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Entirely barrel fermented, West Cape Howe’s Old School Chardonnay is entirely barrel fermented and spends 5 month on lees. It also goes through malolactic fermentation, all of which promotes texture, complexity and flavour.

Brilliant pale straw colour with a greenish tinged outskirts and watery hue. Scents of ripe peaches, nectarines and dried honey are followed by citrusy nougat and spice notes. Rich and full in body yet retaining a real sense of freshness the palate is filled with ripe peach, honeycomb and nougat flavours with traces of apricot also evident over a back drop of toasty oak and spice. Creamy mid palate textural feel finishing with vibrant balanced acidity. Long ripe peach, honeycomb, spicy nougat and toasty oak aftertaste.
Drink over the next 3-4 years.
Alc. 13.5%

An appealing Barbera with juicy red and black fruits backed by vibrant acidity.

Deep dark red black tinged colour with a vibrant dark red hue. Fragrantly scented nose with red to dark cherry and plum aromas overlaid by hints of anise, light earth and fresh herbs. The youthful palate features a juicy, vibrant flavour profile of Morello cherries and plum with touches of inky earth, liquorice and spicy herbs also chiming in. Finishes with a burst of fresh acidity. Velvety tannins with a savoury conclusion of ripe Morello cherries, plum juice, subtle liquorice, inky earth and spicy herb infusions.
Drink over the next 2-3 years.
Alc. 13.5%

Kris is selected from the three regions that make up the delle Venezie, encompassing Trentino-Alto Adige, Friuli-Venezia Giulia and the Veneto. Bright straw colour with a watery hue. Aromas of pear, dried honey and Jonathan apple are followed by hints of quince and spice. Round and supple in the mouth the palate possesses distinct honeyed pear flavours which dominate over Jonathan apple, quince and spice. Clean dry finish with balanced acidity and an aftertaste of pear, quince, dried honey, Jonathan apple and subtle stony characters.
Drink now.
Alc. 12.5%

Matured for 18 months in French and American oak puncheons. Impenetrable black as night core with a deep bright dark red black tinged hue. Pronounced ripe black and Morello cherry scents along with some liquorice dominate the nose with an undercard of smoky vanillin oak, dusty earth and spice. Dense and inky with a rich chewy mouthfeel and robust yet integrated tannins the full bodied palate is filled with black and Morello cherry as well as liquorice flavours over a back drop of lightly smoked vanillin cedar and spicy pepper. Great structure with a firmish finish. Impressive concentration and depth with a long luscious black and Morello cherry, liquorice, vanillin oak, subtle smoky earth and spicy pepper aftertaste. A big, powerful, classically built Rutherglen Durif.
Cellar 5-6 years.
Alc. 14.8%

Produced from 70% Corvina Veronese and Corvinone, 25% Rondinella and 5% Molinara with grapes dried for approximately 3-4 months. Maturation takes place in combination of new French oak barriques and large second and third use Slavonian oak barrels for a period of several years.

Totally opaque black dark red colour with a very dark red hue. Potent ripe black cherry, liquorice and dried cherry aromas evolve from the glass pursued by earthy vanillin oak and spicy raisins. Showing great richness and volume in the mouth the large scaled, opulently textured palate is filled with flavours of black and dried cherries, black plum and liquorice over a background of spicy vanillin oak, earth, traces of tar and subtle raisin elements. There’s a firmness to the sturdy tannins but nevertheless they come across as velvet like beneath the voluptuous fruit. Excellent power with a long spicy black cherry, black plum, dried cherry, liquorice, earthy vanillin oak and subtle dried raisin aftertaste.
Drink over the next 5-6 years.
Alc. 15.5%

The Hillside vineyard was established near the town of Lyndoch in the south western corner of the Barossa Valley in 1849 by the Springbett family. The first vines were planted in 1850 to Shiraz and Grenache and by 1860 two generations of the Springbett family had built a small winery, the second to be established in the region. Torbreck acquired the property in 2002 and set about resurrecting the old vines and planting new vineyards. Today the Hillside vineyard is one of Torbreck’s principal properties.

A blend of 92% Shiraz and 8% Roussanne. Once the juice was gently whole bunch pressed from the Roussanne grapes, the skins were added to the Shiraz and co-fermented. Maturation took place in a seasoned French oak 4500 litre foudre (to preserve the fresh aromatics and fruit vibrancy) for a period of 14 months. Superb colour displaying an impenetrable inky black core with a very deep dark purple black hue. Elevated aromas of blackberry, plum and liquorice are subtlety laced with apricot and honeysuckle nuances followed by vanillin cedar and spice. Full bodied and opulently textured, rich succulent dark plum, blackberry and liquorice flavours cascade across the palate leaving in their wake a background of vanillin cedar, light honeysuckle and traces of spicy apricot. Velvet like yet structured tannins combine with a lick of fresh acidity to provide the framework. Long dark plum, blueberry, liquorice, spicy vanillin cedar and light honeysuckle aftertaste.
Cellar 5-6 years.
Alc. 14.5%

Semi translucent cloudy light red colour with a faint orange red hue. A fragrant nose of rose petals intermingling with ripe red and sour cherries overlays infusions of fresh herbs, subtle forest floor and light spicy cedar notes. Light in body and very supple and silky in its feel yet fresh on the finish the palate is flavoured with subtlety spiced ripe red cherries and a dash of sour cherries over some light meatiness, subtle earthy fresh herb infusions and spicy cedar. Velvet smooth tannins. Excellent power wave with a long conclusion of spicy ripe red cherries, some sour cherries, infusions of fresh herbs, a light earthy meatiness and faint spicy cedar.
Drink over the next 4-5 years.
Alc. 12.8%

Best known for producing arguably Australia’s greatest Chardonnay, Leeuwin Estate’s Art Series Cabernet Sauvignon continues to fly under the radar and in comparison to other Margaret River heavy weights such as Cullen & Moss Wood still delivers great value.

