Champagne can be charming but why not look for Australian sparkling wines this year. Pexels

In the immortal lyrics of the 1983 Class Action disco anthem Weekend (Larry Levan mix specifically), the chorus – “Tonight it’s party time, it’s party time tonight” – sets the tone for long, balmy nights of celebration.

As the sun dips and the summer heat soaks in, there’s a good chance you’ll be inviting people over, cranking the Sonos, and cracking open a few bottles of something fun to get the party started. And once the playlist is sorted (you can thank us later for the tune recommendation above), what to pop in the ice tub to keep everyone refreshed and show that you are actually the life and soul of the party? Here are a few local Aussie suggestions to keep the energy flowing once the sun goes down and the sequins come out.

Wines that sparkle throughout the night

Champagne can be charming but why not look for Australian sparkling wines this year for their complexity and incredible value? We’re seeing many interesting styles across the market, including sparkling wines either vinified in tank or made from varieties other than chardonnay and pinot; look to these for fresh citrus acidity balanced with creaminess from ageing on lees in tank, or spiced fruitcake opulence from sparkling shiraz. The ‘traditional method’ wines below have had many years ageing in their own bottles on lees to create complexity, texture and layers of flavour, and are some of the most impressive and special sparkling wines on the market today.

Fun styles

• Marri Wood Park Sparkling Chenin Blanc Vintage 2020
• Radenti Grand Vintage Sparkling 2016
• Langmeil Stelle Nere Sparkling Shiraz NV

Traditional method

• Yering Station Yarrabank Cuvée 2020
• Printhie Swift Rosé Brut NV
• Krinklewood Broke Fordwich Blanc de Blancs 2022
• House of Arras Grand Vintage 2017
• Marri Wood Park Sparkling Chenin Blanc Vintage 2020

Disco whites

For something a little different, it’s worth diving into the new wave of vibrant alternative white varieties turning heads this summer: fiano, vermentino, albariño and assyrtiko offer fresh, zesty flavours that bring energy and personality to the glass, while textural chenin blanc and this saline, oyster-shell take on pinot grigio adds depth and intrigue. Wrap your lips around falanghina if you dare, with its aromas of apple, peach and white florals, aided by green-almond notes and chalky acidity—you’ll never look back! Some of these wines are all citrus and lift, while others carry a savoury, saline edge that keeps you coming back for another sip. Bright and vibrant, they’re the perfect way to keep things interesting as the night warms up.

• Jim Barry Assyrtiko 2024
• Teusner Lucius Fiano 2025
• The Little Wine Company Vermentino 2025
• Oliver’s Taranga Vineyards Falanghina 2024
• MMAD Vineyard Blewitt Springs Chenin Blanc 2024
• Quealy Feri Maris Single Block Pinot Grigio 2025

Skinsy delights

Skin contact white wines are almost their own category in between white wine and rosé—a Goldilocks genre of whites that don’t taste like it, not quite rosé, but made like red wine but definitely aren’t red… they have their own mystique of deeper orange/amber colours (hence the moniker of orange or amber wines), often unfiltered and cloudy, super-aromatic with floral aromas and often featuring ginger plant and dried apricot notes, and almost always have refreshing grippy tannins completing a mouth-feel you’d usually associate with red wines. Intriguing and excellent with salty foods like cured cheeses and antipasti—coincidentally just like you’d serve at a fancy gatho!

• Renzaglia Central Ranges Pinot Gris 2024
• Vinea Marson #14 Friulano 2022
• Ravensworth Grüner Veltliner 2023
• Usher Tinkler Death By Semillon 2024

Rosé all day (and night)

Rosé was made for warm nights: fresh, easy to drink and full of personality. Provence has driven the recent pale-hued revolution, so you’ll find delicate rose-coloured local versions made with grenache and cinsault bringing bright strawberry-and-cream fruit and crisp acidity, while nebbiolo-based rosés add subtle cherry aromas with delicate tannin and a hint of spice. Deeper mataro or shiraz-based styles offer darker fruit, spice and a subtle mineral edge. These wines are lively and quaffable rather than fruity or sweet, and have enough texture and lift to make them a serious drink. Modern deeper-coloured rosés tend to be more textural and complex rather than sweet, and with savoury spice are excellent matches for richer, meatier foods. Serve all well chilled and enjoy as the night gets going.

• Turkey Flat Vineyards Rosé Grenache 2025
• Protero Rose111 Nebbiolo Rosé 2025
• Glandore Rosé 2024
• Hare’s Chase Mataro Rosé 2024
• Dominique Portet Single Vineyard Rosé 2024
• Eastern Peake Taché Pinot Noir 2023

Light and bright reds for the ice bucket

Reds for warm nights are all about balance: structured enough to be interesting, yet fresh and lively enough to enjoy chilled. In Australia, red wines are often served too warm, so pop your bottles in the fridge for 20 minutes or dunk them into an ice bath for five to bring out their freshness. For parties look for fruit-focused styles with little (or no) oak, as heavy cedary tannins can feel raspy when cool.

Grenache (AKA garnacha or cannonau) bursts with cherry and red-berry juiciness, pinot noir brings bright strawberry and subtle spice, and gamay presents as raspberry conserve with gentle floral aromas and often aromatic whole-bunch stem notes. Australia is also producing a whole smorgasbord of other Euro-influenced red wines, whether plummy, spiced montepulciano or juicy cross-style shiraz-pinot blends. Full of flavour but lightly chilled, these reds are a great choice for sunset celebrations and backyard dance floors—approachable for a crowd, but still engaging for wine lovers.

