A vineyard in Tasmania’s Derwent River Valley
I was privileged to spend an extended period of time in Australia earlier this year. I hadn’t been back there in five years, and was keen to survey the ever-changing Australian wine scene. My experiences were instructive.
My base was Sydney, which, although it’s not at the centre of any wine region (it’s more than two hours drive north to the Hunter Valley, and even further south to the Canberra wine regions), has deep access to the broadest range of wines from across the country’s many winegrowing regions. I also connected with some local wine connoisseurs who generously shared several exceptional wines with me.
Meiron Lees recently launched a wine consultancy (thetastingguys.wine) after a successful career in corporate consulting, which has stood him in good stead as he offers his wine tasting services to the Sydney cognoscenti. At a private event generously organized by my sister (who lives in Sydney), Meiron poured us a thoughtful selection of wines showcasing the diversity of Australian winemaking: two contrasting yet classic whites – Penfolds Bin 51 Eden Valley Riesling (Eden Valley, SA) and the iconic Mount Pleasant Elizabeth Semillon 2014 (Hunter Valley, NSW) – and three very different and delicious reds: Clarendon Hills Hickinbotham Grenache 2011 (McLaren Vale, South Australia), Mérite Merlot Single Vineyard 2015 (Wrattonbully, South Australia), and Domain A Cabernet Sauvignon (Coal River Valley, Tasmania). A great introduction.
We enjoyed ourselves so much with Meiron that we decided to repeat the exercise, only with more people. We reconvened for a fabulous wine dinner involving multiple courses and wines. Another guest, Marc Bloom, is a fellow WSET Diploma in Wines graduate, and we hit it off immediately. Marc has an acute palate. We tasted:
The fully mature and strongly autolytic Arras Method Traditionelle Vintage Rosé 2015 (Tasmania) sparkling wine; Domaine Naturaliste Purus Chardonnay 2022 (Margaret River, WA); a Viré Clesse 2018 from Burgundy (yes, I know!); Onannon Pinot Noir 2018 (Mornington Peninsula, Vic); Hobbs Gregor Shiraz 2019 (Barossa Ranges, SA); and the superb MMAD Vineyard Blewitt Springs Grenache 2021 (McLaren Vale, SA). What a great selection of wines, once again demonstrating a clear shift towards higher quality, increasing subtlety and expanding diversity in current Australian wines. The food was excellent too.
I also purchased several wines during my stay in Sydney, such as these beauties:
Yalumba’s The Virgilius Viognier (Eden Valley, SA) is Australia’s most renowned, and probably it’s best, Viognier. A mighty bottle of rich, complex, layered, ever-lasting white wine.
The Yangara Estate Old Vine Grenache (McLaren Vale, SA) was named Wine of the Year in the 2024 Halliday Wine Companion, Australia’s foremost annual wine guide. It’s also outstanding value for money, at less than AUD$50 a bottle, and the 2021 scored 99 points in the Halliday guide.
A few more wine purchases, including a delicious, easy-drinking Riesling from Rieslingfreak (Eden Valley, SA), an elegant, restrained Chardonnay from renowned Western Australia winery Leeuwin Estate (Margaret River, WA), and two quite different Shiraz expressions, one from a cooler, higher altitude region just above the Barossa Valley, the Head The Contrarian Shiraz 2013 (Moculta – Eden Valley, SA), and the other a full-blooded example from the valley floor, the Powell & Son Shiraz 2018 (Barossa Valley, SA).
Oakridge also was awarded a highly coveted gong in the 2024 Halliday Wine Companion, for Best Value Winery. This is their Vineyard Series Henk Pinot Noir 2021 (Yarra Valley, Vic.) which received 96 points, and was super elegant and satiny. Meanwhile, Willunga’s The Hundred Grenache 2020 Single Vineyard Blewitt Springs (McLaren Vale, SA) was an interesting comparison to the MMAD wine above, and very good indeed.
At friends one evening for dinner at their elegant high-rise apartment overlooking Sydney Harbour, I was invited to select a wine from our host’s small but excellent collection. I chose this beauty: Henshke Henry’s Seven 2018 (Barossa Valley, SA), a delicious blend of Shiraz, Grenache, Mataro and Viognier. Henschke is of course the creator of Hill of Grace Shiraz, Australia’s finest and most famous red wine. This bottle was no slouch either.
