MoneyWeek

2022 Tyrrell’s, Brookdale Semillon, Hunter Valley, New South Wales, Australia

I have just finished 16 dates on my annual nationwide 100 Best Australian Wines Roadshow, where I have poured 43 wines from the collection for just shy of 2500 people.  I love meeting my readers and listening to their takes on wines I adore. I think the overarching theme of this year’s tour has been the love of Aussie Chardonnay at all price points…
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2018 Barbaresco, Rabajà, Giuseppe Cortese, Piemonte, Italy

It is admittedly rather lazy to state that I have a favourite vineyard in any wine region that I prize above all others. Still, in Barbaresco, in the heart of Piemonte, it is Rabajà. There I have done it. There are loads of superbly smart plots of Nebbiolo in this heavenly, hilly wine region, and I am confident that every Barbaresco lover will have…
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2020 Crozes-Hermitage, Domaine des Lises, Equis, Northern Rhône, France

It is interesting how rapid change is in the wine world as vintages tick by with alarming and seemingly ever-increasing frequency.  But while through one lens, the evolution of our trade is dynamic and exciting, some things never change.  In 1988, my first trip to Paris, under my own steam with monies saved from my first job in wine, was life-changing. …
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2021 Valpolicella, Classico, Ca’ La Bionda, Veneto, Italy

We have reached the mid-point of Spring, so in anticipation of warmer weather and Summer looming, I have found you one of the most deliciously gluggable reds I have tasted in years. Valpolicella is a well-known style of Italian red wines beloved by trattorias and pizzerias up and down the country. Few realise just how vast a category of red wines Valpol…
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2021 Fletcher, C21 Chardonnay, Langhe, Piemonte, Italy

Australian winemaker Dave Fletcher has made his home in the heart of one of the greatest wine regions in the world, Piemonte, where he makes an immaculate portfolio of wild wines. His base is a stunningly renovated train station in Barbaresco, under which he has installed his small but perfectly formed wine cellar. I cannot imagine a finer work/home…
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2020 Torbreck, Woodcutter’s Shiraz, Barossa Valley, South Australia

Torbreck is my Australian Winery of the Year. I am currently taking no fewer than three of the wines in this article, including my featured Woodcutter’s around the UK on my 100 Best Australian Wines Roadshow. Feedback from the first half of this tour has been overwhelming, and this is no surprise when you taste these stellar red wines. Since winemaker…
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2018 Barolo, Comune del Verduno, Fratelli Alessandria, Piedmont, Italy

The Justerini & Brooks annual Piedmont tasting is one of the finest focussed events in the wine calendar. This year there were many pre-released wines to enjoy, and I will be writing all of these wines up in my annual Report, which I will publish in the summer. But a handful of wines are already available in the UK, and I have picked five beauties…
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2020 Dalrymple, Pinot Noir, Pipers River, Tasmania, Australia

Hosting the London chapter of Pinot Noir Celebration Australia 2023 was a huge buzz.  This deep dive into the glorious Pinots from Down Under took place at the fantastic Michelin-One-Star Trivet restaurant in London.  The morning session was a ten-wine masterclass covering wines from Adelaide Hills, Tasmania, Geelong, Macedon Ranges, Yarra Valley,…
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2018 Yalumba, The Signature Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz, Barossa, South Australia

Last month, history was made with an extraordinary and unprecedented result in the 2023 The Great Australian Red competition.   You can read all about the comeptition on matthewjukes.com.  The soon-to-be-released 2018 Yalumba The Caley Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz (2016 The Caley is £201.00, www.farehamwinecellar.co.uk) became the first four-time-winner…
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2020 Pellegrino, Isesi Zibibbo, Pantelleria, Italy

I attended the Fells Annual Portfolio Tasting the other day, and it was a cracker. This elite wine importer is responsible for bringing world-famous estates like Hugel, Guigal, Torres, Yalumba, Torbreck, and Tyrrell’s, among hosts of others as well as a suite of epic fortified wines including Barbadillo, Blandy’s, Graham’s, Dow’s Warre’s and…
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2020 Vinha Grande, Casa Ferreirinha, Douro Tinto, Portugal

A couple of weeks ago, in my Wednesday Wines article on my website, I wrote up the new 2019 vintage of Casa Ferreirinha’s epic single estate Douro red, Vinha da Leda.  Weighing in at £65, this is one of the most ‘affordable’ of the world’s truly great red wines.  Of course, £65 is affordable to some but not many, so some of my readers asked…
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2020 Valli, Bannockburn Vineyard Pinot Noir, Central Otago, New Zealand

Aussie wine scribe Tyson Stelzer and I compiled an annual classification of New Zealand Pinot Noir from 2008 until 2019 – you can download them, free to view, from my website. I ducked out of this commitment a couple of years ago because I could not, hand on heart, see the evolution of this style continuing apace. NZ Pinot Noir has come a long way…
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