If you’re like me and haven’t had the greatest experience then I can highly recommend Campbell’s The Barkley… this is a totally different proposition! It feels like a proper wine, if that makes sense at all. Super expressive nose of dark fruits and savoury spice, big but not “wow here comes a headache” big. On the palate it is rich, opulent, and elegant with a velvety texture. Plenty of ripe dark fruits, blackberries and black cherry, followed by graphite-like, leathery, liquorice savoury layers. One for the cellar, but also very fun now!

 What’re your thoughts on Durif? If you’re like me and

My Italian odyssey continues with Biondi-Santi 'Greppo' Brunello Di Montalcino 2012. Another icon of Italian wine renowned for longevity, elegance and power added to the collection. 100% Sangiovese and considered by many to be the purest and most profound iteration of the Tuscan grape. Might pencil this on in for my 50th! ⁣

 My Italian odyssey continues with Biondi-Santi 'Greppo'

 Shadrach 09. Bold is beautiful! Barossa Cabernet Sauvignon that’s  left to sleep and develop for 21 months in predominantly French oak before bottling and a further 3 years in bottle before released. Grant Burge invest a lot of time and effort to make this wine and you can tell! Beautifully smooth with deep cassis, chocolaty, flavor. One bottle was not enough!

 @grantburgewines  Shadrach 09. Bold is beautiful! Barossa

By Farr can do almost no wrong in my book and having recently visited the Mornington Peninsular I thought I should pick up a Farr from the region. Philippa Farr’s 2017 Pinot Noir ought to do the trick and with vintages completed at Bellvale, Bouzeron, Domaine Dujac, By Farr and Purple Hen I’m hoping for a great drop. If you’ve tried it let me know what you think. I’ll let you know either way 🤗🍷🙌

 By Farr can do almost no wrong in my book and having

If you could pick one to try, which would it be? Lamella, Relic, Schubert Theorum, or The Standish?

In my opinion these Standish Wine Co wines are amongst the best Australian examples of Shiraz I’ve been lucky enough to stumble across in recent years. With 4 different expressions covering Eden Valley / Marananga / Greenock and a Shiraz Viognier, the only challenge is picking which one to drink!

 If you could pick one to try, which would it be? Lamella

​⁠Now this is how you wrap up a Monday! Paradise IV, one of my favourite, semi-unknown, producers out there making seriously good wines. I heard the vineyard had been sold, if anyone knows let me know!⁠

The wine, Chaumont 2014 Bordeaux blend. Matured in barrels from Sirugue Cooperage, Nuits St George, has a stunning nose. Blackcurrant, cedar and leather, all underpinned with lovely subtle vanilla notes. ⁠It's complex on the palate. medium bodied at best with fine grained tannins and balanced acidity. The fruit, beginning to fade as the tertiary character comes to the fore, is still showing black fruits, hints of blue as it opens. It definitely needs a few hours in a decanter to fully express itself, once open it's a decent, classy drop. For my taste it's at the limit of its aging potential which is bloody great because I now have guilt free drinking ahead! Well worth trying, and I've heard the Dardel and Chardonnay are exceptional as well!⁠

 ​⁠Now this is how you wrap up a Monday! Paradise IV, one of

Woodlands “Russell” Cabernet Sauvignon 2015 is a masterpiece from West Australia. The colour sets the scene. Impenetrable with a dark, black red core and dark red rim. Aromas of ripe blackcurrant and liquorice send your tastebuds into overdrive. There’s a vanilla characteristic, perhaps imparted from the 19 month stay in medium toasted French oak barrels, which passes to reveal earthy spice flavours. On the palate the class continues as the generous tannins support the wine through to the finish of classic blackcurrant and mulberry goodness. This is a superb wine now, and will only get better with age.⁣ 🍇

 Woodlands “Russell” Cabernet Sauvignon 2015 is a

Three of my absolute favourites and Australia’s best made their way into my cellar today. Both the Wendouree and

 are built for the long haul, enjoyable now, but become outrageous with time. Serious stuff. .

The By Farr CG Chardonnay 2015, the first release of this wine, received fantastic reviews. I like my Chardonnay with a few years on it, so I’ll come back to it around 2020 to see what all the fuss was about!⁣ 🍷

 Three of my absolute favourites and Australia’s best made

Penfolds Grange is arguably Australia’s most famous wine and the 2010 is considered to be the 21st centuries reference Grange, the one that all others are measured against. -

It’s describes as being deep crimson and having intense liquorice, dark plum, blackberry, praline aromas with beautifully balanced malty, mocha, spicy oak notes. The palate is richly textured, dense and powerful with generous deep-set sweet blackberry, dark plum, mulberry, inky, dark chocolate flavours, rich mocha espresso notes, fine dense graphite textures, superb mid-palate richness and underlying roasted chestnut notes.

