James Halliday’s articles
Sydney and the Hunter, dancing in lockstep
The Hunter Valley and Sydney have a symbiotic vinous relationship. If the journey was four hours, not two, the Hunter would be a pale shadow of its present self. It’s a thoroughly frustrating place to grow grapes. There are a few patches of red...
2020 La Kooki Margaret River Rosé Blonde
Very pale salmon pink. Hand-picked pinot noir, whole bunch-pressed, barrel fermented; perfumed bouquet of rose petals; SO2, no malolactic fermentation, heavy chardonnay lees topping barrels, wild strawberries. Every boxed ticked, particularly...
Domaine Jacques Prieur of Burgundy: pricey, but much improved
When I received the three bottles reviewed here from importer Cellarhand and saw the prices, I reared back in surprise. Its owner Patrick Walsh and his right-hand man Ed Merrison set high standards, and my sporadic tastings of the Prieur wines had...
2011 Simon Bize Savigny-Les-Beaune Aux Vergelesses
2011 was a good vintage, albeit not in the class of 2009 or 2010. The harvest commenced in August with minimal disease pressure, the wines drinking well from the outset. The colour of this wine is moderately deep but unequivocally bright. The...
The making of Elderton wines
Family-owned wineries are the soul of the Australian wine industry, whether one or six generations. The willingness to have a go is part of our DNA, and to hang in there when the going gets tough – whether it’s drought or flood, family tragedy,...
The bright stars in the Seppelt sky
It is appropriate that Seppelt should have been established in 1865, at the height of Victoria's gold rush days. The country that yielded so much gold rush days. The country that yielded so much gold has now given rise to the 20 wineries that fall...
1997 Mount Pleasant Old Paddock & Old Hill Shiraz
24 years old, and in the prime of its life, so much so another 24 mightn't tire it. The cork was a war of attrition, alternatively fragmenting and resisting its removal. The wine itself is all about giving, warm and welcoming with its velvety...
The making of Gunderloch wines
The Rheinhessen region’s reputation in Germany hasn’t been helped by its creation of Liebfraumilch, or by its production of 25 per cent of German wines, most at low prices commensurate with their quality. Riesling accounts for less than 10 per cent...
1999 Domaine Chandon Briailles Savigny-Les-Beaune Premier Cru Les Lavieres
It's not the job of a Cote de Beaune to copy Cote de Nuits' more overtly powerful style. Developed ruby, typical of a 20-year-old. This is utterly delicious, redolent of spiced plum, its gossamer tannins adding to the attraction. It will never be...
Stephen and Rhonda Doyle: the force behind Bloodwood
When former librarian Stephen Doyle and his wife Rhonda established the first winery in Orange in 1983, it was a plunge into the unknown, despite his research dating back to the early 1970's. A pivotal year was 1974-75, with sales of sherry...
