We’ve curated 12 delicious wines from around Australia (there is a Provençal Rosé in the list, but it’s a good’un) that we think would make any Christmas table—or Christmas tree for that matter—all the better.

From Hunter Semillons to Barossa Shiraz to fortifieds from Rutherglen to a magnificent 1.5litre magnum in its own special box, this wine list is the answer to all your wine-sipping gift-giving questions.

There’s even a totally new non-alc option here that we think is going to change how we see 0% wine.

This is part of our 2023 Hint Magazine Christmas gift guide, which you can see here.

It’s an online flip-book style mag with all kinds of gift ideas—from things like this list of wine to home and beauty products to travel ideas. And you can click through and buy everything directly.

Check it out, it’s so good!

12 Wines Of Christmas

Scarborough Wines Yellow Label Chardonnay 1.5l Magnum

A bottle of Scarborough wine is a pretty good gift in anyone’s books, but when it comes in large format like a 1.5litre magnum, you’ve just achieved Christmas Favourite status. And if you want to really ramp it up, you can have the magnum arrive in a fancy wooden case as well!

Based in Pokolbin in the Hunter Valley, the lovely Scarborough family and their wines represent the heartland of fine Australian Chardonnay. Their Yellow Label is an elegant fruit-forward wine balanced with a rounded sweet nuttiness and toffee from time spent on oak.

$88.00 RRP

Briar Ridge Vineyard

Taking inspiration from the grape-growing regions of France, and set in a microclimate of the Mount View region of the Hunter Valley NSW, the Davis family at Briar Ridge Vineyard have been crafting low-yield estate-grown wine for the last 35 years.

Semillon from two separate blocks—Dairy Hill and Black Cluster—deliver iconic yet distinct flavours of this classic Hunter variety, while the winery’s best block, Briar Hill, produces award-winning Chardonnay.

Meanwhile, limited release Fiano and Albariño showcase the wine-maker’s skills, and the diversity and versatility of this unique, family-run vineyard.

2022 Single Vineyard ‘Briar Hill’ Chardonnay

Alongside the struck-match aroma characteristic of a well-made Chardonnay, this wine shows off stone fruit, a sweet nuttiness and balanced citric acidity.

$50.00 RRP

2023 Single Vineyard ‘Dairy Hill’ Semillon

Flavours of juicy pears, sharp lemons and fine mineral tones make up the profile of this bright and lively Semillon that’s delicious now, but is sure to evolve those classic yet bizarre woody notes over the next 8-12 years.

$50.00 RRP

2023 Single Vineyard ‘Black Cluster’ Semillon

Ripe citrus, sharp acidity, apple and smoky mineral flavours mark this as a seminal Hunter Semillon. Perfect for everything from seafood to cheese platters, this is a real foodie wine and will also cellar beautifully over the next 10 years.

$50.00 RRP

2023 Limited Release Fiano and 2022 Limited Release Albariño

These two classic southern European varietals are taking Australia by storm and Briar Ridge has nailed both of them. The Fiano is bright and fresh with floral and spice notes, and the Alberiño is loaded with lemon zest, grapefruit and tropical notes with texture and richness from time on lees.

$35.00 each RRP

Gérard Bertrand 2022 Cote des Rosés

They say you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but it’s hard not to be impressed by the bottle of this blushing Languedoc wine.

Decked out with everything from a crystal closure and a pink painted rose on the neck to the incredible contours of a rose on its base, this bottle is a work of art.

As for what’s inside, this Provençal rosé by renowned winemaker Gérard Bertrand is crisp, dry and light, singing with fine acidity and fresh fruit flavours, this is a wine for summer.

On the back is a QR code that takes you to a simple message system that lets you proclaim your love via the winery to the person you’re giving this bottle to. This is a wine for the true romantic.

$24.99 RRP

Innocent Bystander’s Mea Culpa Range

From the verdant valleys of the Victoria’s Yarra wine region, Innocent Bystander has been quietly crafting exquisite wine for over 100 years. In the last 15 or so, things have really gone gangbusters though, and this demure winery has had to deal with its range of successes, in particular its Pinot Noir.

Perhaps in relation to this, their Mea Culpa range—meaning ‘through my fault’—shows just how good Innocent Bystander’s wine can be.

