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WINE OF THE WEEK: Tesco Finest Western Australia Sauvignon Blanc Semillon 2019, Australia

Apr 22

WINE OF THE WEEK: Tesco Finest Western Australia Sauvignon Blanc Semillon 2019, Australia

£8, Tesco Sunshine would be welcome with this racy dry white, but I'm happy to settle for lesser weather as long as I have the wine in my glass. Western Australian Sauvignon Blanc Semillon blends have a style of their own – energising, positive and aromatic with the incisive green fruit of the Sauvignon filled out by subtle, blossomy softness from the Semillon (24% here) and enhanced, in this case, by a mouthwatering smoky, flinty character, green apple, herb and elderflower

Drilling into Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon with a Viognier guru

Apr 13

Drilling into Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon with a Viognier guru

Louisa Rose, head of winemaking at Yalumba, where she has worked since graduating as dux from Roseworthy in 1992 Mention the name Louisa Rose in any wine circle and the grape variety Viognier won’t be far behind. Yalumba, where she is chief winemaker and has worked since graduating from Roseworthy in 1993, was the first to plant Viognier commercially in Australia back in 1980, but it was Louisa who put Australian Viognier on the global wine map and established Yalumba as a wo

WINE OF THE WEEK: Blind Spot Touriga Nacional 2020, Langhorne Creek/McLaren Vale, Australia

Feb 25

WINE OF THE WEEK: Blind Spot Touriga Nacional 2020, Langhorne Creek/McLaren Vale, Australia

£10.95, The Wine Society This is one of a trio of interesting reds that The Wine Society has just added to its Blind Spot Australian range (the others are a Montepulciano and a Carignan). I’ve written about the thinking behind the range before here but, in a nutshell, they’re wines made from small parcels of top-quality grapes, ferreted out before they disappear into big-company blends. The Society chooses from samples sent by its man down under, winemaker Mac Forbes, and he

WINE OF THE WEEK: Vasse Felix Classic Semillon Sauvignon Blanc 2020, Margaret River, Australia

Oct 1, 2020

WINE OF THE WEEK: Vasse Felix Classic Semillon Sauvignon Blanc 2020, Margaret River, Australia

£12, Tesco I can't quite believe this is my first Wine of the Week from the 2020 vintage. So much has happened this year, the southern hemisphere harvest seems aeons ago. Even Champagne started picking seven weeks ago... But enough musing, let's get on with the wine. A zingy, citrus-facing white might not immediately seem a match for the current weather, but Semillon (70% of the blend) has mouthfeel – a delicate, oily roundness and suppleness that gives substance to the vibra

Yalumba Organic Viognier 2019, South Australia

Aug 27, 2020

Yalumba Organic Viognier 2019, South Australia

£7.49 (on offer), Waitrose I had scheduled Yalumba Samuel's Collection Bush Vine Grenache 2018 this week, getting in ahead of International Grenache Day on September 18, but this luscious Viognier, which missed out a couple of months ago, is now on offer (down from £10), making it even better value – cracking value, in fact, and a great wine buy for the bank holiday. You can't go wrong with a Yalumba Viognier. It's been one of the Hill Smith family's specialities since the 19

WINE OF THE WEEK: d'Arenberg The Footbolt Shiraz 2017, McLaren Vale Australia

May 14, 2020

WINE OF THE WEEK: d'Arenberg The Footbolt Shiraz 2017, McLaren Vale Australia

£12–£14.99, Tesco, The Wine Society, Great Western Wine, ND John, Winepig Unashamedly full-throated Aussie Shiraz from a family-owned and run winery that never seems to put a foot wrong. D'Arenberg produces a whole range of wines – white, red, traditional, innovative – and offers great value too. Hats off to the inimitable fourth-generation boss and winemaker Chester Osborn. The Footbolt is made artisan-style in open-top vats with foot-treading, basket-pressing and a mix of o

WINE OF THE WEEK: Brokenwood Thompson's Road Hunter Valley Semillon 2018, Australia

Apr 16, 2020

WINE OF THE WEEK: Brokenwood Thompson's Road Hunter Valley Semillon 2018, Australia

£8.99/£9.99, Waitrose Hunter Valley Semillon isn't like Sémillon from anywhere else (and I'm not talking about the absence of the accent). The classic Hunter style is dry and light-bodied but intensely flavoured with an electric current of citrus zest and a smooth, lanolin-like texture. With age it develops toasted, honeyed complexity, as if aged in oak – and all delivered at naturally low alcohol levels: in this case 11%. Thompson's Road 2018 is still young, so doesn't have

