Halliday 95, Mike Bennie 91+, Jeremy Oliver 91

How time flies. Bought this way back in December 2014, sold a couple of cases, but since then it hasn’t seen the light of day, either actually or via an email. Looking at the recommended drinking windows, I’m thinking this wine is all the better for it and it didn’t have to take up space in your fridge all that time!

The Halliday and Mike Bennie comments are in the attachment. Here’s what Jeremy Oliver (jeremyoliver.com) says:

“Very supple and gentle, with a reserved bouquet of peach, pear, apple and suggestions of tropical fruit subtly backed by light creamy vanilla oak. It’s forward and lively, extending with a delicate, fluffy expression of pure stonefruit and pear towards a soft, but tightly focused finish. It should build richness and depth in the bottle. Drink 2018-2021. 91 points.”

11 bottles in Melbourne @ S$63, can be here mid-August if ordered.

You might also like to try:

2015 vintage, S$63, Huon Hooke 95
2016 vintage, S$60, Halliday 94

Cheers!

Paradigm Hill is located at Merricks on the Mornington Peninsula, so on the eastern side facing Phillip Island rather than Port Phillip Bay. The vineyard is lower than many on the peninsula and closer to the sea. At 13.3% alc. this vintage is a bit higher than previously (the 2014 is only 12%) but still warrants the differentiation from the big, warm climate, often high alcohol Barossa shiraz. This is savoury rather than jammy, white pepper rather than black, and as George Mihaly notes in his comments (in the attachment), complements rather than dominates food. I’ll be the first to admit that cool climate shiraz (more often referred to as Syrah) may not be for everyone. I grew up on big, bold 16% alc. Barossa shiraz and it took a while for me after moving to Singapore to appreciate the softer, more delicate fragrances and palate of the cool climate style. Now, I realise there’s a place for both and I enjoy both.

I bought this back in April 2018, but have never done an email on it so its been sitting and slowly maturing. Halliday says drink to 2030, Campbell Mattinson to 2020. George Mihaly says it should be good to 2027.

It’s listed at S$65, I’ve got 6 bottles in Melbourne so can be here mid-August if ordered, no minimum purchase and free delivery.

Enjoy!

This is the current release from Mt Brave, landing in stock a few months ago. It’s listed at US$100 at Mt Brave’s cellar door, and that price conservatively converts to S$135, exactly the price that it’s for sale in Singapore (see attachement). It retails in Australia at around A$160-A$180 thanks to their 29% alcohol tax, whereas here in Singapore the alcohol tax is just S$8.91. Cheap lah!

I’ve got 21 bottles in stock in Singapore.

Unfortunately I didn’t keep the website tasting notes for this wine so just the Halliday rating (96) on the attachment for reference. I like the regional series wines from Provenance which in addition to Ballarat includes Geelong and Henty, and from the 2016 vintage, Macedon.

Halliday’s 2019 Best Value Winery.

I’ve got 14 bottles in Melbourne which (hopefully) can be delivered in June if ordered. S$69 all up, no minimum purchase.

Enjoy!

Gary Walsh of The Wine Front says “these are the wines that should make us proud of Australia”.

Release price downunder of A$140. Three weeks ago, before the lockdown, I had 12 bottles of this. Now I’ve got just 2 BOTTLES LEFT IN SINGAPORE @ S$150 all up.

Oh, did I mention that this wine is seen elsewhere in Singapore at between S$150 and S$200 (for a singe bottle purchase in a bricks and mortar shop)

Wine Spectator suggests drinking “2018 through 2021” so time in the bottle since I purchased it in March 2018 is not wasted. I brought this 2015 vintage into Singapore direct from Jackson Family Wines. I’m selling the 2015 for S$74 (down from S$79 initially) which I think is a fair price against its US$50-ish retail price. I’ve got 10 BOTTLES IN SINGAPORE.

Robert Parker 95+, Wine Spectator 95

If you go to the La Jota website, it will tell you this wine is “limited availability” in the US. Even more limited in Singapore!

I was allocated just 24 bottles of this by Jackson Family Wines. 13 bottles have gone already so I have 11 left.

Market pricing puts it somewhere between US$90 and US$150 depending on where you live in the US, so I’m using the figure that was given to me by Jackson Family Wines of US$125 as its ex-winery retail price. So at S$169 here, that’s even a little less than the US retail price.

In stock, and ready to be delivered.

I also have 8 bottles of the 2014 La Jota Howell Mountain Cabernet, rated 95 by Robert Parker, release price of US$100, here S$131.

Cheers,

David Boxall

If you’re looking for a big beefy, jammy shiraz, this is not the place to start (I guess “syrah” should be the first clue to that!)

As Campbell Mattinson says, this wine is “medium-weight-at-most” so if you’re used to drinking Mr. Blacks Concoction or Rusden Black Guts, you’re going to find this light on.

But if you’re looking for something to drink over dinner that slips down oh-so-easily and doesn’t burn your palate on the way through, then this is the ants pants. Medium weight but plenty of flavour and soft tannins, and a modest (for Australian shiraz) 13.2% alc.

Easy, not hard work, exactly as syrah should be.

S$49 all up, can be here late March if ordered, no minimum purchase.

2015 is also available at same price, rated 94 by Halliday.

Cheers!

David Boxall

This is the current release for Freycinet’s premium pinot. A perennial favourite with my clients and also with me.