• Stargazer Kura 2023
• Wickhams Road Yarra Valley Pinot Noir 2025
• Linear Gamay 2024
• S.C. Pannell Basso Garnacha 2023
• Mercer Wines Montepulciano 2023

Whatever the style, the key is fresh, vibrant and approachable wines that get people talking and glasses clinking. From crisp and fragrant whites to expressive rosés, sparkling bubbles that set the tone, adventurous skin-contact orange wines, and lively, fruit-forward reds, there’s plenty to explore this season. Don’t be afraid to try something new—whether it’s an unfamiliar grape or a bold stylistic twist, these wines bring energy, flavour and fun to any gathering. Choose wines that can be lightly chilled or popped straight into the ice tub when you arrive, so every pour hits its best note. With a mix like this on hand, all that’s left is to pop, pour and let the party take over. Cheers!

Piper-Heidsieck’s chef de cave Emilien Boutillat. Champagne Piper-Heidsieck

When Emilien Boutillat, Piper-Heidsieck’s dynamic chef de cave, came to town with the latest Hors Série creation, everyone was anticipating bubbles. Why wouldn’t you if the chef de cave was in town to show off the latest wine? But the main man had a surprise up his sleeve, as it were, and, as the name implies, he came up with something radical.

The debut 1971 Hors Série set the tone, followed by the 1982 vintage—a prestigious and nostalgic nod to the house’s heritage. For Boutillat, who joined Piper-Heidsieck in 2018 and was not yet born when those early editions were released, the desire to mark the collection with his own personal stamp was irresistible. The third Hors Série instalment involves thinking outside the box: not just a still, dry white wine but a still white made from black grapes, pinot noir to be precise.

Historically, Piper-Heidsieck once dabbled in still wines, producing a Vin Tranquille de Champagne made from pinot noir. Such wines were not unheard of; in the 1960s and 1970s, with Laurent-Perrier leading the charge with similar styles. Fast forward to 2024, and Piper-Heidsieck’s latest twist sees the return of this category under its official appellation: Coteaux Champenois.

Coteaux Champenois is an appellation introduced in 1973, officially recognising the region’s still wines. Traditionally, whites were chardonnay, reds pinot noir. At first glance, Boutillat’s interpretation seems counter-intuitive. Yet as he explained, it couldn’t be more logical. Blanc de Noir champagnes are central to Piper-Heidsieck’s identity, so creating a still version extends a house signature rather than contradicting it.

The idea germinated in 2019, as climate change began shifting ripeness levels in Champagne’s vineyards. Grapes once too tart for still wines were now achieving unprecedented balance. For Boutillat, the message was clear: adapt and innovate. Two small vineyard parcels—each only about one hectare—were chosen for this experiment. In Aÿ, the north-east facing Chauffour parcel, planted in 2004, provided a cooler, crisp profile. In Ambonnay, Champs Seaux, planted in 2010 on southwest slopes, promised depth and richness.

Pruning was adjusted to enhance concentration. Trial wines from 2021 didn’t meet expectations—so they were never released. Then came 2022: a ‘wonderful vintage,’ according to Boutillat. The grapes achieved perfect ripeness, balancing vibrancy with finesse.

Harvested by hand in small crates to maximise the terroir element, the pinot noir was pressed in a traditional Coquard press. Only the tête de cuvée—the first and finest fraction of juice—was used, representing roughly 25% of the total. Vinification was carried out in stainless steel with full malolactic fermentation, although the malic acid was low in 2022, and the wines, after resting on fine lees for a year, were bottled under screwcap and aged another year before release.

Piper-Heidsieck Hors-Série Coteaux Champenois Ambonnay Blanc de Noir. Anthony Rose

The result is wines which you would be hard to place blind for a variety of reasons. They challenge tasters to locate them geographically. Still white wines made from pinot noir are rare enough; from Champagne, they’re few and far between. Only 3,000 bottles of each cuvée exist, intended for discerning markets in the US, UK, France, Italy, Austria, Australia and Japan. Boutillat predicts graceful evolution over time, with hints of toastiness developing as they age.

This may not be an every-vintage occurrence, but Piper-Heidsieck’s long-term goal is clear—to establish Coteaux Champenois as a permanent pillar of the house portfolio. With changing climates and growing expertise, still wines from Champagne could soon move from curios to mainstream expressions.

To dismiss the new Hors Série as a publicity stunt would miss the larger point. Coteaux Champenois isn’t likely to threaten Champagne bubbles—or Burgundy’s dominance—any time soon. But as the climate inexorably changes, the region’s still wines are fast gaining both viability and allure and this bold venture captures a glimpse of an evolving identity for the Champagne region.

Semillon has a wonderful track-record of ageing gracefully. Made in Pokolbin

Highly aromatic versus less aromatic.

Sauvignon blanc is a highly aromatic grape variety whose fragrance is a major part of its appeal. (Talking only of the young—and unwooded—wine in both cases for now.) Semillon is less fragrant, a bit like garganega in Soave, it is a sotto voce wine and by virtue of this, is very adaptable with food and with drinking situations: it doesn’t compete with the food on your plate, and it doesn’t demand attention.

We might even observe that semillon is a more serious wine because it depends more on the palate than the nose: drinkers who are captivated by the aromatics will easily fall for sauvignon blanc but those who value the structure and feel of the wine in the mouth may punt for semillon. A member of the semillon fan club might suggest that sauvignon blanc is like a person with heavy make-up, initially captivating but maybe disappointing on closer acquaintance, where semillon is less showy but ultimately more satisfying!