WINE OF THE WEEK: De Bortoli Regional Reserve Pinot Noir 2018, Yarra Valley, Australia

Feb 27, 2020

WINE OF THE WEEK: De Bortoli Regional Reserve Pinot Noir 2018, Yarra Valley, Australia

£11.95–£12.99, Saxtys Wines, Quantock Abbey Wine, Adnams This is not a wine that's going to stand out on the shelf, but it deserves to. Behind the classically restrained label is an enchanting cool-climate Pinot Noir, with red cherry, cranberry and soft-spoken spice woven together with textbook purity, suppleness, freshness and elegant complexity. Pair it with fish such as tuna or prosciutto-wrapped cod or monkfish, with poultry (e.g. roast chicken or quail), meat such as por

WINE OF THE WEEK: Taste the Difference Western Australia Shiraz 2018, Australia

Nov 7, 2019

WINE OF THE WEEK: Taste the Difference Western Australia Shiraz 2018, Australia

£6.75, Sainsbury's I thought the price must be an error when I saw it in the tasting booklet. Whoever heard of a red from Western Australia at this price, not least a blend with a Margaret River component? When I tasted it and saw who the winemaker was, I did double-take mark two. It’s bright and pure with spicy red berry fruit, earthy sweetness and a touch of chocolate – easy to drink, unforced and wearing its alcohol lightly. The man behind it is David Hohnen, who in a form

WINE OF THE WEEK: Wirra Wirra Church Block 2016, McLaren Vale, Australia

Sep 19, 2019

WINE OF THE WEEK: Wirra Wirra Church Block 2016, McLaren Vale, Australia

£9.99 (on offer) Waitrose; £10.11 (on offer) Ocado I've just done a captivating and illuminating tasting of 12 wines chosen as Australia's future icons*. Running freely across region, grape variety and style, themes emerged nonetheless: a focus on specific sites and vineyards, Australia's old-vine heritage, and low-intervention winemaking among others. There was an orange wine and other new-wave wines, but there were also some classics, which is where this week's wine comes i

WINE OF THE WEEK: Barry & Sons Riesling 2017, Clare Valley, Australia

Jul 25, 2019

WINE OF THE WEEK: Barry & Sons Riesling 2017, Clare Valley, Australia

£13.40, Tanners Wines I don't think I can come up with two more refreshing still wines for hot weather than dry Riesling and Assyrtiko. I’ve made the Clare Riesling my Wine of the Week, but I recommend the Barry’s family’s Assyrtiko, too. It’s the follow-on vintage to the 2016, the first Assyrtiko not just in Australia but anywhere outside Greece (there's more about it here and see picture below). The 2017 is juicy and fruity with softly smoky lime and lemon flavours and pith

WINE OF THE WEEK: Moss Wood Semillon 2016, Margaret River, Western Australia

May 2, 2019

WINE OF THE WEEK: Moss Wood Semillon 2016, Margaret River, Western Australia

£16.99, waitrosecellar.com and 8 stores Sémillon is in decline pretty well all over the world, often losing out to the more aromatic, feisty Sauvignon Blanc. Sémillon is still big in Bordeaux, of course, giving the world exceptional botrytis sweet wines, but as a dry wine it's just not in vogue. And yet it can be wonderful, with flavours not unlike Sauvignon, but more muted, and a distinctive, rich, lanolin-like texture. With age, it often develops a nutty or toasty character

WINE OF THE WEEK: Yalumba The Y Series Viognier 2017, South Australia

Jan 10, 2019

WINE OF THE WEEK: Yalumba The Y Series Viognier 2017, South Australia

£5.49 mix-six sale price, Majestic Even at £8–£8.25 (Sainsbury's and Morrisons) this is great value, so at Majestic's mix-six sale price (until 27 January) it's an absolute bargain. I've just had a bottle of the 2014 that I'd forgotten about (bought in a 'buy 6 save 25% offer', probably in May 2016). I didn't expect it to have lasted – Viognier isn't long-lived – but it was stunning: bursting with ripe apricot and peach fruit, zippy grapefruity acidity, Viognier's oily richne