Innocent Bystander’s Mea Culpa 2020 Pinot Noir

Winning 95 of James Halliday’s coveted Wine Companion points, this Pinot is just the thing for the judicious red wine lover. Incredible structure and layers of flavour combine with—as Halliday puts it—“a fine mosaic of tannins.” I’m sold!

$49.00 RRP

Innocent Bystander’s Mea Culpa 2020 Syrah

If, for whatever crazy reason, your red-wine loving giftee isn’t into Pinot Noir, the Mea Culpa Syrah is sure to win them over. Smooth, indulgent and rich with red fruit and berry notes, this Syrah and its richness finish with a bright spice.

$49.00 RRP

Peter Lehmann’s 2017 Stonewell Shiraz

When it comes to magnificent full-bodied bold Shiraz, there’s really only one place you need to look: the Barossa Valley. And from there, you work your way up the pyramid.

Peter Lehmann’s Shiraz have a long highly-respected history, but the final step is up to the capstone of the Stonewell Shiraz. This deep crimson-almost-black wine is rich and full-blooded. Dense with blue and black fruits, ironstone and graphite tannins, the Stonewell is a wine that will only get better (if that’s possible) with age. For any red wine drinker, this truly is a gift from the heart.

$100.00 RRP

Morris Classic Ruby Fortified Wine

For 165 years, Morris have been crafting superb wine from their Rutherglen estate in the Riverlands of northern Victoria. With a focus on fortified wine, the Morris name is synonymous with fine Australian tawny, muscat and topaque.

Morris Classic Ruby is the ideal gift or stocking filler for anyone who loves a fresh, vibrant sticky at the end of the night. Opulent and elegant enough to satisfy, yet light and agile so it’s not too rich, Classic Ruby is the perfect after-dinner drink.

$25.00 RRP

NON’s NON8 Wine Alternative

Low and no-alcohol wine is so popular at the moment, but it’s still trying to be wine and—let’s be honest—with limited success. NON have approached the 0% wine experience from different direction.

Using an incredibly wide variety of ingredients, this Australian company has crafted a range of different beverages in their laboratory in Melbourne, the latest of which is Non#8.

With a base of orchard apples from Red Hill on the Mornington Peninsula, NON have used caraway, cacao, oolong, keemun (a type of black tea), burnt sugar, ginger root, verjus and Murray River salt to bring a whole new 0% taste to the table.

$30.00 RRP

The post 12 Wines Of Christmas—which wine to fill your glass with this festive season appeared first on Mr and Mrs Romance.

Run by the Scarborough family for two generations (and counting), Scarborough Wine Co in the Hunter Valley has been crafting superb wine for over 35 years.

Christina and I first met the Scarborough family back in 2015, when they invited us to their property to get to know the brand a bit better.

Anyone who’s met the Scarboroughs will understand how we were immediately made to feel like part of the clan.

From that moment, we fell in love not only with the family and their wine, but with the Hunter Valley in general and top-level Chardonnay specifically.

Here’s more about our time there in 2015.

And until 2022, the pinnacle of their wines was the Obsessive Range, so named because of father and founder Ian ‘Scarbie’ Scarborough’s meticulous wine-making style.

Since then, however, Sally, Jerome, and Jez’s wife and brilliant viticulturist Liz Riley have developed a new premium range: Keepers of the Flame.

And with it comes a tasting experience like no other.

A quick catch-up before the main event

We meet Sally and Jerome at the secluded Cottage Vineyard, where the grapes for the Keepers of the Flame Chardonnay and also the Obsessive Semillon grow.

It’s a unique site, somehow cooler than the other vineyards that are closer to the foot of the Brokenback Mountains. And the fine sandy loam produces the exceptional fruit that Jerome and Liz knew would be perfect for this new top-of-the-line wine range.

While we’re here, the four of us relax on the veranda of the quaint cottage by the rows of vines for a bite to eat and a chat. Sally’s also brought some lunch—delicious antipasto picnic boxes from Our Italian Table in Pokolbin.

After lunch, Jerome prompts a move: “Let’s go and taste some wine,” he announces, and we all head to the Gillards Road Vineyard and the Scarborough cellar door. It was also once the family home where Jerome and Sally grew up.

What’s more, it’s here that the Keepers of the Flame wine-tasting experience happens.