Sweetness is a factor

Marlborough sauvignon blanc is often quite sweet, which is part of its very wide appeal—which crosses all boundaries, national and otherwise. Semillon is usually made dry or near-dry. It’s an old cliché but one that holds true: residual sugar can hide imperfections such as lack of fruit/flavour intensity, but in a dry wine ‘there’s nowhere to hide’. At the risk of sounding like some kind of elitist, its dryness tends to cement its appeal with serious wine lovers, whereas sweetness enables wines to appeal to less discriminating drinkers.

The aroma bases are different

Sauvignon blanc, whether grown in the Upper Loire Valley (Sancerre, Pouilly-Fumé and other appellations), Marlborough, the Adelaide Hills or South Africa’s Cape, has intense tropical fruit aromas when ripe, suggesting passionfruit, feijoa, guava, kiwifruit, but also citrus fruits (lemon, lime, Cape gooseberry, yuzu, fingerlime). Semillon on the other hand tends to be less pungent and more limited in its range of aromas: lemon is the dominant note, but also lime, lemongrass and green apple.

The herbaceous aromas (snow-pea, pea-shoot, cut grass, green capsicum) for which some sauvignon blanc (and semillon) is known are a symptom of underripe grapes. That’s not to say a subtle note of these can’t be attractive as part of a bouquet.

Semillon grown in the Hunter Valley can be physiologically ripe at very low Baumé (sugar ripeness) and in successful seasons and good vineyards it doesn’t display the greener aromas. Local winemakers frown upon those nuances. In Margaret River and other places semillon often smells and tastes green and underripe, sometimes even at quite high degrees of sugar ripeness. This suggests either the wrong clone, an unsuitable site, or over-cropping. The unique suitability of the Hunter for semillon is that the grapes can be flavour-ripe at low Baumé (and therefore low alcohol. 10 to 11.5% is the normal range).

Oak compatibility

The opinions that follow are mine, and not everyone will agree!

Neither semillon nor sauvignon blanc taste good when green and underripe, and that lack of appeal is exacerbated when the wine is fermented or aged in oak barrels. The taste (and scent) of oak is a very unhappy marriage with the smell (and taste) of vegetal/green fruit.

However, some of the greatest dry white wines in the world are produced from these grape varieties fermented and aged in oak. Think of the famous Graves and other dry whites of Bordeaux: Pavillon Blanc de Château Margaux, Domaine de Chevalier Blanc, Smith-Haut-Lafitte Blanc, etc. And closer to home: Cullen Grace Madeline, Moss Wood Ribbon Vale Elsa Sauvignon Blanc, Mount Mary Triolet, Domaine A Lady A, and more. The difference here is the grapes were grown in a suitable place, the vines were mature and the fruit was fully ripe. Any white grape will produce a green-tasting wine if the fruit is harvested underripe. There is nothing clever or appealing about that.

There are more successful examples of wooded sauvignon blanc than semillon: indeed, it is hard to think of a single one. There are a few semillons where a (usually) small proportion of oak fermented wine can work well, but it has to be very subtle. Rockford, Alkina and Château Tanunda in the Barossa do this well.

Murray Tyrrell was a great hater of wooded Hunter semillon and he was probably right!

Ageing potential

Semillon has a wonderful track-record of ageing gracefully and transforming into something quite different but seriously compelling during many years of bottle-ageing. Sauvignon blanc on the other hand doesn’t usually reward cellaring, but there are notable exceptions. Those barrel fermented versions mentioned above, for a start. The famous dry whites of Bordeaux can be very long lived. Ripeness and flavour concentration are factors: thin, dilute wines never age well. Neither do excessively green, herbaceous wines.

Dry, unwooded, low-alcohol Hunter semillon is again an exception: it is one of the best dry whites in the world for ageing.

Most Marlborough sauvignon blanc is best young, but I have tasted a vertical of Cloudy Bay that showed they age surprisingly well. But whether they change in a way that justifies their cellaring is another question altogether.

Aerial view of Pierro Wines in Margaret River. Pierro Wines

A fellow named Aristotle once opined that “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts”. Now, this could well be the philosophy at the heart of the very reason for semillon and sauvignon blanc blends. Like Bogey and Bacall, Torvill and Dean and ‘The Woodies’ (Australian tennis doubles partners), some things just work better when they’re paired up.

Semillon and sauvignon blanc flying solo produce outstanding wines, think great aged Hunter semillon and the fabulously punchy and aromatic sauvignon blancs of Marlborough, but what’s the raison d’etre for bringing these two varieties together?

Semillon and sauvignon blanc have been cultivated in Bordeaux, France since before the 1500s and they are the key components in both dry and sweet white wines of the region. The most sought-after and collectible examples include Château Haut-Brion Blanc among the dry whites and Château d’Yquem on the sweet white front.

Typically, semillon brings richness, a lemony, waxy texture, and ageing potential, whilst sauvignon blanc brings acidity, citrus, and a level of herbaceousness to the table, the two together creating a balanced, textural and complex profile.

In Australia in the 1960s, agronomist Dr John Gladstones classified Margaret River as a ‘Bordeaux-like’ region, and encouraged the planting of semillon and sauvignon blanc.

