The Auswine Forum

Robert Oatley Signature Series G-22 Grenache 22 - McLaren Vale. Winemaker is Larry Cherubino, who was making these series of region-based varietals. Unoaked. A fresh, lighter style of Grenache. Ruby colour and musky. Raspberry, cherry, earth and dried herbs. Nice feel to this with a few years on it ...

Got an email from Ten Minutes By Tractor during the week saying the 2025 vintage of Estate & Single Vineyard wines are available now. Dropped into the cellar door & did a tasting across the range of 10X, Estate & Single Vineyard wines. Really liked the length in the Estate Chardonnay ($6...

Spotted in the AFR today, CEO Sam Fisher indicating no fire sale of TWE brands. Could have fooled me. Rosemount, Secret Stone and Seppelts combined realised just $50M. Yes I say that quickly, but a back of the envelope calculation puts Seppelts at $20-25M...this seems somewhat reasonable. Yes the p...

I rang Stoniers last week, they were rather short on detail on what was happening with the thousands of dozens of Seppelt they have acquired. Guess market forces will decide. Cheers Craig WBM has reported today that Samuel Smith & Son will be the distributor of Seppelt wines for the new owners....

Wynns Black Label The Original Cabernet Sauvignon 24 - Got 17 months in French oak, 28% new barrels. Red-purple colour. Cassis, mulberry, cherry, cedar, mint and spice. The oak is nicely integrated as always. Not one of the best Black Label Cabs I have had. Some familiar notes however. Feels medium-...

Probably a changeover of some of the vintages round this time of the year.

You got to see the new ones first.

Thanks for the write up on the Rockford wines Craig.

Keen to see which vintages I get when my Rockford order turns up later this week - the ones I was invoiced for or the new ones.

Update on the sale of a few more Treasury wine brands over the last few weeks. The Tollana brand has been sold to Swordfish Distribution. WBM says they are talking to SA winemakers about relaunching the old Tollana Bin TR16 & Bin TR222 names. Various media also reporting the Oatley family has bo...

Petaluma White Label Chardonnay 25 - Sourced from two vineyards in Adelaide Hills. A mix of tank and barrel. Straw colour and very fresh. Citrus, peach, melon and toasty oak spice. Nice texture and fruit intensity on the palate. - 3/10/26 Phaedrus Reserve Pinot Noir 21 - A one acre block, foot tread...

A couple of wine club orders. Pfeiffer Riesling 25 Pfeiffer Fiano 25 Pfeiffer Chardonnay 23 Pfeiffer Tempranillo 23 Pfeiffer Great Western Shiraz 21 Pfeiffer Sparkling Pfizz Red (Shiraz) Rockford Eden Valley Riesling 25 x 3 Rockford Frugal Farmer 25 Rockford Moppa Springs GMS 22 Rockford Rod & S...

Scorpo Pinot Gris 24 - This comes off their own Merricks North vineyard. Whole bunch pressed and fermented in older barrels. Got 5 months maturation. The current release is the 25, but this hasn’t evolved too much yet. Just getting better I think. Straw coloured. Apple, pear, stonefruit and showing ...

Not only trashing the brand name, but the dismantling of these wine companies by the bean counters. To continue with the Lindemans example. In 2016 Treasury closed the Ben Ean winery and cellar door in Hunter Valley. Sold it to the McGuigan and Peterson families, who restarted the winery and cellar ...

Really ballsy move by Aaron Drummond & co taking on Seppelt. Restarting the winery & putting money into revitalising the old vineyards. Drummond flagged the priorities: the old vineyards, St Peters Shiraz, Show Sparkling Shiraz, and Drumborg's riesling, pinot noir, chardonnay and sparkling. ...

Hahndorf Hill Gru Gruner Veltliner 23 - Adelaide Hills. A mix of tank and oak barrels. Light gold colour and still very fresh. Florals, citrus, stonefruit and spice. Not sure it has changed too much since the last bottle I had. A little softer and rounder maybe. Nice savoury texture and a dry finish...

Stonier Reserve Pinot Noir 23 - Best blocks from the Windmill, Stonier Family and KBS vineyards. Open fermenter, wild yeast, 40% whole bunch and matured in French oak puncheons. Ruby coloured and terrific aromatics. Red fruits, sour cherry, autumnal leaves, herbs and spice. Noticeable cedary oak on ...