Keepers of the Flame Tasting Experience

As we crunch through the gravel of the cellar door carpark, Sally excitedly tells us about their new soil pit that Jerome and Liz have recently dug. For some reason, we’re just as excited at seeing it, even though it’s literally a six-foot hole in the ground.

In the pit, Jerome takes us through the various layers of soil, substrate and mineral deposits, explaining what each layer means to the vines and how they grow in it. It’s entirely fascinating and solidifies the meaning of ‘terroir’, which until now was a kind of misty vague concept we knew linked wine with soil.

From there, we walk to the vines where Jerome and Sally talk us through the ways they use nature in their wine-making processes.

Members of Sustainable Winegrowing Australia, Scarborough Wine Co is closely focused on environmental impact and sustainability, and we learn how they’re using age-old techniques from allowing nitrogen-fixing plants to grow between the vine rows and managing the ecosystem of the vineyards to mulching vine prunings and making their own compost.

We talk irrigation, harvest timings, picking methods, pest control, grafting techniques, vine age… it’s so interesting, and Sally and Jerome are open books with all our questions.

Back at the house, we sit down to a beautifully laid table looking out over the gardens and vines of the Gillards Road Vineyard.

The tasting includes five different wines in two vertical tastings: two Obsessive Chardonnays from consecutive vintages and three Keepers of the Flame from different years too.

Vertical tastings are so experiential as you get to taste the results of time in the bottle and also see how different vintages affect the wine.

Jerome and Sally taste with us, talking us through the wines as we go and also sharing in the delicious cheese plate and bread that comes with this tasting.

As part of this amazing immersive experience that takes around an hour and a half, you’re accompanied by either Sally or one of the experts at the cellar door, and you come away knowing so much more about wine.

What’s So Special About Keepers Of The Flame?

Sally, Jerome and Liz are very excited about this new range of wine, and not just because it’s new.

They’ve developed Keepers of the Flame to be a celebration of the past and of what Scarbie’s achieved, but also a way to pass on the love of wine-making to future generations.

It’s a collaboration of their different skillsets: marketing, winemaking and viticulture.

Each year, Keepers of the Flame will be slightly different. Jerome’s not aiming for consistency—apart from the quality of course. He wants the wine to reflect the moment in time each vintage represents.

Grapes are carefully chosen for their quality and these small batches of wine are inoculated with wild yeast for a natural fermentation. From there, the careful nurturing in selected barrels results in some of the finest Chardonnays we’ve ever tasted.

On the nose, a struck match and brioche aromas are followed by citrus and white peach, and to taste, superb structure around more citrus and stone fruit. Wonderful mineral qualities come next with a silky texture and lines of oak that highlight the acidity.

From the three Keepers of the Flame vintages we try, the 2021 is the current favourite, though Jerome also gives us a taste of the brand new 2022, which might just be our new favourite. But we’ll have to come back to try that once it’s ready for release.

Book your tasting experience here directly through Scarborough Wine’s website.

We visited Scarborough Wine Co as media guests, but our experiences and opinions remain our own.

The post Uncork the Extraordinary — a world beyond wine-tasting in the Hunter Valley appeared first on Mr and Mrs Romance.

Have you ever looked along the rows of bottles in the wine shop and wondered what all the hype is about ‘old vines’?

For a long time, Christina and I thought it was just marketing—or maybe a bit of hubris from the winery.

And fair enough.

Australia has some of the oldest grapevines in the world.

Back in the 1800s, a plague of aphid-like phylloxera insects swept through Europe, killing the roots of almost all ‘noble variety’ grapevines.

Thanks to its isolation and strict quarantine rules, Australia remained all but untouched by this infestation, and vineyards here—especially in places like the Barossa Valley—have the oldest Shiraz and Cabernet vines in the world.

Not a bad USP for the marketers. But what does that mean for us, the drinkers?

Check out our other wine review stories here!

The pros and cons of old vines

Pro: From a grower’s perspective, old vines are great because they run so deep (up to six metres!) that they’re less vulnerable to things like drought, floods and frost.

Con: For a harvester, they’re a nightmare because they’re old plants and therefore quite delicate; you have to hand-pick the grapes.

Pro & Con From a winemaker’s point of view, there’s good and bad in old vines. They provide amazing consistency vintage to vintage because of their deep roots, but they don’t give up as much as younger vines. Yields gradually decrease as years go by, and less fruit means less wine to sell.

