James Halliday’s articles
Mike Press Wines: Mike works his magic again
Every year, tasting the new releases of Mike Press Wines fills me with a sense of wonder: how is it possible that such beautifully made wines should have such impossibly low prices? It’s been the case for so long, I eventually took the decision to...
2005 Tyrrell’s Vat 1 Hunter Valley Semillon
The most beautiful semillon ever made, making its future over the next 15 years of its life as certain as the sun's rising. Read my lips: there's no 'arguably' or 'one of the greatest' – this is the white wine equivalent of Penfolds 1962 Bin 60A at...
2009 Clos de Porrets St Georges Monopole Domaine Henri Gouges 375ml
Deeply coloured for Burgundy, although some development underway, hardly surprising given the half bottle (the cork was flawless, the fill high). A resoundingly complex bouquet and palate, plum fruit foremost, but dark cherry also having its say....
Brett Hayes and the making of Hayes Family Wines
Brett Hayes has lived his life in the fast lane since completing his Bachelor of Commerce in the early 1990s and becoming a partner in an international consulting firm. He was exposed to the wines of the world as he moved from country to country...
2011 Dr Loosen Bernkasteler Lay Riesling Kabinett
If I was asked what is the best value white wine in the world Dr Loosen's Mosel Valley Riesling(s) would be my immediate choice. (The red wine correlative would be Guigal's Cotes du Rhone.) It is sheer serendipity that the alcohol of the Loosen is...
Wine review: Gundog Estate
Lest anyone think Gundog Estate’s proprietor-winemaker Matt Burton is simply teasing us with his release of the three wines profiled here, think again. The foundation of the estate is single varietal/regional wines utilising high quality grapes and...
2015 Volnay 1er Cru La Carelle sous Chapelle Domaine de Montille
Sheer bliss from the first whiff. Star-bright ruby-crimson hue, an orchard full of cherries of every description, one of those Burgundies that draws you back again and again, demurely exposing more each time until patience gets the better of you...
Pinot noir? Tassie’s coming on song
In the 1980s it was the general view that the six regions of the dress circle around Melbourne – Geelong, Gippsland, Macedon Ranges, Mornington Peninsula, Sunbury and the Yarra Valley – were the epicentre of the burgeoning flower of Australian...
Climate change’s big challenge to winemaking
Jancis Robinson's 1242-page masterwork Wine Grapes describes 1368 different grape varieties, so the 140 planted in Australia, covered in my Varietal Wines (Hardie Grant 2018) barely scratches the surface of the gene pool. Moreover, the pool...
1999 Domaine Chandon de Briailles Pernand-Vergelesses Premier Cru
A region known for the elegance of its wines, a highly rated producer, and the power of the great 1999 vintage all coalesce in this delicious Burgundy. It has a gentle savoury/foresty/earthy dress wrapped around a fine, lingering core of plum and...
