Wine Reviews

Ratings Key

Outstanding (Score range 95-100)

Often an internationally recognised, leading brand or winery – but not always! Produces a classic wine that is a faultless representation of the style/variety. Complexity on the nose and a seamless palate are an example of the hallmarks of an outstanding wine.

Highly Recommended (Score range 92-94)

A quality focused wine that has plenty of style. Length of palate and intensity are often key characteristics of highly recommended wines. These producers could be the ones to watch in the future.

Recommended (Score range 89-91)

An above average well-made, reflection of the style/variety, which often represents good value for money.

Rating

Category

Region

Price

Vintage

Best's

Red cherry, perfumed a hint of bubble gum. Fresh, zesty juicy light bodied with medium length.

RRP: $27

Paxton Wines

Pear, citrus and almond meal. Firm fleshy and dry palate. Textured and creamy palate. Nutty acid middle palate. Short finish.

RRP: $22

Majella Wines

Majestic, intense wine. Blackberry driven with cedar, earth, liquorice and new leather. Full bodied, rich powerful but well integrated driven by primary fruits of mulberries and plums. Blend of Cabernet and Shiraz.

RRP: $80

Majella

Leafy, minty, cedar and eucalyptus leaf. Sweet cherries, blackcurrant and cassis flavours on a well structured medium bodied frame with a dry tannic finish. Vines planted in 1968 and GPL is in honour of George Patrick Lynn, patriarch of the Lynn Family, who allowed his sons, Brian and Anthony, to plant vines on the family’s Coonawarra property “Majella”.

RRP: $130

Paxton Wines

Cooking spice driven with blackberries, cherry and cola. Smooth full bodied with plush black forest cherries and confectionary notes. All fruit driven. Aged in amphora.

RRP: $85

Mount Langi Ghiran

Plenty of lemon and limes on the nose. Fleshy, dry, juicy, zesty lemon flavours with medium length. Simple, but enjoyable driven by its freshness.

RRP: $25

Mount Langi Ghiran

Cedar and dried herbs with plenty of rotundone! That’s the compound behind the aroma of white pepper. Well balanced elegant palate with some sour cherry flavours. Warm but integrated alcohol on a medium bodied framework. Good savoury wine.

RRP: $35

D'Arenberg

Bags of red fruits, sweet cooking spices greet the nose. Dry medium bodied wine with vanilla, raspberry and cranberry flavours on a powdery, dry, slightly tannic finish. Good for the price.

RRP: $22

Chateau Tanunda

pungent attractive nose full of cassis, blackberries, Ribena some cinnamon spice with a medicinal note thrown in for good measure. Complex nose. Flavours similar on the palate but you can add some sweet vanilla mint and cedar. Full bodied, smooth rich with warming finish. Traditional, satisfying BV red.

RRP: $80

Cherubino

Excellent value for money Chardonnay. A blend of Pemberton, Porongurup and Margaret River fruit from WA, fermented in old French oak and matured for 10 months. It displays a nose of citrus and white stone fruit with a bit of lees and oak. Dry, slightly on the light side with plenty of acidity, but enough to sustain the palate length.

RRP: $15

Stockman's Ridge

Delicate salmon colour. Nose is full of sweet red fruits with strawberries and raspberries to the fore. Light, crisp, elegant palate designed as a refreshing aperitif style sparkling wine with floral and red fruits dominating on a slightly candied finish.

RRP: $35

Chateau Tanunda

Rich, ripe blackberries, cassis and black cherries on a foundation of vanilla oak. Full bodied rich dark chocolate palate. Sweet cooking spices and black cherry fruit flavours. Fine powdery well integrated tannins on a medium plus finish. Needs plenty of cellar time or enjoy now as a fruit driven full bodied wine.

RRP: $80

Chateau Tanunda

Lovely honey, apricot and peach stone fruit nose. Creamy lees stirred palate with soft lemony acidity. Supple and a touch phenolic adding to the weight and complexity. Long satisfying finish.

RRP: $70

Granite Hills

Spot on aromatics for a cool climate shiraz displaying cooking spices with hints of both black and white pepper. Smooth elegant palate with a rip red fruit foundation. Medium bodied with soft powdery tannins.

RRP: $40

Granite Hills

Lovely sweet plums with floral and peppery undercurrents. Juicy ripe red fruits on elegant medium bodied palate. Soft tannins with a long finish. A wonderful cool climate red drinking extremely well and a bargain. Merlot 54% Cabernet Sauvignon 28% Cabernet Franc 18%

Rating: Outstanding

RRP: $30

Granite Hills

Maintaining its classic reputation with another great vintage. Bright floral and minerally driven nose. Pear and apple flavours on a dry light bodied, but nicely intense palate.

Rating: Outstanding

RRP: $30

Granite Hills

Aromatically driven nose full of pear and lychee. Dry, light bodied zesty with prominent pear flavours on the palate. Racy crisp finish. Enjoyable young wine for drinking this summer.

RRP: $30

Passing Clouds

Selecting the best barrels produces a herbal, cedar, minty cabernet laced with blackberry and boysenberries. Cedar and spice driven flavours on a medium to full bodied well structured palate with a dry long tannic finish.

RRP: $58

Passing Clouds

Lovely spot on aromatics displaying peach stone fruit with floral hints. More pot pourri dried flower flavour on the palate with fleshy hints but some well balanced acidity keeps it clean and dry on the finish. Nice example, Bendigo is growing some good Viognier.

RRP: $38

Passing Clouds

Elegant, restrained wine with citrus and minerally, slightly saline driven aromas, accompanied by some oak-derived struck-match complexity. The palate is where you see the cool climate shine brightly with fresh acid driven citrus and stone fruit flavours yet laced with a savoury oak middle palate on a medium bodied framework. This wine is delicious to drink now and will age well into the future.

