Australian Wine and Drinks Review

And now a Hunter Valley Cabernet: Sweetwater Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2022

Cabernet, the other other red meat of the Hunter Valley. Lake’s Folly makes the best Cabernet-based wines in the Hunter, and there is a smattering of other plantings, but this grape…
First look at the promising Two Bud Spur Gamay 2022

Despite all the Australian love for Gamay (perceived or otherwise. Maybe it’s just me), there still isn’t much planted of this wondeful grape in the ground locally. A smattering in NSW…
Getting more of those Jura feels from Soumah’s Wild Savagnin No. 3

‘(We) wanted to see what a wine made from this ancient grape would have tasted like a thousand years ago’. That’s the fun mission statement for this Soumah Wild Savagnin No.3,…
Nothing tardy about the Slow Wine Co. Reserve Pinot Noir 2021

We’re starting the week off with bad wordplay and a quality Orange Pinot. This Slow Wine Co. Reserve Pinot Noir 2021 comes from the Johnson family’s vineyard planted in the 1990s,…
Come back in a decade for the Terre à Terre Crayères Vineyard Reserve 2020

It’s been a day or so of big dog reds at Australian Wine and Drinks Review, and today’s wine comes from Xavier Bizot & Lucy Croser’s Terre à Terre label. A…
A better d’Arenberg Dead Arm Shiraz?

It’s frustrating that d’Arenberg’s Dead Arm Shiraz is a mercurial has become. This is a storied McLaren Vale Shiraz from a storied producer. But hey, variability only makes it more welcome…
M Burton Shiraz 2023 – a 50 dozen Canberra super red

Naming a wine after yourself really builds up the expectation. But this heavy bottled cloaked, micro-production (just 50 dozen – two barrels worth) Canberran super red delivers. I think the heavy…
Another win with the Crittenden Zumma Pinot Noir 2022

I am almost through the impressive Crittenden 2022 range now, and the hits keep coming. Quality Mornington wines at every turn. and this Crittenden Zumma Pinot Noir 2022 is rock solid.…
A little Touriga lifts this Sweetwater Shiraz Touriga 2023

Touriga deserves more love in Australia. It just brightens up everything with an extra berry flourish. This Sweetwater Shiraz Touriga 2023 takes a generous Hunter Shiraz and dials in an extra…
Reaching for Jura with the Crittenden Cri de Couer Savagnin Sous Voile 2019

Happy Valentine’s Day. Would you like a unique, and sort of romantic, wild Aussie wine today, then? I preface that rhetorical question with another one. Do you like the oxidative, flor-aged…
The high toned Hungerford Hill Tumbarumba Pinot Noir 2023

Tumbarumba Pinot Noir is typically a fragrant and lively thing, and this Hungerford Hill Tumbarumba Pinot Noir 2023 fits the stereotype. It’s pretty, if a bit bony, light to medium-bodied, lively,…
What have you been buying and drinking this January + February 2025?

February is the best month of the year. Fact. Sure, it’s short, often stupidly humid and hot here in Sydney, but it’s my birthday month, so obviously, it’s pretty good. This…