Jamsheed Silvan Syrah is a beautiful wine

This is the new face of Australian wine. Wines from distinguished sites, naturally made, with personality, elegance and a sense of place.

It’s from Jamsheed, a small producer making wines from privileged terroirs in Victoria, and this Silvan Syrah comes from the Yarra Valley. More specifically it is from vines planted in the 1990s on red [...]

Cracking Pinot Noir from De Bortoli

Very impressed with pretty much everything De Bortoli are making at the moment. Steve Webber is heading off in the direction of restraint, low alcohol and elegance, and that’s exactly my sort of thing.

De Bortoli Yarra Valley Pinot Noir 2008 Yarra Valley, Australia
13% alcohol. Serious stuff this. Fresh and lively with some green herby characters [...]

An afternoon with Mac Forbes

It was a gloriously sunny day here in London. I discovered, to my great advantage, that my netbook screen is visible even in bright sunlight, so I spent the morning sitting outside. My garden is my new office. I managed to write a column for one of my regular publications (Hong Kong Tatler; it was [...]

The Wanderer: impressive Shiraz and Pinot from the Yarra Valley

Two very nice wines from a new (to me, at least) producer in the Yarra Valley, Andrew Marks’ The Wanderer. The story of Australian wine isn’t actually about big brands, over-ripeness and critter labels – it’s a country with many hundreds of good small producers, many of whom are making very interesting wines. Marks is [...]