Margaret River has been at the forefront of the style in Australia. Dr Mike Peterkin is credited with producing the first semillon–sauvignon blanc blend in Margaret River in 1979 while making wine for Kevin and Di Cullen. This wine was labelled and sold as a semillon sauvignon blanc and won a trophy at the Perth Royal Show for best full-bodied dry white. Fast forward over four decades and the current iteration of this style is the Cullen Grace Madeline Sauvignon Blanc Semillon 2024, a wine that derives its mouth-feel and complexity from oak, with a lovely drive of creaminess and nuttiness.

Peterkin established his own winery Pierro in 1980, dedicating a third of the vineyard to semillon and sauvignon blanc. His Pierro LTC Semillon Sauvignon Blanc 2023 is a nod to his early accomplishments with the varieties, but some years back he began adding a little touch of chardonnay (LTC) to bring a touch more weight and texture to the blend.

Evans & Tate likewise were another Margaret River pioneer of the style. In 1987, Evans & Tate released the first vintage of their Margaret River Classic, a semillon sauvignon blanc blend, which became a best-seller and helped popularise the style across Australia.

Margaret River stalwart Lenton Brae also began producing semillon sauvignon blanc in 1987 and has consistently produced a wine of great character that absolutely displays its sense of place. The Lenton Brae Semillon Sauvignon Blanc 2024 beautifully combines the two varieties to produce a wine that has plenty of citrus drive, along with a lifted herbaceousness and perky, saline acidity.

In the mid 1980s across the country in the Yarra Valley, Dr John Middleton at Mount Mary was making a wine in a homage to the white wines of Graves in Bordeaux. Mount Mary Triolet was first produced in 1987, blending sauvignon blanc, semillon and muscadelle to produce a wine of power, complexity and real ageability. The latest version of Mount Mary Triolet 2022 is a wonderfully complex wine, elements of barrel ageing and time on lees doing wondrous things with the lemony, nettly fruit.

And just to show that there is some versatility with these varieties and that it’s not just about the glamour regions, De Bortoli produces a great value for money example from the Riverina. The De Bortoli Sacred Hill Semillon Sauvignon Blanc 2024 is all light and crunchy, with a decent lick of acidity that keeps the ripe and sweet tropical fruits in check. And at only $9 a bottle you can’t go wrong.

Semillon and sauvignon blanc are two bedfellows (or should that be blendfellows?) that really do get the best out of each other. That Aristotle fellow may have been onto something.

The very best sauvignon blancs will hit their stride between five and eight years from vintage. Château Bauduc

Welcome to Sauvignon and Sémillon week! This week, we celebrate all things related to sauvignon blanc and sémillon.

One of the most often-asked questions I get is whether there is any point in cellaring New Zealand sauvignon blanc or if the wine is best drunk fresh and young. The answer, as you can imagine, is not straightforward and like many things, “… it depends”. So let’s discuss it in more detail and hopefully, by the end of this, you’ll be better informed to make delicious decisions with sauvignon blanc (and sémillon, where appropriate).

First of all, there is plenty of ‘prior art’ and evidence of sauvignon’s ageability: one need look no further than the spiritual home of the variety in Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé to see examples which often taste better with a year or two in bottle and the best of which easily continue developing complexity for a decade or more. Likewise with white Bordeaux, especially in the Graves with the classified growths of Pessac-Léognan (for dry wine) or the ravishing Sauternes and Barsac sweet wines (let’s leave those aside for our purposes today).

Now, it should seem relatively logical to expect that the wines which are fermented or aged in oak would have ageability built in. The easy explanation for this is that winemakers tend to select more intensely flavoursome or structured parcels of fruit into a barrel-aged program as they stand to benefit from the extra ageing and complexity before bottling. But in some rare instances, the oak can overpower the fruit, especially in less concentrated years, so although this correlation between aged and age-ability generally holds, it is not a given.

Likewise, though most sauvignon blanc aged in stainless steel – especially for a short period before bottling –is designed for immediate drinking, there are examples of purely stainless-steel sauvignons which can develop. It all comes down to the structure, fruit intensity, concentration. depth and stability of flavour which ultimately determines whether a wine will remain balanced and interesting as the primary flavours slowly change, or whether they rapidly turn mature and/or fall over.

To better understand the change which comes with bottle age, it is actually helpful to examine what undesirable things can happen with aged sauvignon blanc. The first which comes to mind is the dreaded canned asparagus and boiled peas flavour which can occur during ageing when very grassy methoxypyrazines and volatile sulfur compounds cross a threshold of perception together. In most cases, when this happens, it is difficult to enjoy and the wine is deemed to have ‘gone over the hill’. Wines which can keep these flavours under control while emphasising other flavours tend to taste more balanced and maintain aromatic interest. Sometimes, some subtle, flinty or reductive notes can add minerality to the wine as its fruit becomes less intense.

Wines aged in oak will take on some of the same development characteristics of other white wines aged in oak, such as nutty, smoky and spicy notes as well as the palate structure which comes from the additional tannins from the oak. The unspoken thing is that generally, wines which are cropped at high yields do not lend themselves to the sort of balance and concentration which suits ageing, so conversely, low-yielding vines (such as those which are dry-grown or from lower-yielding regions) will withstand the ageing process better.

And when we talk about age-ability what kind of timeframes are we talking about? Most of the very fruity and aromatic sauvignons will move out of that stage within the course of a year and for those wines, the flush of youthful exuberance is their ultimate expression. These would fall into the ‘drink now’ camp. The more restrained and concentrated examples of sauvignon blanc will hit their peak of complexity between two and four years of age while fruit is still a feature, as long as they can stave off the ‘asparagus’ stage.