An exquisite Margaret River Cabernet blessed with rich red fruits, finesse and class.

Produced from yet another fabulous Margaret River vintage this blend of 96% Cabernet Sauvignon and 4% Malbec was aged in French oak (50%) new for a period of 23 months. Excellent depth of colour displaying a black as night dark red core with a deep bright dark red black tinged hue. Wonderfully aromatic and refined, scents of violets, ripe red currant and mulberry set sail from the glass with notions of vanillin cedar, black olive, tobacco and dried herbs ensuing. Blessed with richness, finesse and class the medium bodied palate sees ripe red and black currant as well as mulberry fruit flood the mouth over background elements of vanillin cedar, spicy tobacco, dried herbs and subtle bay leaf. Refined, finely textured tannins are perfectly integrated and provide the wine with a structural elegance. Superb persistence and depth finishing very long and savoury with an aftertaste of ripe red currant, mulberry, vanillin cedar, tobacco, spicy dried herbs and a touch of bay leaf. A magnificent Leeuwin Art Series Cabernet Sauvignon.
Cellar 8-10 years plus.
Alc. 13.5%

The colour saturation of this wine is amazing. Impenetrable inky black core with an equally deep dark purple black hue. Potent aromas of ripe blackberries, black cherries and liquorice are complimented by some dried clove and smoked meat nuances with vanillin cedar and blackpepper notes ensuing. Boasting outstanding richness and power as well as inky like concentration the palate is overwhelmed with luscious blackberry, black cherry, liquorice and black plum flavours. Underpinning the fruit is vanillin cedar, dried meats, smoky clove and blackpepper. Rugged, firmly built tannins impart some real grip to the finish and give an inky like feel to the opulent fruit. Statuesque in structure this muscular Barossa Shiraz shows great definition and is built for the long haul. Very long aftertaste of blackberries, liquorice, black cherries, subtle dried clove infusions, smoked meats, vanillin cedar, earth and blackpepper.
Cellar 10-15 years.
Alc. 14.5%

Other Reviews…
Hutton Vale Farm, Eden Valley. You can buy a lot of more expensive wines from this neck of the woods, though I doubt they’d be better.
Blackberry, blackcurrant, sage and mint, liquorice and chocolate boxes, and an almost rosy perfume, and yes, it smells very good, but that’s just the appetizer (cue Cartman). Full bodied, almost a juiciness here, but then comes a sweep of ultra-fine tannin, that might best be described as ‘sexual chocolate’. Oh those tannins. Lavish mouth-soaking tannin layered through cool Eden Valley Shiraz fruitiness. Black tea, don’t mind if I do. And a finish that’s rippling with tannin, flavour and freshness. It’s obscenely good. Drink 2020-2040+
97+ points
Gary Walsh – The Wine Front

A pitch black core backed by a very deep bright dark purple hue virtually stains the glass. Both alluring and intense, luscious ripe blackberry, liquorice, black cherry and dark plum aromas intoxicate the nostrils. Intermingling with the fruit are whiffs of lightly smoked vanillin cedar, dark chocolate, faint scorched earth and spice. Prodigiously rich and powerful with a sexy, opulent feel this is the most approachable wine of the trio yet it still possesses great underlying structure. The palate is soaked with a ménage of succulent blackberry, dark plum and liquorice flavours which are underpinned by vanillin cedar, crushed rock like elements and spice. A bedrock of sturdily built tannins provide the structural plates for the decadent fruit which shows terrific fruit purity and concentration. Exceptionally long and powerful with a chewy blackberry, dark plum, liquorice, vanillin cedar, crushed rock and spicy pepper aftertaste.
Cellar 8-10 years plus.
Alc. 14.5%

Other Reviews….
From Roennfeldt Road, Marananga, one of the more famous addresses in the Barossa Valley.
It’s as black as a night with no moon in the Scottish Highlands, and I know this, because one night after quite a few whiskies I took it upon myself to go for a walk one cold winter’s night, and it took me quite some time to find my way back to the lodge… Anyway, I digress. Bold perfume of lavender and vanilla, sweet damp earth, blackberry and blueberry pie with toasted crust, liquorice and dark chocolate, perhaps some spice on that pie crust, too. Full bodied, but fresh and vibrant, with blackberry flavour and acidity, a deep well of ripe open-weave grainy tannin, depth and intensity, rippling tannin thunders on the earthy and toasty finish. It’s dark and charismatic. It’s long. There’s some polish and finesse, yet it still feels wild and unfettered. It does the Barossa Valley proud. Laugh and think (and drink), this is Australia. Drink 2019-2036+
96 points
Gary Walsh – The Wine Front