I spent a few days in the island state of Tasmania, mostly in and around the capital Hobart, which is surrounded by wineries, many of them producing excellent wines. I visited a number, including up the Derwent River valley:
Laurel Bank: Greer Carland is the accomplished winemaker here, and she also makes wines under her own label Quiet Mutiny. We tasted a lineup of her wines right in the vineyard above the winery (they are not set up for visitors), and they were very impressive, especially the Laurel Bank Pinot Noir 2022 (Derwent River, Tas.).
Derwent Estate: Another winery making excellent wines from their limestone-based vineyards overlooking the Derwent River, especially their sublime, crystalline, mineral, smoky, Chablis Premier Cru lookalike Calcaire Chardonnay 2019 (Derwent River, Tas.). An outstanding wine.
Heading east across the Derwent River from Hobart lies the warmer-climate Coal River Valley, an up-and-coming wine region. Here I visited:
Pressing Matters: Rockstar Tassie winemaker Samantha Connew is the winemaker here. She also makes wines under her own label Stargazer Wines, from her own vineyard just up the road. Sam began by pouring me samples of the entire, impressive Pressing Matters Riesling lineup, which ranges in dryness-sweetness from 0 grams per litre of residual sugar all the way up to 139 g/l. Hence the different labels: 2021 Riesling R0, 2021 Riesling R9, 2019 Riesling R69, and 2020 Riesling R139 (all Coal River Valley, Tas.). The former wine was bone dry, while the latter was sweet, rich and honeyed yet retains a core of bracing acidity.
Next we tasted the Pressing Matters Pinot Noir 2020 and 2022 (Coal River Valley, Tas.) side by side: both were delicious, lithe and fresh with a cool, savoury, forest floor undertow. Finally Sam poured me two of her own label wines: Stargazer Tupelo 2023 (Coal River Valley, Tas.), an exotic white blend, and Stargazer Rada 2023 (Pipers River and Coal River Valley, Tas.), a spicy, red-fruited blend of Pinot Meunier and Pinot Noir. Delicious.
Pooley Wines was awarded Winery of the Year in the 2023 Halliday Wine Companion, and the wines amply demonstrate why. They are among Tasmania’s finest. I tasted through most of their extensive lineup of both whites and reds, and especially admired the Pinot Noirs, particularly the Cooinda Vale Vineyard 2022 Pinot Noir (Coal River Valley, Tas.): savoury, gamey, earthy, with dark fruit notes, smooth tannins and cleansing acidity. The Jack Denis Pooley 2022 Pinot Noir (Coal River Valley, Tas.) was equally impressive. These are great pinots.
Back in Sydney, my new wine friend Marc Bloom invited me over to his home one evening, where we spoiled ourselves and each other with some wonderful wines. Up against my Laurel Bank Pinot Noir, Marc offered up the Winstead Lot 16 Pinot Noir 2015, also from Tasmania. He then sprung a complete surprise, pouring (via a Coravin) a small but oh-so-generous taste of South Africa’s most prized dessert wine, the Mullineux Olerasay Chenin Blanc 2020 (Swartland Straw Wine), to compare to the semi-sweet Pressing Matters Riesling R69 that I had brought. Unique, and sublime.
My last week in Australia was spent in Brisbane, visiting dear friends. On my last night, I opened several final Aussie wines, including the Tapanappa Foggy Hill Vineyard Pinot Noir 2021 (Fleurie Peninsula, SA) which is made by Australian wine legend Brian Croser; the Oates End Cabernet Sauvignon 2017 (Margaret River, WA); and a half bottle of Heggies Vineyard Botrytis Riesling 2018 (Eden Valley, SA), a marvellous yet delicate potpouri of white flowers, cumquat and cardamom, with emerging beeswax, marmalade and candied citrus zest. A classic Aussie ‘sticky’. I’m stuck on you!
All in all, I can happily report that the wines of Australia have never been better, and are becoming more diverse, more refined and more elegant than ever. And I only scratched the surface of this fascinating wine giant. I can’t wait to book my return flight to the wonder of down under.
