by Justin McHenry | Feb 16, 2022 | What I'm drinking
It’s arguable that the best value red wines of France are those of the southern Rhône Valley’s Côtes-du-Rhône. The colour is moving from youth towards maturity, the gently spicy/savoury aromas still leave plenty of room for the purple fruits to parade...
by Justin McHenry | Feb 1, 2022 | What I'm drinking
A one-year-old cabernet that is as utterly, wantonly seductive as any one-year-old pinot noir, grenache or shiraz… or any other red wine I have tasted – ever. It has a succulent mouthfeel of cassis, molten Swiss or Austrian chocolate, and crystallised purple...
by Judy Pridmore | Dec 12, 2021 | What I'm drinking
This wine is quite simply breathtaking – akin to listening to Hildegard of Bingen’s singing (1000 years ago) in her monastery. It shimmers in its intensity and its piercing purity; the oak and tannins are of minimal importance, but they do serve as hand maidens...
by Judy Pridmore | Nov 6, 2021 | What I'm drinking
I have a handful of bottles of this wine, still with no ullage thanks to the high quality 55x25mm (often called Chateau length) corks. It may – indeed was – different in its youth, albeit overshadowed by the all conquering 1988 Rising Shantell, which cemented the...
by Judy Pridmore | Oct 9, 2021 | What I'm drinking
Having consumed a bottle of the ’05 sibling of this wine (a very good vintage, and better rated), I wasn’t expecting this wine to match it, but I was in for some pleasant surprises. For one thing, the colour is still remarkably deep, the bouquet heady with...
by Judy Pridmore | Oct 4, 2021 | What I'm drinking
My holding of this wine is decreasing, and since I’ve been drinking it since it was imported into Australia (and into my cellar) 30 years ago it’s hardly surprising. What is surprising is the way it’s showing no signs of moving into senescence. The...