This is one for the ages and it’ll be left, undisturbed, for another 15 years before I even consider a look! -

 Penfolds Grange is arguably Australia’s most famous wine

Artwork goals! Everything’s on point... and it’s a magnum!

 are doing everything right here. If I had space in carry on it’d be coming home for sure. Maybe next time.... 🍷

Production = Dry grown from our single vineyard little block in Yallingup. Hand harvest & basket pressed straight into the amphora pots. Wild ferment & natural malo. Hand bottled direct from pots, sealed under cork with wax top. 🍷 ​

 Artwork goals! Everything’s on point... and it’s a magnum!

Clonakilla Shiraz Viongier 2013. What a wine! This is a masterpiece from the Canberra District it has to be said.

Perhaps the complete wine. Aromatically the wine ranges from sweet red berry fruit, through peppery savoury almost violet flavours, to blackberry and mulberry. So much control, everything balanced to perfection with a silk like texture and a finish that lasts and lasts. Well played

 Clonakilla Shiraz Viongier 2013. What a wine! This is a

It’s not every day you crack open a 19 year old bottle of the Claire Valleys finest produce. Wendouree wines are mysterious creatures, partly due to the ethos of the owners, which is fantastic and refreshing in today’s rapidly changing world. Simplicity at its best!

The wine... length epic, dried blackberry / mulberry, almost leathery flavors. Ever changing in the glass, such a treat and seriously good. 19 years young,

 It’s not every day you crack open a 19 year old bottle of

Burgundy glass is so thin and delicate that they boggle the brain with their springy flexibility. I can actually feel the stem bend when swirling... love them! 🍷🍇 Have you tried Zalto? Or can you name a better glass I should try? 🍷🍇 Designed for wines above 13% and great for Nebbiolo, Pinot Noir, Barbera and so on. I’ll drink anything from these! Especially looking forward to getting a champagne in there... it’s Pinot Noir after all. 🍷🍇 #zalto

 Simply the best stemware I can think of #zalto #zalto

Super smashable single vineyard pinot noir from

. Bright, exciting fruitiness, and a savory edge. By no means is this a one dimensional wine. Certainly well worth a go!

 Super smashable single vineyard pinot noir from @glaetzer

What was the last wine you had that got you thinking? Or, got you doing a little digging into what it’s all about? 🍷🍇

For me it’s a fantastic wine from vintage of the decade in Piedmont. Bruno Rocca Langhe Nebbiolo 2016. Such an awesome expression of Nebbiolo that’s beautiful now and clearly going to evolve for years to come. It’s entry level for Bruno Rocca wines made from Barbaresco vineyards with younger vines, up to 15 years old. It packs an awesome flavour punch to complete with the bigger names and price tags for sure. I can’t wait to explore more of what they have to offer! This could easily become an addiction.... Glad I’m stocking up!! 🍷🍇

 What was the last wine you had that got you thinking? Or

The Barossa Valley is a seriously great part of Australia. It’s old, the vines are old, the wine is awesome and people are so friendly. I actually don’t think you can go wrong here! My particular favourites were

Do you have a favorite from the Barossa? .

 The Barossa Valley is a seriously great part of Australia

It turns out Pikes, synonymous with stunning Clare Valley Riesling, are also pretty adept at the odd red too… who’d of thought it?! The Dogwalk is a savoury, earthy Clare Valley cabernet with a touch of mint leaf and spice in amongst the mulberries and blackcurrants. Tannins, soft and gentle, are present but nicely balanced. Everything’s in the right place to pop, pour and enjoy, no messing about and it’s all the better for it.

 It turns out Pikes, synonymous with stunning Clare Valley

Clonakilla can do no wrong in my eyes. Their Shiraz Viognier is exceptional. However, perhaps not an everyday wine. This Hiltop’s Shiraz, 2017, on the other hand is a ripper. Everything about this wine from the sight, smell and taste is awesome and for its price it takes an awful lot to beat. Buy! 🍷

 Clonakilla can do no wrong in my eyes. Their Shiraz

Wendouree’s Malbec varieties never fail to disappoint. These two, the Shiraz-Malbec 2000 and Cabernet-Malbec 2005, were absolutely bang-on. Only showing the first signs of age with the colour starting to shift. The fruit, still there in buckets, dark and brooding. Fine, slightly grippy tannins and good acid hold them  together and they finish long, very long. Plenty of life left in these two!⁣

 Wendouree’s Malbec varieties never fail to disappoint

This is the second vintage of the Fugazi (2018) by Ochota Barrels I’ve tried and it’s an awesome drop. Totally smashable concoction of juicy raspberry, ripe fruits and fine tannins that keep you reaching for more. B E A utiful... Great stuff

 This is the second vintage of the Fugazi (2018) by Ochota

It’s been a good day... cellar stocked with these beauties. I always try to buy in multiples of 3 (3/6/9/12). This way I get to drink one young, rest the others, and taste the evolution 🙌🍷 🍷 ​

 It’s been a good day... cellar stocked with these beauties

If you have to work make work work for you. Cheeky little

Loving the stone-fruit and citrusy kick with overtones of honey and a backbone of minerality. West Australia Chardonnay is such a treat at whatever time of day!

