wineweek.com.au
pouring rapid tips

Back behind the desk this week, Danny kicks off with the Jack Mattinson’s Deluxe Dry Red. It’s a great Shiraz-Cabernet blend from one of Australia’s finest wine writers, who shows he’s not just all talk and no action.

Brad follows up last week’s discussion on Wine Week Radio about Chardonnay being back in fashion with a look at Tom Carson’s Yabby Lake Chardonnay.

We round out the week looking at a single vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon from Wynns Coonawarra Estate. It’s yet another gem from Wynns underlining why so many people hold winemaker Sue Hodder in such high regard.

This week’s recommendations are:

• Mountain X Wine Co. Jack Mattinson’s 2009 ($15)
• Yabby Lake Chardonnay 2008 ($40-$45)
• Wynns Coonawarra Estate Glengyle Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 ($40-$43)

Download the video: (5 min 33 sec)
Windows Media (17.4 Mb) | Quicktime/iPod/iPhone (31.2 Mb) | Mpeg4 (16.9 Mb)

We are also super excited to announce the brand new Wine Week Radio podcast!

You can subscribe to the Wine Week Radio podcast via iTunes and every week we’ll have a new episode where we look at what’s happening in the wine industry.

Cheers… and happy wine buying!

Brad and Danny

This week we look at three wines from the 2008 vintage that are sure to keep you, and your mates, happy. The first is the classy Chalambar Shiraz from Seppelt. This is a wine you’ll see in shops, and on a lot of restaurant wine lists where it’s often one of the best value propositions.

The 2007 vintage was brilliant for Margaret River, but what about 2008? We check out the Capel Vale Cabernet Sauvignon from the more recent vintage and can happily say that the follow-up year is looking like a truly worthy sequel!

To round out the week we grab the Ten Minutes by Tractor Chardonnay from 2008. While the Mornington Peninsula is probably best known these days for their Pinot Noir, there’s no doubting that many of the producers from the region have been turning out beautiful whites from this classic grape.

This week’s recommendations are:

• Seppelt Chalambar Shiraz 2008 ($15-$22)
• Capel Vale Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 ($25-$27)
• Ten Minutes by Tractor 10X Chardonnay 2008 ($26-$29)

Download the video: (4 min 29 sec)
Windows Media (14.6 Mb) | Quicktime/iPod/iPhone (25.0 Mb) | Mpeg4 (14.1 Mb)

Cheers… and happy wine buying!

Brad and Danny

Each year the first week in May sees one of the most anticipated events in Australian wine: the release of Penfolds Icon and Luxury wines. Brad looks at one of the very best wines from this year’s release in the St. Henri Shiraz.

Danny looks at a couple of wines for those of us with a little less spending money however. His first wine is a Chardonnay from Shadowfax drawn from multiple cool climate sites throughout Victoria. The other is a bargain priced Shiraz Viognier blend from Punt Road’s second label, Airlie Bank.

This week’s recommendations are:

• Shadowfax Chardonnay 2008 ($27-$30)
• Penfolds St. Henri Shiraz 2006 ($75-$90)
• Punt Road Airlie Bank Shiraz Viognier 2008 ($15-$18)

Download the video: (5 min 12 sec)
Windows Media (16.8 Mb) | Quicktime/iPod/iPhone (32.0 Mb) | Mpeg4 (16.3 Mb)

Cheers… and happy wine buying!

Brad and Danny

Generally when we’ve talked about wines from the Mornington Peninsula we’ve looked at Pinot Noir. But in doing so we’ve missed on the other great variety from the region: Chardonnay. So we start this week with a look at the classic white grape offering from Red Hill Estate. We also check out a McLaren Vale Shiraz from Shingleback’s second label, Red Knot. And ahead of Danny shooting off to the Coonawarra this weekend he looks at a bargain red blend from Balnaves called, aptly, The Blend.

This week’s recommendations are:

• Red Hill Estate Chardonnay 2007 ($15-$19)
• Red Knot Shiraz 2008 ($9-$15)
• Balnaves The Blend 2007 ($17-$19)

Download the video: (3 min 59 sec)
Windows Media (12.8 Mb) | Quicktime/iPod/iPhone (23.4 Mb) | Mpeg4 (12.4 Mb)

Cheers… and happy wine buying!

Brad and Danny

When a winery can charge, $60 to $100 for their best know wines you known they’re doing something right. But not all of us can afford three figures for a bottle of wine everyday. So many of the most respected wineries have wines commonly referred to as ‘second’ wines. But don’t let the fact that these aren’t their most expensive offerings suggest that they aren’t up to scratch.

The first wine we look at is the ‘second’ Chardonnay from Leeuwin Estate, maker of arguably Australia’s best from the white grape. Next up is a Pinot Noir from Kooyong that comes in at half the price of their most renowned Pinot. The last wine we recommend is the ‘second’ from Moss Wood, one of the the greatest Cabernet producers from the Margaret River region in WA.

We also recommend you visit http://boozemonkey.com.au/ and http://www.empireauctions.com.au/ to check out the Wine For Haiti auction, raising much needed funds and giving you great wine in return.

This week’s recommendations are:

• Leeuwin Estate Prelude Chardonnay 2008 ($30-35)
• Kooyong Massale Pinot Noir 2008 ($28-$30)
• Moss Wood Amy’s Cabernet 2008 ($30-$35)

Download the video: (4 min 44 sec)
Windows Media (15.3 Mb) | Quicktime/iPod/iPhone (28.4 Mb) | Mpeg4 (14.9 Mb)

Cheers… and happy wine buying!