Most Importantly But for us ‘end users’, old-vine wine and all the extra effort it takes to make it should only be a positive.

Because of the low yield of old vines, the intensity of flavour increases within each grape. It’s thought that all the plant’s energy going into a small amount of fruit really amps things up.

Also, because of the longer root systems and because the vines have been growing in the same soils for decades or even centuries, wine buffs suggest the terroir of the wine is more clearly displayed.

These vines have had lots of time to develop a deep connection with the soil and the surrounding environment. This allows them to express the unique terroir of their vineyard in a way that younger vines simply can’t match.

Intensity, complexity, structure, history—these are all things we look for in great wine, but also wine that will age well when you cellar it.

Let’s put it to the test—Chateau Tanunda’s Old Vine Expressions Range

To look at the difference between old and young Shiraz and Cabernet grapes, we set two of Chateau Tanunda’s ranges against each other.

Their Old Vine Expressions Range, which uses grapes from vines that are at least 50 years old, versus the still venerable but much younger Grand Barossa line.

To give you perspective, vines will start producing fruit in about three years and are considered ‘adult’ by about age seven. Grapevines reach maturity after 12-15 years and achieve ‘old vine’ status after 35.

So 50’s pretty old.

Shiraz

Both the young Grand Barossa and the Old Vine Expressions Shiraz from Chateau Tanunda are great examples of the region’s most famous variety.

Both display the characteristic big berry, dark fruit and chocolate characters, and both have that luxuriant texture and length. But what the Old Vine Shiraz shows is something a little bit extra.

Better structure and signs of balanced acidity, more intensity in the flavours and a resonant savoury complex that holds those fruit notes up higher.

However, there’s also an extra dimension to this wine; a genteel flavour profile that mutes the big bold flavours we look for in a Barossa Shiraz. It allows you to taste the vanilla of the barrel and the light spice from the soil–elements that are often drowned in the jam and sweetness of less sophisticated wines.

Cabernet Sauvignon

As with the Shiraz, both of these Chateau Tanunda Cabernets have all the iconic stamps of the variety and region.

While the younger vines for the Grand Barossa give this wine plenty of blackberry and blackcurrant notes, fine tannins and a sharp acid line that balances the mild sweetness, the Old Vine version is a different story.

As well as the lifted berry notes you’d expect, this wine has pepper, spice, dark chocolate and firm, structured tannins that elevate it beyond the normal. There’s a savoury softness and sophistication to this wine—a subtlety and nuance that’s hard to pin down.

So is buying ‘old vine’ wine really worth it?

Answering this question isn’t a simple yes or no, just as something like ‘are old vine wines better than young vine wines?’ Isn’t an easy question. After all, using old-vine grapes doesn’t guarantee the best wine; it still has to have good quality fruit and great technique at the heart of it.

I suppose whether you invest in old vine really depends on what you want from a wine. On one hand, these Grand Barossa wines are superb quality—especially for their $25 price point.

But if you want wine that has that extra something, that difficult-to-place quality that old vine wine brings, the extra $55 spend is absolutely worth it. These wines will keep improving in the cellar for many years too.

You say ‘old vines’ but how old are we talking?

In recent years, the Barossa Valley wine region has instituted the Barossa Old Vine Charter—the only one of its kind—to classify age groups of vines:

– Barossa Old Vine: 35 years old and older
– Barossa Survivor Vine: 70 years old and older
– Barossa Centenarian Vine: 100 years old and older
– Barossa Ancestor Vine: 125 years old and older

And there are other wine regions around the world that have old vines; some that are older than ours.

Chile and Cyprus were unaffected by the phylloxera plague, and parts of Portugal, Germany and islands in Greece also dodged the bullet.

Lodi in California and Languedoc in France still have old vines too, but the oldest grape-producing vine is, surprisingly, in Slovenia. Known as ‘Stara Trta’ (creatively ‘Old Vine’) this ancient creature grows across the wall of a house in Maribor and is an astonishing 400 years old.

It still produces a small amount of Žametovka grapes each year, which are made into a wine that sounds fairly unappealing. But the vine itself is in the Guinness Book of World Records.

We were gifted all four bottles of Chateau Tanunda wine, but our opinions and experiences remain our own.

The post What’s So Special About ‘Old Vine’ Wine? appeared first on Mr and Mrs Romance.

