Wine Reviews

Fermented in amphora, where it stayed for eight months before a further four months in steel; 100% mlf, unfiltered and unfined. With an emphasis on texture and a confluence of fruit purity and winemaking influence, this is a beautiful wine. It feels porous, with enveloping pockets of lemon sherbet, orchard...

Estate grown on the Vivian vineyard. Truly magnificent ruby hue. A smattering of Italian dried herbs, tomato leaf, red cherry and cranberry, a little char. The tannins are fine, lace-like, gently resinous and mouth-coating. Cherry pit, rose and subtle earth notes lead with great line and carry through to a...

A beautiful wine that treads the line between expressions of now and then. There's a harmony and balance here that can't have been easily achieved given the challenges of the vintage, but the tannins are akin to velvet. They sit within a pool of cassis, mint, olive tapenade, blackcurrant, plum...

From the Dearney vineyard in Balhannah, a true-to-variety, briny, herbal and searing expression. Tarragon and thyme lead a heart of lemon zest, fennel, oyster shell and piercing acids. A dash of green olive, sea spray and Granny Smith, too. Generosity is not to be underestimated here. Chill and swill amongst...

Such a fluid red wine. Such a joy to drink too, though it’s joy in a serious and leaf-inflected kind of way. It tastes of boysenberry and blackcurrant, bay leaves, loganberry, violets and an array of well-placed (and pretty) herbs. It has lamb cutlets, or something similar, written all over...

A quixotic blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Carignan and Malbec. An essence of Clare, per se. All the blue fruits, dashes of purple fruits, green olive, saltbush, with touches of forest floor. It’s medium bodied, tightens on rails of lithe tannin, feels plush but cool in its way. Such...

Gamay – the sole red variety of Beaujolais – has had a slowish start in this country, but enthusiasm is rapidly growing… With the Australian gamay landscape rapidly changing, we thought it an apt time to take another Deep Dive into Australian expressions of this joyous variety … Koerner Wine...

From the Deanery Vineyard in Balhannah, Adelaide Hills. As an aside, the Koerner website is text book outstanding for information, layout, clarity of imagery, up-to-dateness. It’s a ripper. This is a charmer. It’s quite a deep, rich sangiovese but manages to elevate on the promise of quality, silty tannin and...

Off Koerner and Parish Vineyards, plantings from 1920s and 1970s. Bit of history there. Wild ferment occurs in stainless and ceramic vessels. Texture, vitality, length, drinkabilty. A good start when those four things collide. Scents and flavours of preserved lime, Indian pickled lime, Real Lemonade, green apple. Some crunch to...