Wine Reviews

The Vivian Vineyard is the headliner. The Koerner epoch in Clare is going to go down as a significant one, showcasing the ‘other’ of Clare in a fine wine paradigm and a breathing of additional character into the region, no doubt. Kudos to the fellas. Made in a Slavonian oak...

A tilt at a new breed of Clare red wine, though it has been since 2016, or at least since then for me. It’s cabernet, cabernet franc, grenache, malbec, carignan, sciacarello from three vineyards, drawn together to produce a regional red. Clever. Clare cabernet and shiraz solo can fall short...

My favourite grape variety of all (what can’t it do?!) now interpreted by the Koerner brothers. This comes from the Deanery vineyard in Balhannah, Adelaide Hills. And it is a ripper, though leaning into savouriness, and not aping the famed wines of Jura. Delightful in its own incarnation. It has...

Deanery Vineyard in Adelaide Hills is the host for this frisky gamay. It’s light, crunchy and vibrant in its nature. On tasting I thought ‘should put this in the fridge’ and so I did, and geez, did it up the ante of drinkability. All charm at regular red wine temp...

This is a dry, pebbly style with citrus juice and floral characters building as the wine breathes. It has cut, thrust and body, but it's the savoury, stony, 'of the earth' aspect that really beguiles. A grippyness to the texture is the icing on the cake. 95 points - Gold...

Grapefruit, lime and bath-salt flavours burst convincingly through the palate before gradually easing out through the finish. There's a gently herbal, tonic-like note too. Once again we're in terrific territory here. 95 points - Gold Campbell Mattinson. Published 2 August, 2023

This is a pure, textural riesling that's both true to its origins and variety but also has its own distinctive characters. Lemon and lime notes come crisp and clear before earth, stone and hay-like notes sweep in. It has both interest and pure pleasure covered.  95 points - Gold  Campbell...

A blend of cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, grenache, malbec, carignan and sciacarello. It pulls all the right levers in all the right ways. It's medium in weight and classic in style, in that blackcurrant, mint and choc flavours are the main drivers, but there's attitude here, too, most of it...

Citrus and grapefruit pulp flavours meet tonic water and brine. It's textural, flavoursome and charismatic, but mostly it's just a beautiful wine to drink. A gentle grip on the finish works well, too.  94 points - Silver Campbell Mattinson. Published 2 August, 2023