The anti-patriot. I rarely drink Australian wines anymore. The lack of patriotism started before we relocated to Malaysia. Initially, I was intimidated by wines from other countries, particularly Old World wines. Complicated naming systems, vineyard classifications and unknown grape varieties caused a strange wine anxiety. The change started with Burgundy and continued to Italy. Now,…
Year: 2020
Opinion: Becoming Burgundy
In the shadow of greatness. Some comparisons should never be made. This thought flashes into the mind the moment I hear the phrase ‘it is made in a Burgundian style’. Shell and I standing in a cellar door on the Mornington Peninsula. It is a cold, wet June in 2016. Having already visited the Yarra…
2015 Elio Altare Langhe La Villa
Wine is the great mood modifier. Shell woke up in a less than ideal mood. Her disposition filled the room with a thick fog of bad attitude. She was aware of the situation but continued on the theme throughout the day. She fluctuated between abrasive comments and immediately apologising, only to repeat the behaviour over…
2017 Telmo Rodríguez Bodega Lanzaga LZ Rioja
Spanish civility. Serious wine drinking is serious business. Sometimes, a wine demands so much attention it can detract from company, food and the general good time of wine. Not necessarily a bad thing, if this is your wheel house, but after a few weeks of serious drinking, we decided to share a bottle that would…
1999 Best’s Great Western Cabernet Sauvignon Cellar Door
Under the radar. There are plenty of high quality wine producers that sit under the radar. Best’s is certainly one of them. It is difficult to understand why. They have a history as long and celebrated as Henschke, a similar, family owned estate. They have a portfolio to rival Penfold’s, yet have not suffered the…
2013 Domaine Odoul-Coquard Morey-Saint-Denis Aux Chéseaux
The Morey Saint Denis obsession. My dive into Burgundy began when I started to get interested in Australian Pinot Noir. A Mornington producer commented ‘it is in the Burgundy style’, when he poured a wine for tasting. I have grown to hate that term, but the wine held me transfixed. It teased at the senses,…
Opinion: Stemware Matters
Wine drinkers tend to fall into three categories when it comes to stemware. Firstly, there are those that simply do not care. The glass is a delivery system for wine and nothing more. A wine glass, tumbler, plastic cup or simply straight from the bottle, the glass is irrelevant. The pleasure comes from the drinking….
2002 Henschke Cyril Henschke Cabernet Sauvignon
In the shadow of Grace. The 2015 Henschke Hill of Grace was recently released with much fanfare. Good vintage conditions and one of the truly great single vineyard wines of Australia, it deserves the high praise. At over $700+ AUS, it certainly commands high value. Today is a throw back to Henschke’s other great wine,…
2013 Woodstock Botrytis Semillon
The noblest of rot. History can be hazy when anomalies turn to gold. At some point in wines long and experimental history, grapes covered in mould, botrytis cinerea, were fermented and the result was a literal liquid gold. It was likely an accident, regardless, every wine region in Europe is claiming the glory. While most…