Brad and Danny

In wine, as in property, the one thing that everyone wants is a prime location. The best vineyards give the best fruit. But it’s not always easy to get the best locations. Two of our wines this week come from producers who have decided location is the key to the best grapes, while the other has helped define their region as one of the best Chardonnay areas in the land.

Between the Jim Barry Cover Drive and the Wyndham Estate George Windham Shiraz Grenache you can see why regional blending has become a key part of the winemaker’s arsenal. At the other end of the spectrum, the Voyager Estate Chardonnay continues to gain favour as a stand-out example of just what Margaret River can produce with the white grape.

This week’s recommendations are:

• Jim Barry Cover Drive 2007 ($18-23)
• Voyager Estate Chardonnay 2007 ($38-42)
• Wyndham Estate George Wyndham Shiraz Grenache 2007 ($17-$22)

Download the video: (5 min 45 sec)
Windows Media (18.6 Mb) | Quicktime/iPod/iPhone (33.4 Mb) | Mpeg4 (18.0 Mb)

Cheers… and happy wine buying!

Brad and Danny

3 years and almost 450 wines later we’re up to episode 150! To celebrate we’re looking at wines that you’d probably only open on special occasions, and only if you’re really splurging!

Penfolds having been looking to produce a white wine that rivals the great Grange, and the Yattarna we check out this week might be that wine. Over the last 150 episodes more than one Kalleske wine has come across our desk, because they are such great wines. This week we look at the very top of the Kalleske range; the Johann Georg. When discussing long periods of time, the wines from Wendouree immediately spring to mind. With vines dating back more than 100 years and producing wines like the Shiraz-Malbec that are long term cellaring gold. To round things out, we finish with a wine that might be the best red in Australia; the Clonakilla Shiraz-Viognier. It’s a brilliant drop that we think is still undervalued even as we’ve seen the price rise steadily over the last decade.

This week’s recommendations are:

• Penfolds Yattarna Chardonnay 2006 ($120-130)
• Kalleske Johann Georg Shiraz 2007 ($90-100)
• A P Birks Wendouree Shiraz-Malbec 2006 ($55-$100)
• Clonakilla Shiraz-Viognier 2008 ($75-85)

Download the video: (7 min 33 sec)
Windows Media (24.7 Mb) | Quicktime/iPod/iPhone (47.0 Mb) | Mpeg4 (24.0 Mb)

Cheers… and happy wine buying!

Brad and Danny

This week we look at three wines with a definite family theme. The first is the Tulum Chardonnay from Willow Creek, a small winery on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula which hosted the wedding of members of Danny’s extended family a few years back. The next wine is the Kalleske Clarry’s red, named after the grandfather of current winemaker, Troy Kalleske. Our final wine is the Zema Estate Family Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, a ripper drop using only the best fruit from the great 2005 Coonawarra vintage.

This week’s recommendations are:

• Willow Creek Tulum Chardonnay 2007 ($30-40)
• Kalleske Clarry’s Red Shiraz-Grenache 2008 ($16-20)
• Zema Estate Family Selection Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 ($40-$45)

Download the video: (3 min 50 sec)
Windows Media (15.9 Mb) | Quicktime/iPod/iPhone (15.6 Mb) | Mpeg4 (11.7 Mb)

Join the Wine Week footy tipping competition! (Entry is free and the winner receives brilliant Kalleske wine!)

Cheers… and happy wine buying!

Brad and Danny

A few weeks back we raved about a Chardonnay that has changed what people expect from the grape. This week we look at the Shiraz from the same guys, Shaw + Smith, and find ourselves equally impressed! We also look at another shiraz, this a classically Barossan offering from Epsilon. To round things out we also check out a still white from one of the most respected producers of sparkling wine, Domaine Chandon.

This week’s recommendations are:

• Epsilon Barossa Valley Shiraz 2007 ($20-25)
• Domaine Chandon Chardonnay 2008 ($20-27)
• Shaw + Smith Shiraz 2007 ($36-$39)

Download the video: (4 min 03 sec)
Windows Media (16.7 Mb) | Mpeg4 (12.4 Mb) | Ipod (16.5 Mb)

Join the Wine Week footy tipping competition! (Entry is free and the winner receives brilliant Kalleske wine!)

Cheers… and happy wine buying!

Brad and Danny

Not that long ago Chardonnay was all the rage. But winemakers started churning out wines that tasted more like oak than they did fruit. As a consequence, the wine public turned its nose up at the one time powerhouse white grape and looked elsewhere for a refreshing tipple. But things have changed! There’s now a “new style” of chardonnay, and loads of wineries are trying to mimic the style. But this week we look at the original, the chardonnay that started the revival – the Shaw and Smith M3. As well we also check out two more South Australian offerings. Both are shiraz, while one is from a well established producer in McLaren Vale, while the other is from a young winery. Both are rippers!

This week’s recommendations are:

• Maglieri Shiraz ($13-20)
• Shaw and Smith M3 Chardonnay ($30-40)
• Yelland & Papps Greenock Shiraz 2007 ($27-30)

Download the video: (3 min 52 sec)
Windows Media (17.5 Mb) | Mpeg4 (13.1 Mb) | Ipod (17.5 Mb)

Join the Wine Week footy tipping competition! (Entry is free and the winner receives brilliant Kalleske wine!)

Cheers… and happy wine buying!

Brad and Danny