by Chris | 26 Jul 2011 | Australia, New South Wales, Red Wines, Shiraz
The wine of the week in the Good Living section of the SMH this week is the Phillip Shaw The Idiot Shiraz, Orange 2009. Huon Hooke writes: Phillip Shaw’s second ranked shiraz turned heads earlier this year in the Sydney Royal Wine Show when it won three...
by Chris | 19 Jul 2011 | Australia, Other Reds, South Australia
The wine of the week in today’s Good Living section of the SMH is the 2009 John Duval Plexus Shiraz Grenache Mourvedre from the Barossa Valley.Huon Hooke writes:John Duval seems able to weave more detail and elegance into Barossa reds than most and this is an...
by Chris | 12 Jul 2011 | Australia, Chardonnay, Western Australia, White Wines
The wine of the week in today’s SMH Good Living section is the 2009 Leeuwin Estate Prelude Vineyards Chardonnay from Margaret River. Huon Hooke writes: Playing second-fiddle to the most famous chardonnay in the land hasn’t always been easy but the Prelude...
by Chris | 5 Jul 2011 | Australia, Other Reds, South Australia
Huon Hooke’s wine of the week in today’s SMH Good Living is the 2009 Yalumba Bush Vine Grenache from the Barossa Valley. He says: “Bush vines are the preferred way to grow grenache – as opposed to the orderly rows of trellis wires that support...
by Chris | 22 Apr 2011 | Australia, Other Reds, Red Wines, Western Australia
This was a birthday present from my wife ten years ago and we figured it was time to bring it from the cellar for my birthday dinner in 2011. We tasted it with a whole thick piece of farm-bought steak cooked over direct heat in the charcoal Weber, then thinly sliced...
by Chris | 3 Jan 2011 | France, Red Wines
Fronsac is an appellation that lies just to the north of the Dordogne River before it becomes the true right bank of the Gironde River. This wine is 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc. The right bank soil is principally clay which supports the Merlot grape, where the...
by Chris | 1 Jan 2011 | Australia, Chardonnay, Western Australia, White Wines
From one of the coolest vintages in Margaret River’s history comes this remarkable wine, a wine that some experts have described as the best white wine made in Australia. Well since there was just the two of us at home for this New Years Eve, we easily conjured...
by Chris | 5 Nov 2010 | Victoria, White Wines
A friend has just given me a bottle of Muscat from Rutherglen Estates. In the bag with the bottle was a copy of their Spring 2010 newsletter that included the following article on the making of white wine. I thought I’d share it with you. White wines require...
by Chris | 7 Sep 2010 | Australia, Red Wines, Shiraz, Victoria
This has to be one of the cellaring stars of Australian wine; it just grows another leg after 5 to 10 years in the cellar. Having said that, as we eagerly opened one of these recently, we quickly discovered it had been monstered by TCA. So after tipping that one down...
by Chris | 7 Sep 2010 | Australia, Red Blends, South Australia, White Blends
This wine has a long lineage, having been made since 1962, and a distinct place in Australian wine history. This vintage is still available in major liquor stores at around $40 which is wonderful value for a beautiful wine with some of the cellaring done for you. On...