The very best (often long lees-aged and/or partly/fully in oak) will hit their stride between five and eight years from vintage, after which it will come down to sheer concentration and the combination of structural elements (phenolics, tannins, acidity) to determine how long they keep at that apogée before fading. It is rare, but I have had 100% sauvignon blanc wines which are still elegantly balanced with some freshness and great complexity at 20 to 25 years old so it is definitely possible for the variety.

Note that I have consciously avoided saying that these wines need or should be cellared, as it can come down to personal preference. Some drinkers will absolutely prefer the freshness, vibrancy and fruit-forward appeal of a young sauvignon blanc; others may prefer the most savoury, textural complexity which comes when the intense primary flavours recede and give way to lees-enriched creaminess, subtle nutty notes or emergent minerality. Of course, one could like both and enjoy the wine across a broad range of maturity.

For those of you wanting to try what aged New Zealand sauvignon blanc tastes like, take a look at our recent reviews – some wineries release their wines with bottle age built in so you can ‘short cut’ the process and decide if you like the taste before committing to ageing sauvignon blanc yourself. Thankfully, most sauvignon blanc in New Zealand, even those which can develop in bottle, are still relatively affordable!

Margaret River has great success with its blends of sauvignon blanc and semillon. Margaret River Wine Association

Australia has a great appetite for sauvignon blanc. Sauvignon blanc accounts for one in every eight bottles of wine purchased in the Australian off-trade (retail) market, according to Wine Australia. Most of it comes across ‘The Ditch’ from New Zealand.

It surprises many people that despite our thirst for the Kiwi product, Australian sauvignon blanc is also quite a big item: it’s the second-most widely grown white grape after chardonnay.

Australia has 6,097 hectares of sauvignon blanc (2025 Wine Australia figures). There are 21,442 ha of chardonnay. Third on the list is semillon with 4,569 ha* and fourth is pinot gris/grigio, with 3,731 ha.

The sauvignon blanc number pales in comparison to New Zealand’s 29,000 ha, though.

Sauvignon blanc is 4.5% of the total area of grapevines planted in Australia, or 12.6% of the white vines. The planted area more than doubled in the decade between 2001 and 2010.

In 2025, 115,110 tonnes were processed for wine, which was 15.8% of the white grape crush. When compared with the area planted, this tells us that yields per hectare are higher for sauvignon blanc than the average.

Where is it grown? Pretty well every region grows some sauvignon blanc, but the biggest are the inland irrigation areas—the Riverland, Murray-Darling and Riverina, with 77% of the vines. Margaret River has just 5%. That leaves just 18% for all the other regions.

Margaret River and Adelaide Hills are the two most prominent regions for high-quality sauvignon blanc varietal table wines. Other notable high-quality sources are Orange, Tasmania, King Valley and Yarra Valley. Sauvignon blanc (or simply sauvignon as it’s known in France, the biggest producing country) is a cool-climate variety, although like all grape varieties it can be grown in a range of climates, but only produces wine of distinctive character reliably when grown in cooler places.

How do Aussie savvies taste compared to the Kiwis?

I would say New Zealand, especially Marlborough, has cornered the market for highly aromatic fruit-driven sauvignon blanc, often slightly sweet. It’s the intensity of fruit and immediate drinkability that have made it a big hit on the world stage.

Australia has produced few wines that match the Marlborough style. Even Tasmania, which is on exactly the same latitude as Marlborough, seldom if ever makes wine that tastes like Marlborough. Put that down to terroir.

Our wines are generally less lifted in their fruit, less fragrant, less pungent if you like, but can still be very varietal, especially in the colder climes. They also tend to be a little drier, more savoury.

Of course I’m generalising: there are many wines in Marlborough that don’t conform to the stereotype, and there are plenty of examples of complex, barrel-fermented, more ‘worked’ sauvignons in both countries. These wines aim for complexity and texture; to do more with the grape than capture simple fruitiness.

Semillon is a footnote to the discussion, as so little is grown to be marketed as a varietal wine compared to sauvignon. As a stand-alone, it’s a relatively minor grape in Australia and is even less visible in New Zealand.

Semillon is very selective as to places where it produces great wine. Australia’s Hunter Valley is head and shoulders above the rest. It has the unique combination of soil, climate, and other influences (not to mention the history of human experience with semillon) that gets the best out of the semillon grape. The Barossa and Clare Valleys make some excellent wines of a fuller style.

Western Australia, especially Margaret River, has great success with its blends of sauvignon blanc and semillon, but is less successful with stand-alone semillon.

More than half Australia’s semillon is grown in the Riverina, where it is used as an inexpensive bulk blending variety, but also in the region’s one and only luxury product: sweet botrytis-affected semillon, spearheaded by De Bortoli’s Noble One.

There is an argument that sales of Australian dry white varietal semillon fell off a cliff when the New Zealand ‘savalanche’ got going. Once-famous Barossa semillons such as Peter Lehmann and Basedow, which used to sell hundreds of thousands of cases a year, are now non-existent. The theory goes that Barossa semillon drinkers dropped these wines and switched to Marlborough savvy. This may not seem like a logical case of substitution, but could just be true.

*There are more planted hectares of semillon than pinot gris but more PG was crushed than semillon in 2025.

Stephen Pannell of S.C. Pannell Wines. Julian Cebo for S.C. Pannell Wines

Are you also irritated by portmanteaus? Prequel, glamping, Juneteenth, biopic, bromance, Brexit, romcom, webinar, listicle, mansplain, threepeat.

