Nebbiolo may be very “now” in Australia but this variety Stephen Pannell calls “vinous heroin” has been in his – err, veins – for years. He’s worked vintages with his great friends at G.D. Vajra, and is now releasing his eighth Nebbiolo under the S.C. Pannell label. The style he goes for takes a solid…
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CellarHand Newsletter June 2019
Eventful times here at CellarHand, with a masterful mentor and his prodigious protégé coming out with high-profile releases. The former is Stephen Pannell, the McLaren Vale maestro who’s tapping into his obsession with Italian varieties this month with the release of his eighth Nebbiolo from the Adelaide Hills, with vintage 2016 producing perhaps the finest…
CellarHand Newsletter July 2019
It feels like a mixed and meaty kind of news month, with the kind of vibrant diversity that we adventurous winelovers espouse. The big release for the month – along with Mount Mary’s JWDM – is Nick Farr’s 2017 Sangreal and Farrside Pinot Noir alongside his whites from 2018. It won’t surprise you to hear…
CellarHand Newsletter September 2019
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…
Koomilya: ’17 TT and ’16 CP Cabernet Out Now
KOOMILYA – A DEDICATION by Stephen Pannell After working 39 vintages, including nine in Europe, I’ve spent plenty of time in vineyards and wineries to ponder: Why do I love wine? Why do I love making wine? What is it exactly that makes a great wine? I think that all great wines obey a set…
CellarHand Newsletter November 2019
We’re heading into the festive season and there’s a fittingly epic amount of good wine to celebrate in this month’s missive. We have three A-list annual releases from Victoria from Wantirna Estate, Mount Mary and By Farr. Getting in on that action is Tasmanian biodynamic star Stefano Lubiana and its three 2017 single-block Pinots. Another…
Interview With Her Royal Vinous, Jancis Robinson
Jancis Robinson, the world’s most revered wine writer, made a whistle-stop visit to Australia in spring 2019. She came to attend a Chardonnay symposium in the Yarra Valley, promote the eighth edition of the World Atlas of Wine and discuss the range of glassware she co-created with British product designer Richard Brendon. During her trip…
20 20th Wines To Set Up 2020
First and foremost, this is a massive thank you being with us this year as we’ve celebrated a pretty significant milestone: CellarHand’s 20th Anniversary. This is also our opportunity to wish you the best for the festive season, with a chance to spend some hugely happy times with those who mean the most to you….
S.C. Pannell Single-Site 2018 Grenache
“It’s a beautiful thing. 96 points.” Gary Walsh, The Wine Front on ’18 Smart “What a wine! 96 points.” Gary Walsh, The Wine Front on ’18 Old McDonald I’ve told the story of moving to McLaren Vale in the mid ‘90s and discovering the medium-bodied nature of Grenache countless times. My love for the variety…
CellarHand Newsletter March 2021
March already, hey? Well, here’s wishing an awesome autumn to you all! New Zealand leads the way this month, with the 2018 Burn Cottage Moonlight Race Pinot Noir out now. It’s the first estate-grown version of this wine that’s been a winner since making its debut in 2014. The new release is layered, complete and balanced, with…
CellarHand Newsletter April 2021
We hope you enjoyed a very happy Easter and have returned fresh and not without an appetite for further wine exploration. The major new-arrival hype is around Germany, whose stellar 2019s have landed. Short on crop, long on quality, many of the wines didn’t survive to see the sun rise on this newsletter. What remains…
CellarHand Newsletter May 2021
Welcome to the CellarHand newsletter for May 2021. A bit of a short-and-sweet edition this month, it nevertheless includes three urgent and mouthwatering releases. The most complete of these comes from the Smith Cullam clan of Frankland Estate, whose suite of single-vineyard wines is out now. From 2020, that means Isolation Ridge and Poison…
Touriga In The Koomilya Mix: New Red Blends
Touriga Nacional is a great grape, dabbing its powdery tannins and blue floral brushstrokes over everything it touches. It plays a key role in both of the 2018 red blends from Stephen Pannell’s pride-and-joy Koomilya vineyard in McLaren Vale. These are a surprise in more ways than one. It’s an early bonus ahead of the…
S.C. Pannell Single-Site 2019 Grenache Out Now
It’s an exciting time to be a Grenache maker, and even more exciting to be a Grenache grower. But as the popularity of Grenache increases, I find myself wondering: Does it need to be a ‘session wine’? Have we fully embraced the unique opportunity to make Grenache Australia’s own medium-bodied wine of place from a…
CellarHand Newsletter July 2021
Stephen Pannell is at the heart of domestic goings-on, with a pair of very different releases. First, we have the pace-setting single-site old bush-vine Grenache from the Smart and Old McDonald vineyards, and second – from Steve’s pride-and-joy Koomilya site – a couple of stonking 2018 red blends: Touriga Graciano Mataro and Cabernet Touriga. The…