A dazzling Penfolds Grange and much more: tasting the 2018 Collection

Nov 1, 2018

A dazzling Penfolds Grange and much more: tasting the 2018 Collection

The launch of Penfolds’ 2014 Grange last month marked the release of the 64th consecutive vintage. I haven't tasted the first, the experimental 1951, but I have tasted its successor, 1952, which likewise wasn't released commercially, and I have twice tasted the first commercial release, the extremely rare 1953 Grange Hermitage (as Grange was called at the time): first in 2003, along with the next 49 vintages of Grange, at the fifth Rewards of Patience tasting in Adelaide; and

WINE OF THE WEEK: Mount Horrocks Watervale Riesling 2017, Clare Valley, South Australia

Jun 7, 2018

WINE OF THE WEEK: Mount Horrocks Watervale Riesling 2017, Clare Valley, South Australia

£17.55–£21.99, Exel Wines, Noel Young WInes, No2 Pound Street, Loki Wine Why oh why are we so resistant to Riesling in the UK? On second thoughts, don't answer. We've been there before. Instead, just try this, or even a different Australian dry Riesling: I don't mind, but do try one. This, though, is a particular favourite that I've been waiting since April to recommend. It's made by Stephanie O'Toole on her organic estate in the heart of Australian Riesling country, the Clar

WINE OF THE WEEK: Dowie Doole Moxie Sparkling Shiraz, McLaren Vale, Australia

Dec 7, 2017

WINE OF THE WEEK: Dowie Doole Moxie Sparkling Shiraz, McLaren Vale, Australia

£20.16, Armit Wines A frothing, deep red, sparkling wine with vibrant black cherry and blackcurrant fruit, Christmas spice and dark chocolate flavours, and sweetness tempered by freshness and gentle tannin. No, there’s nothing quite like Australian Sparkling Shiraz. It maybe a bit of a Marmite wine, but those who love it love it for its exuberance and versatility – and it's certainly something different to serenade the troops at Christmas. Moxie gets its particular richness

WINE OF THE WEEK: Philip Shaw The Architect Chardonnay 2015, Orange, Australia

Nov 9, 2017

WINE OF THE WEEK: Philip Shaw The Architect Chardonnay 2015, Orange, Australia

£13.99, Rude Wines Does anyone still say they don’t like Chardonnay? I defy anyone not to be won over by this sophisticated, nimble Chardonnay from one of Australia’s coolest wine regions and its highest vineyards, Koomooloo in the Orange region of New South Wales. Planted on the volcanic slopes of the extinct Mount Canobolas, the vines stop at 900 metres, but not before they’ve reached the winter snow-line. The soils are as promising as the climate – wind-blown, fine red loe

WINE OF THE WEEK: Alpha Box & Dice Golden Mullet Fury Semillon Viognier 2014, McLaren Vale, Aust

Sep 14, 2017

WINE OF THE WEEK: Alpha Box & Dice Golden Mullet Fury Semillon Viognier 2014, McLaren Vale, Aust

£14.95–£16.99, N D John, Drinkmonger, Kwoff You don’t need to see the brassy yellow colour of this wine or its label to know that it’s no conventional dry white. Technically it’s a so-called natural wine (the grapes ferment with their skins, as in red wine making, instead of being pressed and the juice only fermenting), but if natural wine, aka orange wine, is a red rag to a bull, ignore the tag and continue. Please. And don’t read the back of the bottle if you think labels s

WINE OF THE WEEK: Running With Bulls South Australia Tempranillo 2014, Australia

Sep 7, 2017

WINE OF THE WEEK: Running With Bulls South Australia Tempranillo 2014, Australia

£7.99, Co-op Running With Bulls is one of the new breed (excuse the pun) of Australian wines made from non-traditional grape varieties. Across Australia, winemakers have been trying to get out of the Shiraz-Cabernet-Chardonnay straightjacket for a decade and more – not least because of climate change – but planting new vineyards or replanting existing ones takes time wherever you are – and money. The added obstacle in Australia is that imported cuttings have to go through yea

Assyrtiko steps out of Greece and into Australia

Jul 11, 2017

Assyrtiko steps out of Greece and into Australia

I like classic wines made from so-called noble grape varieties as much as anyone, but there’s a thrill of a different kind in wines that push the frontiers. I wrote about a batch of these boundary-pushers last September in The next big thing… There was a wine from Kazakstan, Czech Pinot Noir, Azores wine from 100-year-old vines, orange wine from the Mosel, German Chardonnay, wine from an exceedingly rare Greek grape, mould-breaking Canadian wines, Turkish rosé – none, of cour