines for the Chalmers’ ground-breaking nursery collection,…

“These two wines from our certified-organic Isolation Ridge Vineyard continue to typify what we are about at Frankland Estate. “They encapsulate a journey of generational farming and a commitment to sustainability in every aspect of viticulture and winemaking. “Riesling and Syrah have been a parallel focus and we hope the results speak for themselves. “We offer them as singular wines that reflect a thoughtful, passionate approach to the Isolation Ridge site. “Our crusade for the last eight-odd years – and especially since our 2015 release…

Charteris is a trans-Tasman story of exploration, love and connection. Its protagonist is PJ Charteris, an eternal dreamer whose heart burns with a contradiction: Fondness for home and desire to explore. Wine, a lens through which to view time and place, is the perfect medium to satisfy those yearnings - and to share the fruits of experience with others. Kiwi-born PJ’s journey has gone full circle and halfway back again, with wines that embrace both his beloved Central Otago and his adoptive Hunter Valley home.…