Against popular belief, wine doesn’t have to be old to be at its best. In fact the majority of wine—red or white—is consumed within a couple of hours of being purchased.

We’ve all done that, right?

In response, wine-makers are making a lot of their wine to be at or near its best as soon as it’s sold.

With the exception of some Rieslings, Semillons and Chardonnays, which develop a whole different set of flavours after a few years, white wine tends to lose that vitality and juiciness if you keep it too long.

A bright refreshing young Chardonnay is the perfect antidote to a hot summer.

Full of citrus notes held together with oak and stone fruit, it quenches the thirst but is also interesting enough to keep you entertained.

These three Chardonnays are just the tonic to a hot day or steamy sultry evening.

Holm Oak 2022 Chardonnay

Set in the Tamar Valley and run by husband-and-wife team Bec (winemaker) and Tim (viticulturist) Duffy, Holm Oak crafts some superb wines including, as you’d expect from Tas, excellent Pinot Noirs.

This Chardonnay is the brand new release of one of Holm Oak’s most popular wines and is a superb example of a classic cold-climate Tasmanian Chardy.

For a young wine, this Chardonnay is amazingly smooth. It presents a satin oaky nose with a line of citrus that really comes to the fore when you taste.

The oakiness that you smell initially shows only briefly and to temper the citrus rather than adding a bag of butter that many people fear from Chardonnays. Crisp minerality leads through to a lovely finish that urges you to take another sip.

Lively, bright and lemony, this young Chardonnay is so refreshing. Cellaring would probably dull these citrus notes, which would be a shame.

Oakvale 2021 Chardonnay

With a history going back 130 years, Oakvale is one of the old guard of Hunter Valley wines.

Using minimal-intervention winemaking techniques and organic grapes from the winery’s local vineyard, Oakvale creates some amazing wines, though Chardonnay and Shiraz are their forte.

This young Chardonnay has fine oaky lines, with stone fruit and blossom in the aroma. This leads through to a soft creamy taste and texture.

There’s a bit of citrus to this Chardonnay, but this one’s more about delicate floral notes hiding behind gentle oak and stone fruit.

A wonderfully easy-drinking wine, this is a perfect drink-now young Chardonnay.

Scarborough 2019 Yellow Label Chardonnay

A classic Hunter Valley Chardonnay made by legends of the industry, the Scarborough Yellow Label is such a solid option for Chardy lovers.

Light oak and white peach aromas give way to the amazing structure and body of this wine as you taste. Oak comes through but so does citrus, cutting through that unctuous savoury note of wooded wine.

Creaminess from lees-ageing and spice from French oak couple with the lemon and light peach of the grapes for a great all-rounder Chardonnay.

The post Tantalising, Refreshing, Delicious—3 Aussie Chardonnays For Late Summer appeared first on Mr and Mrs Romance.

Synonymous with Australia, Shiraz is really our national wine variety. It’s the most widely planted grape and our biggest wine export, and one in four bottles on Aussie tables is a Shiraz.

But how much do we really know about this wine type that’s been going for over 4,500 years?

Most of us know that Shiraz is usually a powerful, fruit-forward wine with strong tannins that we usually drink with red meat, blue cheese and other strong-flavoured food. It’s the choice of the barbecue and roast dinner, and from its deep dark purple depths come an intensity that can be off-putting.

But that’s not all Shiraz.

Some Shiraz—particularly as Australia’s palate changes—is much lighter in body, especially when it’s from cooler climates.

Shiraz from warmer, lower-altitude regions like the Barossa Valley is quite often that big beefy juicy wine. But regions that are a bit cooler like Orange, the Hunter Valley or Mudgee produce a lighter style Shiraz.

You’ll still find those flavours you associate with Shiraz: blackberry, clove, sweet tobacco—but that mouth-coating unctuousness and sometimes overwhelming power is harnessed to create more structure and refinement in the wine.

What happens when Shiraz ages?

Generally speaking, as wine gets older, those fruity flavours you taste when the wine’s young diminish as does acidity and tannins that make your mouth feel dry. Wine smooths out, and savoury spicy notes develop.

This is what (generally) happens with Shiraz.

Sweetness turns to a silky mouthfeel, tannins and acidity act as foundations for darker fruit notes to sit on while oak, tobacco and spice lift so you’re left with a robust yet elegant wine. Some Shiraz can age for 20+ years.