Rating: Outstanding

RRP: $53

Glenhope Vineyard

Lovely plum fruit aromatics with some white pepper and spice. Gentle soft front palate with medium acidity on a medium bodied framework. Predominantly pepper and spice but it also displays blackberry, black cherry, plum and Christmas cake. Some menthol and mint rounds out a complex flavour profile. Overall a wine that talks of place and a good representative of a cool climate red blend.

RRP: $28

Glenhope Vineyard

Medium intensity aromas of plum with cooking spice and cedar on the nose. Soft velvet plush plum juicy fruit flavours on a medium bodied structure. Classic varietal example of merlot.

RRP: $38

Glenhope Vineyard

A cool climate example done well, displaying raspberry, nutmeg and a host of brown cake spices aromas. Some cool climate white pepper also develops with hints of graphite. On the palate there is a bag of sweet black, brambly, stewed fruits with hints of spice to accompany the dry powdery tannic finish. Overall, a satisfying medium bodied, fruit forward wine. Very Côtes du Rhône-ish (from a warmer vintage)

RRP: $38

Glenhope Vineyard

Nice copper, salmon colour. Floral, nose with red fruits. Savoury, slightly fleshy, chewy palate but backlit with some lovely fresh cherry acidity. Strawberry and raspberries on the mid palate that stay around producing a long length of palate and finish. Dry but finishes with a hint of residual sugar.

RRP: $28

Stanton and Killeen

Peach, apricot stone fruits dominated nose. Creamy, textured palate due to some skin contact but balanced by some tight citrus acidity. Pleasantly intense, slightly oily on the long finish. This wine has some character and is a fine example of this classic Portuguese white varietal.

RRP: $32

Stockman's Ridge

A hint of struck match and honey supports a cool climate fruit structure with zesty melon and citrus peel. Light bodied, dry with crisp acidity on the palate supported by citrus, minerally flavours. Good example of cool climate chardonnay (vineyard is at very high 800m) with a touch of age.

RRP: $40

d'Arenberg

Named after the race horse that was sold by Joseph Osborn to finance the purchase of the vineyard in 1912. The wine is big on cedar oak, earth, licorice which means it is very traditional. Full bodied black cherries soft dry tannins with a warm finish. Another value for money wine from this leading producer.

RRP: $22

d'Arenberg

partially fermented in French oak this wine displays enough primary fruit of green capsicum and herbs to be a good example at a very reasonable price. High acid and light bodied.

RRP: $22

Stonegarden

Partially sourced from vines planted 166 years ago this is a lovely textured medium bodied juicy red fruit driven wine. Firm, savoury palate with a hint of minerality and graphite. The block is predominately grenache but also contains shiraz, mataro (AKA  mourvèdre) malbec, cabernet, pedro ximenez, trincadiera with the odd bit of palomino.

RRP: $67

Chateau Tanunda

Deep intense wine showing bags of blackberries, supported by cedar oak and a hint of licorice and raisin fruit. Slight herbal edge as well in the mix. Full bodied wine with all primary black fruit driven. Will benefit with a while in the cellar but at the moment bold and beautiful which gives you the option.

RRP: $60

Chateau Tanunda

Lemon, lime and pineapple driven nose with a touch of yeasty lees complexity. Plenty of cream and buttery barrel work on the palate but supported by primary fruit. Good, well made Chardonnay.

RRP: $40

Stonegarden

Delicious vibrant dry, crisp riesling displaying lemon, lime and floral notes. Shows lovely intensity on the palate with a classic zesty finish. Sound, attractive wine.

RRP: $40

Chateau Tanunda

Basket pressed unfiltered traditional BV red showing classic blackberry, black cherry, licorice as well as cedar and graphite oak. Firm, smooth and rich on the palate with more licorice to back up the warming alcohol, long finish.

RRP: $60

Best's

Pungent primary red fruits with cherry, strawberries and raspberries. Sweet fruit driven palate. Some sour cherry with a good level of intensity and length on the finish.

RRP: $27

Brown Brothers

Blackberries, black cherries and plums with touch of licorice. Full bodied with juicy acidity to match the mouth puckering, dusty tannins. Vanilla oak and blackberries dominate the palate. long finish and will age for another 10 to 15 years.

RRP: $70

Yeringberg

Slightly closed, subdued nosed but offers bouquet garni, honey and lanolin. The palate is where it hits the mark. Textured and creamy but still retaining its acid spine. Flavours of lemon curd, almonds and herbs. Medium bodied but a lovely mid palate intensity and a long finish. Superb. Was currently on offer any a steal for such a lovely aged wine.

Rating: Outstanding

RRP: $65

Kay Brothers

Pristine red fruit driven nose full of strawberries and raspberries. Supple, silky and elegant on the palate. Long finish. Delicious and good value for money for this standard of quality.

RRP: $30

Pizzini

Nice classic example of he Neb. Light with floral and cherry aromas, but with enough texture and supporting acid and tannins to carry the red fruits to a medium plus finish.

RRP: $55

Brown Brothers

Nicely aged golden colour. Nutty, buttered toast and warm brioche on the nose. Creamy, textured palate with a soft fine mousse. Some honey development on a super long finish. Refined and delicious.

RRP: $160

Chateau Tanunda

Heaps of primary fruits consisting of Blackberry, cassis and black cherry, laced with vanillan new oak. Smooth, well balanced, full bodied palate with voluptuous fruits. Fine sand paper tannins drive a warm long, long finish. New world warm climate Cabernet at its best.

Rating: Outstanding

RRP: $80

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