What’s the matter? Have we got so busy we can no longer spare the time to utter two words to describe something? Grenaissance is a new one. It’s the renaissance of grenache. But grenache never had a time in the sun, so how can it have a revival?

I digress. If I didn’t have the utmost respect for the three McLaren Vale winemakers who came to Sydney peddling the Grenaissance, I’d be tempted to make fun of it. (If three Rutherglen muscat makers did this they’d be the Three Muscateers, of course, but Grenadiers doesn’t quite work.)

Stephen Pannell of S.C. Pannell, Peter Fraser* of Yangarra, and David Gleave of Willunga 100 are the three chaps, who have been doing a series of presentations to the wine trade and media, promoting their grenache wines.

Those of us who have tasted their wines needed no convincing: they’re making outstanding grenache. Fraser holds the record for the highest priced grenache in the region, with his Yangarra High Sands (AUD $300). Pannell is pressing hard, this year releasing an AUD $250 grenache, the Sunrise 99, which is by some margin the dearest grenache he’s released to date. It’s from a special patch of his Little Branch vineyard which had its 99th crop in 2022.

Gleave is coming up fast on the inside rail: he is a relative newby to selling McLaren Vale grenache but his wines are making up for lost time, winning plaudits from writers as well as medals and trophies in the shows. Willunga 100’s 2023 grenache ‘normale’ won three trophies—for the best grenache, best red wine and best wine of show—at Canberra’s National Wine Show 2025 (the ’23 Trott Vineyard also went gold). And the 2024 Trott Vineyard won two trophies at the 2025 Sydney Royal Wine Show: best grenache and best small producer wine. Unlike the other two grenadiers, Willunga 100 is using the show system as a key part of its marketing effort.

Flagship wines may be expensive, but a key message of the Grenaissance events is that most grenache is very affordable: each of the three has plenty of affordable grenache that is excellent. Willunga 100’s ‘normale’ grenache is just AUD $33, while its single vineyard bottlings are around AUD $65. Pannell’s Basso Garnacha is AUD $32; the Smart, Little Branch and Old McDonald single vineyard wines are AUD $85. Yangarra’s Old Vine Grenache is AUD $50, the Ovitelli and Hickinbotham bottlings are both AUD $80.

The three ‘calling cards’, as Gleave called the entry-level grenaches, are all from the prized Blewitt Springs subregion, and all are grown on old vines (50+ years old), which are all unirrigated.

Perhaps to soften up the audience and get them to ponder the idea of medium-bodied red wine, the first bracket of blind wines they poured were their three entry-level grenaches, alongside three medium-bodied wines from other regions and other grape varieties which they admire. The audience was asked to pick which were the grenaches. A few might have come close but most, I’d wager, had little clue. The wines all had a lovely mineral savouriness, good powdery drying tannins and were not overtly fruity. They had this in common with the grenaches. They were ultimately revealed as Isole e Olena Chianti Classico 2022, Giant Steps Yarra Valley Pinot Noir 2024 and G.D. Vajra Langhe Nebbiolo 2024.

Pannell’s point was well made: they all have plenty of good tannins, and tannin is very important in light-bodied red wines as it helps with their ability to go with food. He might have added that in Australia we accept tannin as an important part of full bodied reds but we are a bit scared of it in lighter reds. Needlessly.

There was a lot more good copy that came out of the Grenaissance event, including some background on grenache in the Vale, but I will save that for the week commencing December 8.

Postscript

We at The Real Review were shocked and saddened to hear of the death of Pete Fraser, Yangarra’s champion winemaker and a champion bloke, in a fire at his home in Clarendon, South Australia, on Thursday. Pete was just 51 and had the world at his feet. He was at the top of his game and had been hailed by all and sundry as one of our greatest winemakers, specialising in McLaren Vale grenache and other Rhône varieties.

Just two weeks ago I sat beside him at lunch after he’d presented a tasting of all 15 vintages of his wonderful High Sands Grenache, and I will always cherish the memory.

We and the entire Australian wine industry will miss him dearly, and our sympathies go out to his family.

The Craggy Range Te Muna Road Vineyard in Martinborough. Craggy Range Wines

Jane Skilton MW and I were recently fortunate to be given a rare opportunity to taste, study and discuss every released vintage of Craggy Range’s iconic Aroha Pinot Noir, as well as a sneak preview of the unreleased 2024. The tasting took place at Craggy Range’s Te Muna Vineyard on September 26.

Chief winemaker Ben Tombs had generously organised the tasting and brought the wines down with him to Martinborough from Hawke’s Bay the evening prior, when we also had an opportunity to see the 2012 Aroha with dinner. That was the vintage which kicked off the idea of this vertical tasting. Jane, while judging in China, had taken a bottle of 2012 with her and it generated interesting threads of conversation.

We tasted the wines from oldest to youngest, starting with the 2006 and finishing with Ben’s unreleased 2024. There was one year missing from the lineup (2010) which was not made, and unfortunately, one of the bottles under cork (2011) was affected by TCA (cork taint) enough to mute the wine’s expression, making it difficult to assess.

To help with the process of understanding these wines, Ben had very kindly brought along deep technical details about the weather, growing degree days, precipitation, and deeper notes about the temperatures and seasonal patterns for each vintage. From a winemaking perspective, he had the vineyard block breakdowns and clonal composition along with all the other relevant enological details such as whole bunch use, new oak and length of élevage.