 If you have to work make work work for you. Cheeky little

One of the best examples of Yarra Valley, cool climate, Cabernet Sauvignon I’ve had in a bloody long time! -

Made only in standout vintages Rob Dolan’s signature series are exceptional wines. This 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon has a nose of rich cassis, exotic spices, leather and just a touch of oak. Very balanced and expansive on the palate. Super elegant with dark fruit flavours intermingled with exotic spices, chewy tannin and toasty oak toward the finish. Cool climate Cabernet doing the business. There’s no substitute for experience, and Rob has buckets of it. Stunning!

 One of the best examples of Yarra Valley, cool climate

Greystone Pinot Noir from New Zealand’s South Island... hmm, I should drink more from

NZ! Bright ruby and youthful looking in the glass. The nose is complex with layers of red berries and black cherry, exotic spices and earthy savoury notes. The palate is impressive, verging on full bodied and packed with flavour. Ripe red fruits, blackberries, mulberries all nicely balanced with dried herbs and again the earthy notes adding complexity. Great tannins and balanced acidity all contribute to the structure and impressive length. Note to self... drink more NZ wine.

 Greystone Pinot Noir from New Zealand’s South Island

This. Is. Epic. Inky, glass staining, depth. Full bodied and rounded, thick and rich. This is a complex wine. Seriously intense fruit. Herbal, earthy, smokiness going on. I actually can’t fault this wine, it’s perfect. Standish Wine Co, I’m hooked! ⠀

 This. Is. Epic. Inky, glass staining, depth. Full bodied

Built to the incorporate the worlds tilt axis of 24 degrees, 48 degrees and 72 degrees these glasses by

 certainly complete the wine experience. Why the angles? Well, the Romans used these in their architecture. How that impacts the wine who knows! But it’s cool and I love them!

What I can say is that the bowl elegantly integrates wines, collecting the perfume perfectly, and enhancing fruit characteristic for you to savour. You don’t even need to taste the fragrance is perfect, but of course you do!

 Built to the incorporate the worlds tilt axis of 24

​On the scale of cult and iconic Aussie wines there aren’t many that can beat this in my opinion. It also happens to be pretty bloody good! Name your favorite cult winery, always looking for recommendations! ⁣

 ​On the scale of cult and iconic Aussie wines there aren’t

​This wine represents both one of my favourite wine regions, and a big question. The question… How long will this need in my cellar? Assuming I can control myself

 ​This wine represents both one of my favourite wine

What was the last wine that surprised you? -

My nomination is this Barossa Boy Little Helper GSM which, despite not being a huge GSM fan, is absolutely smashable. It’s packed with a core red fruits, dark berries, and a touch of dried herbs on the nose. Super lush on the palate with plenty of texture as the fruit comes to the fore before the savoury earthy and oaky notes wrap it up. I’d happily wrap my chops around this any time!

 What was the last wine that surprised you? - My nomination

The 28th vintage of possibly the best red wine to come out of the Hunter Valley.

 Graveyard Shiraz is simply irresistible. I’ve been holding onto 3 bottles for a number of years and this one is lined up at home for its debut very soon! Can’t wait. Medium bodied Hunter Shiraz is such a pleasure when it’s as good as this.

 The 28th vintage of possibly the best red wine to come out

Hoddle my Creek this is good! Fine, aromatic, and complex Pinot Noir from

. This medium bodied Pinot sings with raspberry and cherry goodness before a savoury, almost mineral like, complexity sweeps through the palate. Soft tannins and medium acidity play a massive part to hold it all together. Perhaps the best Pinot Noir under $25 you can get your hands on. I wish I had more!

 Hoddle my Creek this is good! Fine, aromatic, and complex

Boutique and beautiful! Sholto Syrah 2018, a recent discovery of mine and a wine to keep your eyes peeled for if you’re into wine from the Canberra region, or Syrah in general. Dark plum, almost raisin in colour. Plums, ripe blackberry, white pepper and spices on the nose, perhaps a touch of Viognier adding floral notes. The palate is beautifully textural and fruit driven at first. Blackcurrant and plums lead on to savoury leather and pepper spice notes towards the finish. Moreish sums it up perfectly.