Here’s what owner/winemaker Claudio Radenti says about his wine:

“The 2017 vintage is proving to be one of the classic great years alongside 2015, 2012, 2010, 2009. The season was characterised by a cooler, wetter first half which then tapered off into a warmer, drier second half. Overall ripening was delayed by 10 to 12 days which facilitated the development of remarkable flavour and colour intensities. The vineyard’s blood line and pedigree are umistakeable in this classic Freycinet Pinot Noir. Typical hallmarks of power, concentration, fruit purity and complexity all feature in abundance. The wine provides thorough drinking enjoyment as a young wine (decanting and allowing the wine to breathe recommended) but will become truly special when aged in a cool cellar over 5 to 15 years.”

I’ve got 30 bottles in Melbourne (4 bottles went straight to my own cellar) and they can be here late March if ordered. Store price of A$75 downunder but A$65 for a six-pack at Freycinet’s on-line cellar door.

It’s going out here in Singapore at S$75 all up, no minimum purchase.

Great news from Bangor Estate near Dunalley in southern Tasmania

The BANGOR ESTATE ‘CAPTAIN SPOTSWOOD’ PINOT NOIR 2018 picked up three trophies at the recent 2020 Tasmania Wine Show, being for “Best Pinot Noir’, ‘Top Gold 2018 Pinot Noir’ and ‘Champion Wine of Show’. Their BANGOR ESTATE VINTAGE BRUT 2015 also collected ‘Top Gold for Vintage Sparkling by Traditional Method’ and ‘Trophy for the Best Vintage Sparkling’

It’s a great result for an up and coming vineyard that I’ve had my eyes on for some time. I visited there twice over the last few years to meet with Matt Dunbabin who is the enthusiastic owner and grower at Bangor Estate. The wines are made at Winemaking Tasmania.

Needless to say the wines are under big demand. The pinot noir is sold out at some retail outlets in Australia but as of yesterday still available online at cellar-door.

Naturally I’ve got a small parcel for Singapore – 36 bottles of the pinot and 18 of the sparkling which will retail here at $58 and $65 respectively. I won’t get the wines into my store in Melbourne until late in February or even March. If you’re interested, please let me know and I’ll put your name on the waiting list.

Other trophy winners at the show from producers in my portfolio are:

TROPHY – BEST RIESLING – Pressing Matters R0 Riesling2017 – 8 btls available @ S$50 ea.
TROPHY – BEST SWEET WINE – Pressing Matters R69 Riesling 2017
TROPHY – BEST MUSEUM WINE – Freycinet Chardonnay 2010
TROPHY – CHAIRMAN’S SELECTION – Home Hill Estate Pinot Noir 2018 – limited, enquire
TROPHY – RESERVE CHAMPION WINE of SHOW – Pressing Matters R69 Riesling 2017
TROPHY – MOST SUCCESSFUL EXHIBITOR – Pressing Matters

Other medals from vineyards in my portfolio are:

GOLD – Home Hill ‘Kelly’s Cuvee’ Vintage 2015
GOLD – Radenti R3 Sparkling NV – 8 btls avail @ $71 ea.
TOP GOLD – Freycinet Riesling 2018
GOLD – Pressing Matters R9 Riesling 2014
GOLD – Freycinet ‘Wineglass Bay’ Sauvignon Blanc 2018
TOP GOLD – Stefano Lubiana ‘Estate’ Chardonnay 2018
GOLD – Freycinet Botrytis Sauvignon Blanc 2016
GOLD – Home Hill ‘Estate’ Pinot Noir 2018 – see above
GOLD – Freycinet Pinot Noir 2017 – 44 btls @ $75 ea.
GOLD – Stefano Lubiana ‘Vintage Brut’ 2009 – 12 btls on order
GOLD – Freycinet Chardonnay 2010

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Todays’s wines:

1. POONAWATTA ‘THE EDEN’ EDEN VALLEY RIESLING 2018
Gold Medal 2019 Australia & New Zealans Boutique Wine Show, Halliday 95…”it is very good”

A bit off-piste from my usual Tasmanian or Victorian wines but I’m a sucker for good Riesling. If you’re a fan too, I’m sure you’ll enjoy this one and if you’re not generally a fan of Riesling, then maybe this one will convert you. Have a look at the attachment for the Halliday 95 rating.

Just S$47, and I’ve got 11 bottles in Melbourne ready to come up in late February if ordered.

2. HOLYMAN ‘PROJECT X’ TASMANIA PINOT NOIR 2012
James Suckling 96, Gary Walsh 95+, Halliday 94…”one for real contemplation”

There’s two quite different “drink by dates” or this, Halliday 2020 and Gary Walsh 2025+. Either way your on safe ground at the moment. I bought 4 cases of this back in November 2014 so it’s had a little over 5 years of ageing in my commercial cellar in Australia and all the better for it.

Just 8 bottles left now going out at S$98 against its RRP of A$90 on release downunder. Can be here late February if ordered.

3. BIN END – MAYER ‘BLOODY HILL’ YARRA VALLEY CHARDONNAY 2013
Jeremy Pringle 88

I pulled this wine from my list some time ago as I felt it was too lean, too acidic to derive much pleasure from it. I revisited this wine in Australia yesterday and there’s been a definite improvement over time. Where the wine was once almost clear, there’s now a tinge of lemon yellow and there’s flavour on the palate that wasn’t there before. It’s still a very lean style so lovers of buttery malo chardonnay won’t find joy here, but I’m happy enough with it to put it back on offer, albeit at a reduced price.

7 bottles in Melbourne can be here late February if ordered, going out at S$32 all up

Enjoy!

David Boxall