From my perspective, I saw distinct patterns which mapped with reasonable accuracy to both vintage conditions and winemaker input—keeping in mind that Aroha had five hands-on winemakers across the 18 wines we tasted. Adrian Baker made 2006-2008; Rod Easthope 2009-2011; Matt Stafford 2012-2018; Julian Grounds 2019-2023 and Ben Tombs from 2024 onwards. It is also worth remembering that Steve Smith MW was in charge of Craggy Range from its inception until the 2015 vintage, so he would have been an influence on all of those vintages.

The Te Muna Road Vineyard itself has been Craggy Range’s Martinborough home since plantings began in 1999, eventually growing into a 250 ha mosaic before the company added another vineyard further along Te Muna Road when they purchased the 132 ha Donald family farm in 2018.

The pinot noir on Te Muna Road Vineyard is planted on the upper terrace and specifically for Aroha, the focus narrows to Blocks 9, 10, 16, and 19, all planted in 2000. Block 19 is planted with Abel, and the rest are a mix of Dijon clones (114, 115, 667). The pinot noir blocks have seen organic viticulture trials and with this current season (ie. for the 2026 vintage) it will be managed organically and commence certification. The tasting revealed how decisively these clonal sources shape the wine’s personality.

For me, the fruit from Dijon-dominant blocks leads Te Aroha towards what I see as its signature perfumed, crystalline quality: red cherry, rose petal, and a transparency. The Abel-influenced vintages, on the other hand, add notable architecture: chalky tannins, savoury depth, and perhaps the grip necessary for extended aging. When harmoniously blended, as in the benchmark 2019, the result is both immediate and enduring.

Throughout my analysis of the wines, I found the following arcs and trends. The wine began as an oak-forward, extracted pinot (2006-2008) with aggressive extraction; often 6 punch-downs a day with shorter elevage and more noticeable oak flavours despite the actual percentage of new oak not changing much across the vertical (2018 being the exception). The style noticeably shifted towards a more spicy and brooding structure with the 2009 – coincidentally the first vintage with influence from Abel which debuts at a whopping 74% of the blend and also the highest alcohol of the vertical at 14.6%.

The next noticeable influence was the rapid rise in whole-bunch use from 5% in the 2008 progressively up to 50% in 2014, often bringing aromatic finesse. Whole-bunch inclusion leapt up to 63% with Julian Grounds’ first vintage, which was also the last vintage in the Abel-influenced run, uninterrupted since 2013.

The 2019-2021 years were El Niño vintages whereas 2022 and 2023 are famously La Niña and quite challenging. Julian’s era also saw further reduction in mechanical extraction, opting for gentler pump-overs in lieu of frequent punch-downs. This helped preserve the delicate expressions from the rainy years of 2022 and 2023, giving them structural elegance and grace to accompany the more precocious fruit.

From the very early sneak preview of the ’24 Aroha under Ben Tombs’ guidance, I noted a move towards even more restrained winemaking and terroir-forward clarity. He has reintroduced a practice which was present in the earliest wines (no fining and no filtration) as well as inclusion of some amphora trials.

It cannot be ignored that closures played a significant part in the performance of these wines. The 2006 and 2007 which we tasted were from their early screwcap trials and showed very well for their age. I have strong suspicions that bottles under cork will be more developed so those should be opened and enjoyed right away. 2008 through to 2017 were all under cork and one, the 2011, was affected by cork taint.

My quick, brief collector’s guide to Aroha:

Top wines to cellar: 2019, 2020, 2014, 2016. These were my stand-outs and Ben pointed out that I had a clear preference for El Niño and warmer vintages for the site, so do keep that in mind when taking my recommendations. If you generally have a preference for cooler years in Martinborough, then don’t follow my advice!

Mid-term propositions: 2013, 2018 and 2009. These show structure, perfume and either Abel backbone or Dijon purity combined with whole-bunch architecture.

Drink in the near term: 2006, 2007, 2008, 2012. These are either at peak or have limited further upside from extended cellaring.

Watch & decide: 2011, 2015, 2021–2023; these are good quality but variable styles, mainly due to vintage conditions. 2022 and 2023 may reward short to medium patience, depending on your palate.

Aroha’s recurring motifs of red and black fruit, game, porcini, salinity, floral lift and Abel-led spice make it a good match with roasted duck or game birds, confit leg of lamb (herb-crusted or not), charred mushrooms and umami-rich dishes. The firmer vintages (2009, 2015, 2018) can even go with gamy venison and blue-veined or mature hard cheeses. For the perfumed vintages (2019, 2014, 2024) try more delicately spiced dishes and mushroom-influenced sauces.

To recap, Aroha’s identity appears to be a tango between two competing forces: firstly, a perfume-led Dijon clarity that presents crystalline red fruit and floral lift, and secondly, the complementary Abel clone and/or whole-bunch-driven structure that yields chalky, long-lived tannins and tertiary complexity. The 2019 stands as the clearest articulation of that synthesis.

Ben Tombs’ early stewardship with the 2024 preview hints at a future where clarity and minimal intervention define Aroha as much as power and polish once did. It will be an exciting future to watch.

The Fonseca Estate. Fonseca Port

Very old fortified wines, especially Portuguese vintage port, are among the greatest wines in the world and some of my favourites, but for many years now I’ve been unable to tolerate more than a few mls without getting a blinding headache. Solution? Use the spit-bucket!

There’s no way I was going to miss the event, when two wine friends staged a port tasting at Fix Wine Bar back in July. “Winter means fortified wine weather”, is an oft-heard refrain among this crowd—usually used to justify a massive blow-out.