Ten Minutes By Tractor Up The Hill Estate Pinot Noir 23 - Sourced from their Main Ridge vineyards. Wild yeast and aged in a mix of different sized French oak barrels. Feels a little oaky actually. Ruby coloured and fragrant. Both elegant and densely fruited. Rose petal, dark cherry, raspberry, spice...

Leeuwin Estate Art Series Cabernet Sauvignon 20 - The “Rum Rage” front label. A bit of malbec in this. Got 23 months in French oak, 50% new barrels. Red-purple colour and instantly recognisable as Cabernet. Pure blackcurrant, cherry, aniseed, tobacco and cedar. Some herbal character rather than gree...

Look forward to reading your Coonawarra report each year. Thank you Craig. I had a nice little collection of Katnook Cab back vintages a while ago that I drank much too soon of course. :) Remember doing the same with verticals of Majella and Wynns 10 years ago. They can have an ageless feel to them,...

The TWE annual result was posted last Thursday. Some of the numbers are positive while others are horrendous. Net Sales Revenue up 12.8% to A$2.6 billion. EBITS up 19.2% to A$492 million. The EBITS number came in ahead of guidance, so that got a positive reaction from brokers. (That seems to be the ...

IMG_2138.jpeg Got to try the 2024 Penfolds Special Shiraz released this year. Retails for $74. It has a portion of 2022 Grange in it, maybe 3% to 5%. First release, so it might or might not turn out to be a one-off. Cork was crumbly, but the wine was OK. Actually better than that. A step up from th...

Phaedrus Reserve Pinot Noir 14 - This comes off a one acre block, wild yeast and best barrels. Just 800 bottles, so getting back vintages is harder each year now. These Reserves really come into their own with age on them too. Ruby coloured. Dark cherry, rhubarb, spice and earthy. Right in the drink...

IMG_1918.jpeg The boys at Different Drop had a chat with winemaker Dave Bicknell about life post Oakridge & other things. To watch the video, just enter Different Drop + Bicknell in the YouTube search bar. Also read on WBM that now ex-Chapel Hill winemaker Michael Fragos is moving on to Haselgr...

Chalmers Nero d’Avola 22 - We have been drinking the 24, but found another bottle of the 22. Really good with a few years on it. Garnet red colour. Softer and harmonious. Still very fresh on the palate. Mixed berries, cherry, herbs and smooth, savoury tannins. - 26/7/26 Quealy Campbell & Christi...

Stanton & Killeen Shiraz Durif 16 - Red-purple colour, not a lot of bricking. Thrown a crust in the bottle. Showing some aged, mature character, initially earth and leather. Give this air time. As you get into it more, there’s also a nice core of red fruits, spice and dried herbs. Just 14% a/v. ...

Dromana Estate Pinot Noir 24 - The fruit comes off close planted rows in their vineyard. Open fermented in vats and 12 months in aged French oak puncheons. Ruby coloured. Dark cherry, plums, rhubarb and spice. Nice savoury complexity. Long earthy aftertaste and moderate tannins. - 12/7/26 Pepperjack...

Campbells Riesling 25 - This comes off their own old blocks. Straw colour and florals. It is very aromatic with bell clear varietal character. Citrus blossom, lime, minerals and fresh acidity. Good fruit intensity through the palate and a chalky dry finish. - 6/7/26 Chambers Durif 22 - This is very ...

Croser Sparkling Rose NV - Adelaide Hills. A traditional method wine. Gets 12 months on lees. Good bead with strawberry, cherry and brioche. Refreshing acidity and a moderately dry finish. - 25/6/26 Sam Miranda Sangiovese Barbera 18 - King Valley. Matured in French oak. A garnet red colour. Cherry, ...

Rutherglen 26/6/26 Slow start to the day, it was only 2C overnight and took a while to warm up this morning. Breakfast at Tuileries where we are staying 3 nights. Then we drove to Chiltern and walked up & down the Main Street. A very historical town with original pioneer buildings back to the go...

The issue in recent vintages has been frost, etc reducing fruit availability. But the Cabernet Franc was made in 2021 & 2023.

Just checked and there is a new release 2024.

Quealy Tussie Mussie Pinot Gris 25 - Whole bunch pressed, solids and tank fermented. Straw coloured and florals. Pear, nectarine, honeysuckle and spice. Lots of citrusy acidity, which is a bit surprising. Also leesy influences with some phenolics adding a savoury texture to the palate. - 19/6/26 Que...