Check out some of our other Shiraz stories:

– Shiraz – how to sound like you know what you’re talking about 
– What food goes with Shiraz?
– our recommendations for other Shiraz on the market

What is a vertical tasting?

This is a deep-dive into the wine-maker’s skills and to see the effect time has on their wine as well as how different vintages with different growing conditions can change the wine.

Tasting the same variety from the same winery (and preferably from the same vineyard) but with bottles from different years, you can see a cross section of how the wine changes over time.

We tried this with Lisa McGuigan’s Maximus Shiraz from her flagship Platinum range, tasting the 2015, ’16 and ’18 vintages. Although this is a pretty tight grouping—the more time between vintages the better—there was still a clear change in all of these wines.

Maximus Shiraz by Lisa McGuigan

General tasting notes for the Maximus, whose grapes come from vineyards in Mudgee, NSW, are:

“Vibrant plum colour, aroma of black cherry, mulberries and fresh spices with hints of mocha, and rich plum notes, blackcurrants, mocha and spice on the palate.”

And that’s exactly what we found as a central backbone to all three vintages.

Drinking ‘backwards’—as in youngest to oldest—means you get to see the wine develop and have a baseline to compare the older wine against.

The 2018 vintage showed ripe plum and big berry notes that Lisa’s notes suggested. The wine had a medium body as per its region, and surprisingly short finish, though while you’re drinking it, this wine puts in the effort. It’s bold, full-flavoured and satisfying.

Next the 2016 vintage displayed some softening in those berry flavours, more spice and a little more length.

Finally, the 2015 wine gave a much longer finish, smoother tannins, bolder chocolate and liquorice notes and a finer acid structure. The fruit notes had receded leaving savoury, spice and French oak to play their role.

Lisa recommends a 5-10 year cellaring for this wine, so in 2022, we’re right on the money for this wine. There might be a couple more years where more of those savoury notes come forward, but why wait when it’s drinking so well now?!

What do you need for a vertical tasting?

Organising a vertical tasting is easy enough. At its minimum, all you need is the wine—at least three vintages all from the same winery—and glasses. To go the extra mile, you can have enough glasses for each bottle, tasting notes on each vintage, note books, matching food… you can really go to town.

If you’re having trouble finding multiple vintages of the same wine in bottle shops, search the winery directly. Some sell multiple vintages while others have a museum release program like Howard Park Wines.

The one thing that’s not hard to find for a vertical tasting is willing volunteers!

The post What happens to Shiraz as it ages? Vertical tasting with Lisa McGuigan Maximus Shiraz appeared first on Mr and Mrs Romance.

Probably one of the most misunderstood wine varieties, Pinot Noir loves to run its own race. Even to the point where drinking it from two different shaped glasses with change the taste of the same Pinot Noir completely.

We learnt this trick a few years ago.

It made us wonder how many bottles of good Pinot we hadn’t done justice to just from using the wrong stemware.

And it’s not just us hapless consumers that have trouble with Pinot Noir. As our friend and brilliant wine-maker Lisa McGuigan puts it:

“Pinot Noir is an outstanding performer if you can make it behave, both in the vineyard and at the winery.”

But when you can bend this headstrong grape to your will (and you have the right glass of course), you’re rewarded with one of—if not the most delicious multifaceted wine whose complex flavour profile belies its medium body.

And if you have the patience and willpower, it’ll pay you back many times over if you can leave it be for a decade or so.

Beyond its own life, Pinot Noir continues to do great things.

Check out our review of this American single malt whiskey from Westward Distillery has been aged for over two years in ex-Pinot Noir barrels, bringing a whole new depth of flavours to the whiskey.

And these three Australian craft spirits we’ve written about are all feeling the influence of Pinot Noir in a variety of way too.

But back to the heart of the matter, here are nine of our favourite Pinot Noirs you should check out:

1. Lisa McGuigan Platinum Collection Pinot Noir (2015) – Wrattonbully, SA

On the richer, bolder side of the Pinot Noir line, this wine shows Lisa’s dexterity and skill with such a tricky variety. Rich, silky and intense, this is a wonderful example of Pinot’s savoury side.

Grapes were left whole but de-stemmed to ferment for 20 days before pressing and maturing in old French oak for nine months. But I get the feeling there’s more to it than that!

Buy Lisa McGuigan Platinum Collection Pinot Noir here.