Respecting moderation, this one finished with just 10 wines, but what wines! (Eleven if you include the half-time palate cleanser of 2002 Taittinger Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs, from magnum.) Taylor’s and Fonseca from 1977, 1970 and 1963; Graham’s from 1970 and 1966, the ‘66 in magnum. Rarely in my experience is a Portuguese vintage port seen in magnum, and this was sublime.

There was a token Aussie in there too: a 1951 Hardy’s Show Port. Very good but not quite in the same class as the Portuguese. And to open the batting, a very rare bottle of venerable white port: Kopke 50 Year Old White Port. This was magnificent and incredibly complex: it reminded me of some of the oldest Australian ‘Old Sweet Whites’ I’ve had in the past, a style that seems to have disappeared. It was deep amber, loaded with rancio, and at this age and degree of complexity anyone would be hard pressed to guess whether it had been made from white grapes or red. Not that it matters.

Back to the main event.

All of these wines opened magnificently except one: the ’63 Taylor’s was corked. Of the other nine bottles, I rated none less than a gold ribbon (95 points) and most scored trophy points—well above 95. What is it about great vintages of Portuguese VP that excites us so?

Let’s start with the perfume, which is gorgeously redolent of red fruits, rose-petals, liquorice, aniseed, sometimes violets, becoming increasingly ethereal as the wine enters its third decade then fourth, then fifth. Not to mention sixth, even seventh!

Vintage port is one of the world’s longest living wines, its longevity guaranteed by high levels of alcohol and residual sugar.

The palate starts off bold and brash in the young wine, almost painfully intense fruit, acidity, alcohol and mouth-coating tannin, then gradually mellows as the years and decades roll by. Its texture softens, its tannins become gentler as a result of polymerisation, its alcohols and acids get involved in an esterification process which results in chemical components linking up to create new aromas and flavours. The result is—to borrow an expression beloved of a dear friend—swoony.

The Graham’s 1966 and Taittinger Comte 2002. Huon Hooke

How did the three great Port houses fare, compared to each other?

Taylor’s and Fonseca share the same owner and are often cited as the two greatest, at least for vintage ports. Inevitably, they are often compared.

The three vintages we compared showed Fonseca as the most impressive, a touch more power and stuffing, the Taylor’s more refined perhaps and a shade lighter, both beautiful, and it comes down to subjective preference whether you rate one above the other. I came down on the side of Fonseca (although it must be acknowledged that the cork-tainted ’63 Taylor’s made it an unfair fight).

The two Graham’s wines were not left behind. I’ve had better bottles of the ’70 but the ’66 from magnum was one of the wines of the night. Simply wonderful, and most probably would have been fresher than the same wine from a 750ml bottle.

The other 99-pointer was the ’63 Fonseca.

“An extraordinary wine of great intensity, power and muscle, and incredible length. A great wine, and just as impressive as a previous bottle I tasted 12 years ago.”

Late in the evening the spittoon was brimming and I went home reasonably sober. No headache, just wonderful memories.

The tasting gave Patrick Schmitt MW a sense of what’s coming the consumer’s way over the next few months. Pexels

In partnership with The Drinks Business.

Today’s champagnes may be more expensive, but they’re also riper, richer, more complex and just plain better, reports Patrick Schmitt MW.

Many would say it’s a privileged position—and Patrick Schmitt MW would have to agree. Patrick is talking about his chairing the Champagne Masters, which is 2025’s first major, comprehensive blind tasting competition for this fabled French region in the UK. As a result, it means that, by March this year, he’d tasted a generous array of the latest and impending releases from Champagne, giving him a sense of what’s coming the consumer’s way over the next few months.

With that in mind, Patrick has not only picked out the best performers from this year’s competition to provide an overview of the judges’ favourites from 2025—which you can see in full in The Drinks Business 2025 Champagne Report—but also outlined what he thinks are the key trends in champagne style right now (which you can read here). Meanwhile, please scroll down to see all the medallists from this year’s competition, which are listed by style, as well as to find out more about the tasting, including the judges who took part this year.

Non-vintage

Vintage

Prestige Cuvée

Blanc de Blancs

Blanc de Noirs

Rosé

Comments from co-chairs of the Champagne Masters

Jonathan Pedley MW

“We had three star categories: blanc de blancs, vintage and prestige cuvée. The majority of our gold medals and our three ‘masters’ came from these groups. As the individual notes show, there were some glorious wines here. Perhaps more than in any previous edition of the Champagne Masters, I was struck by the big step up in quality between most of the non-vintage wines and the vintage/prestige cuvée bottlings.

“On this showing, I guess that we have to grit our teeth, raid the piggy bank and restrict our champagne purchases to the occasional top wine for special events.”

Patricia Stefanowicz MW

“The so-called non-vintage wines were rather variable. We found a few gems but, even at higher prices, the wines do not always deliver value for money.

“Vintage champagnes were far more consistent, despite the different vintages.

“Throughout the categories, I found that many of the extra bruts were too austere—even for me, a world-class acid-freak! I was convinced in a number of cases that the wines would have benefitted from a little more dosage, or possibly more ageing on the lees?

“Our group of prestige cuvées performed very well, with the more expensive wines all getting gold medals. Gosset and Deutz were two stand-outs.

“Rosés were extremely variable, from adequate to very, very good. Our golds included Telmont, de Venoge, Penfolds-Thiénot and Deutz at £50-70, while Joseph Perrier seemed a bargain gold at under £50.”

First published in The Drinks Business. Patrick Schmitt MW (Apr 1, 2025). All the medallists from The Champagne Masters 2025.