Ken Gargett

Latest Australian Fine Wines: Xavier Avon Chardonnay 2024 / The Avon vineyard of just a single hectare was originally planted in 1987. It is located at Maffra in Gippsland. Fermentation was in barrel and the wine then spent a further ten months on lees. Maturation was in French oak, 30% new. Under Diam. 

The colour is a deep yellow straw. This is a spicy rounded style of Chardonnay, broad in structure – a little reminiscent of those crowd-pleasing, old fashioned Chardies and this will no doubt be very popular. Hints of oak still in the process of integration, along with nuts, mandarins, peaches, almonds and nectarines. A wine of medium length which lingers pleasantly. Enjoy over the next four to six years, but there is still room for it to improve. 92.

Penfolds Collection 2025 with perfect Grange: The expectations for the 2021 Grange, were simply that this had to be a great Grange. Anything short of that might even be deemed a failure and this is indeed an extraordinary Grange. Quite simply, a wow wine. As always, a variety of regions contributed – the Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale and Clare Valley. As is usual, though not inevitable, there is a dollop of Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend, 6% for 2021, and the wine spent a year and a half maturing in new American hogsheads. No wonder Peter Gago’s response was a face-splitting smile and to confirm he was “very, very pleased”. 

Maroon/black in hue, one simply gets lost in the nose, just endlessly sniffing the most glorious cassis notes, along with black fruits, blueberries, coffee beans, aniseed, mulberries, delicatessen meats, tobacco leaves, plums and graphite. The wine is seamless, intense and immaculate with knife-edge balance. It simply dances with joy. There oak is there, undeniably, but it is so well handled that you almost have to think twice. So complex already, and yet so harmonious and decadent. Silky tannins, bright acidity, the intensity never wavers for an instant and there is incredible length – Rutherglen muscat length. This is as close to a perfect Grange as I can imagine. Fifty years, if you think you can last that long (or want very grateful grandkids). A Lord-take-me-now wine, if ever there was one. 100.

New Australian Releases: Henschke Tappa Pass 2022 ($127) – If someone said to me, pick a Henschke wine to drink tonight, any wine. Well, one would be a blithering idiot not to opt for Hill of Grace, but I would not be at all unhappy if this was the choice. It is, year after year, always a favourite among some exceptional wines. 100% Shiraz from 70-year-old vines, 68% Eden Valley and 32% Barossa. Maturation was for twenty months in French oak hogsheads, 10% new. From a top vintage, this will surely rank among the very best Tappa Pass that the Henschkes have released – and that is saying something! 

A vibrant maroon hue. The nose suggests a complete wine, utterly harmonious. There is focus, a seductive and seamless structure, an alluring and beguiling texture, impeccable balance and immense length. At the conclusion, there are silky tannins, though they seem to almost disappear on contact. Notes of cassis emerge on the palate. A wine with real persistence, this has twenty years ahead of it, if needed. Stunning. 97.

New Fine Wine releases from Australia: Yalumba The Steeple Single Vineyard Barossa Shiraz 2021 97 points -Anyone who ever saw Darren Lockyer or David Campese slice through an opposition backline, Wayne Gretzky on ice or Michael Jordan on a basketball court, will understand the concept of gliding. This supple and sleek texture, with its silky tannins, is the vinous equivalent, gliding effortlessly to a very long finish. From a stellar vintage, this is a single vineyard wine hailing from the sub-region of Light Pass. The vines, biodynamically grown, were planted back in 1919. Fair to say, much can be expected. And much is delivered. A wild ferment before the wine spent sixteen months in oak, 15% of which knew, termed the Tonnellerie Sylvain ‘Artistic Series’ barriques. They were made from a 365 year old oak tree (not completely sure that if I was the marketing team, I'd be promoting chopping up such a venerable old oak tree, but we can say that its demise was not in vain). 

The wine has a black cherry hue, with a wonderfully enticing nose, which just screams first class Barossa Shiraz. Full of dark berries, chocolate, roast meats, cassis, bay leaves, sage and mocha, the texture is plush in the extreme. Excellent oak integration (thankfully), there is a supple texture here and immaculate balance. Silky tannins, seriously good length and intensity maintained for the full journey, this is simply delicious, although it surely has at least fifteen years ahead of it. Notes of graphite are more prevalent on the palate. It seems that this wine often takes a backseat to some of the others in the portfolio, which seems criminally unfair. This is a gem. 97.

John Riddoch Cabernet Sauvignon 2022 ($175) – From its very first release with the 1982 vintage, this has invariably been one of Australia’s great Cabernets and its status seems to soar every year. Forty years later, this wine will only enhance that reputation. Maturation was for seventeen months in a mix of French oak barriques and hogsheads, 43% of which were new. If anyone thought that attempting to follow the amazing 2021 would be a bridge too far, this wine will have confirmed that nothing is impossible. Another stunning effort, which I have actually scored a touch higher than its wonderful predecessor. 

Opaque maroon, there is a refinement and suppleness to this wine, which is all a bit thrilling. There is finesse and immaculate balance. The nose exhibits an array of flavours, black fruits throughout, notably blackberries, with chocolate, tobacco leaves, plum pudding, blueberries, cassis and aniseed. The oak integration is of the highest order and the tannins are simply silk. There is great length here and while the elegance is a highlight, the intensity here never wavers. A brilliant John Riddoch which has at least twenty years ahead of it – even more if you have the patience or are keen to make your grandkids think very highly of you. 98.