2. De Beaurepaire Perceval Pinot Noir (2019) – Rylstone, NSW

Medium bodied with rich cherry, rhubarb, raspberry, strawberry and earthiness—as well as hints of vanilla from the oak, this wine is very much in the style of the Burgundy you’ll find in France.

The De Beaurepaire family’s Burgundian heritage and the vineyard’s terroir that’s as close central-eastern France as possible, this is exactly their aim. This wine spends 12 months in French oak, 30% of which is in new barrels.

Buy De Beaurepaire Perceval Pinot Noir here.

3. Holm Oak Pinot Noir Estate Grown (2021) – Tamar Valley, TAS

This cool-climate wine has touches of strawberry and plenty of dark cherry on the nose that lead to even more cherry and complex spice on the palate. Juicy, silky textures with a lovely long finish and good structure suggest plenty of cellaring potential—Bec Duffy, Holm Oak’s owner-winemaker—suggests at least 10 years.

This Pinot is made from de-stemmed estate-grown grapes in the Tamar Valley that are matured in French oak—1/4 in new, 3/4 in one-to-four-year-old casks—for 10 months.

Buy Holm Oak Pinot Noir here.

4. Holm Oak Pinot Noir Protege (2022) – Tamar Valley, TAS

Quite different to Holm Oak’s savoury spicy single vineyard Pinot that we’ve already mentioned, the Protege is made with Pinot Noir’s soft fruit notes in mind. It’s also the lightest in body of these wines.

Grapes are fermented with their skins on for 10 days using yeast that purposefully brings out fruit-forward aromatics. The wine’s then matured in tanks so there’s no oak to the red.

The focus of this Pinot is very much on being light and bright, and the perfect everyday wine. Having said that, it’s still bold enough to stand up to strong-flavoured food like game meat and blue cheese, so it’s no shrinking violet either.

Buy Holm Oak Protege Pinot Noir here.

5. Ghost Rock Wines’ Climat Pinot Noir ( 2020) – Cradle Coast, TAS

This organic single-vineyard iteration from a beautiful little Tasmanian winery shows how much range Pinots have. Light floral aromas and a clear bright colour show quite the opposite to what lies within this wine.

Impressively intense spice, pepper, tobacco and leather leap out at you from the first sip followed by a juicy acidity and creamy mouthfeel. The finish doesn’t hang around too long, but that just makes you want to take another taste.

Grapes for this wine are grown organically on a small two-hectare block that’s managed vine-to-vine for the best organic practices and to ensure the grapes are in perfect condition at harvest.

Buy Ghost Rock’s Climat Pinot Noir here.

6. Tamar Ridge Reserve Pinot Noir (2019) – Tamar Valley, TAS

The cooler climates and stonier terroir in Tasmania really do suit Pinot Noir, and Tamar Ridge’s Reserve Pinot is a great example of that. Dark berries and plums, spice and a savoury structure to the wine create a wonderful balance with a lovely long finish.

This complex wine isn’t a yearly thing though, with Tamar Ridge only releasing their reserve range on exceptional vintages, so it’s worth keeping an eye out for these in particular.

Buy Tamar Ridge Pinot Noir Reserve here.

7. Howard Park Flint Rock Pinot Noir (2020) – Great Southern, WA

From Australia’s biggest wine region, this Pinot is a great example of the varietal: somehow simultaneously delicate and robust, with a soft silkiness and plenty of that signature dark cherry.

Grapes from two separate subregions—Porongurup and Mount Barker, the country’s oldest subregion—bring levels of spice and flint respectively to a wine that’s genuinely satisfying.

Buy Howard Park Flint Rock Pinot Noir here.

8. Petaluma Pinot Noir (2021) – Central Otago, NZ

New Zealand in general and Central Otago in particular is well known for producing superb Pinot Noir. This wine shows vibrancy, dark berry aromas and a light cherry lift before a silky smooth mid-palate and a fine refreshing tannin finish.

Petaluma selects grapes from several exceptional vineyard sites that are fermented in stainless steel, with 25% going into new French oak.

Buy Petaluma Pinot Noir here.

9. Tempus Two Pewter Range Pinot Chardonnay (2013) – Adelaide Hills, SA

You might think this is cheating, but ignoring sparkling wine would be a mistake. Much of the bubbly we drink has at least a touch of Pinot Noir, and that element has a profound impact on the wine.

Made from premium Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes from Adelaide Hills that’s aged for 48 months on lees, this sparkling exhibits fresh white peach and delicate strawberry aromas along with elegant crisp acidity and soft creamy complex finish.

This is a museum release (I struggle with cellaring wine myself) but it shows just how well Pinot—and Chardonnay for that matter—can age.

If you enjoyed this story, you should check out some of our other wine reviews here.

The post Pinot Noir—why it’s so misunderstood + 9 of our favourites appeared first on Mr and Mrs Romance.

Galileo knew what he was talking about when he once said: “Wine is sunlight, held together by water.”

I’m assuming one of history’s most famed astronomers and physicists was referring to his awareness of—and cure for—Season Affective Disorder.

After all, one thing we’re always short of during winter is a bit of warm sunshine.

So in support of Galileo’s wisdom, we’ve put together five of our favourite winter warmers of bottled sunshine perfect for those cold dark evenings.

5 wines to get you through winter

When we’re after a wine for winter, we usually look for slightly higher ABV, plenty of body and tannic structure, and lots of dark fruit notes.

Having said that, there’s always room for white wine in winter—and even rosé. But similar rules apply; plenty of body and full of flavour, and that don’t need to be particularly cold to drink.

1. Grant Burge Filsell Old Vine Shiraz

Made with grapes from some of the Barossa’s oldest and most respected vineyards—including the Filsell Vineyard—Grant Burge has created a Shiraz that really epitomises full-bodied South Australian wine.

Packed with deep rich dark berries, chocolate and spice, this wine is exactly what you want on a cold evening.

Refined yet full of grunt, this is the wine that will go with everything from bolognese to beef and béarnaise.

Available from major retailers nationally

2. Lisa McGuigan Platinum Maximus Shiraz

Lisa McGuigan never does things by halves, and her Maximus Shiraz is the perfect example of that.

Lisa’s maiden voyage into making a Shiraz from Mudgee grapes under her own label brings us a real warrior wine.

Robust, statuesque and blazing with dark fruit and solid tannins, this is the wine you want next to you when the fire pit’s flaming and you’re ready to do battle with that big char-grilled t-bone.

We recently visited Lisa’s incredible Hunter Valley cellar door Vamp—check out our review and video walkthrough of this unique wine house here.

Available from Dan Murphy’s

3. Oakvale Cabernet Shiraz

The perfect blend of South Australian Cabernet and Hunter Valley Shiraz creates a beautifully balanced wine in this Oakvale red.

Rich, velvety, savoury, spicy and sweet: all the qualities you want in a comforting glass over winter. Oak and cedar build foundations for the dark chocolate, berries—blackberry, dark cherry, boysenberry—pepper and warming menthol, and allow for a luxuriantly long finish.

If you’re not having a roast dinner when you’re enjoying a glass of Oakvale Cab Shiraz, you’re missing out.

Available direct from Oakvale here

4. Petaluma Pinot Noir

This New Zealand classic is made for winter. The cool climate of Central Otago brings out all the structure and elegance in this Pinot Noir.

Hints of wood from 25% of the yield seeing new French oak combine with the wine’s natural vibrancy to create complex flavours and textures. Dark berries and touches of cherry run into to a lovely finish led by fresh tannins.

Fresh and balanced acidity lets this Pinot play its own game, but pair it with game, spicy Thai or even blue cheese and you’re set for the evening.

Available from First Choice stores nationally

5. Scarborough Obsessive Chardonnay

One of the most respected wine families in the country, the Scarboroughs are known for their Hunter Valley Chardonnays.

Referring to the family patriarch, Ian ‘Scarbie’ Scarborough, The Obsessive is Scarborough flagship Chardonnay and is nothing short of extraordinary.

Left on its lees and in new French oak for 15 months, The Obsessive has beautiful creamy body that’s held up with firm acidity and elegant, rounded fruit flavours.

Great with anything from fish to steak—or just on its own, this is no normal Chardonnay.

Just make sure you leave this one out of the fridge for at least an hour before you open it. Flavours really develop as it warms a little.

Available from Scarborough Wines here

Do you have a favourite wine to keep you company over the winter months? Let us know in the comments below.

The post 5 winter wines to get you through to cold months appeared first on Mr and Mrs Romance.