Simon Gilligan

9.3

A light red-fruited pinot-esq Nebbiolo. Aromatic, rose petal, took 3 hours for the tannins to fill out with a fine dry, savoury finish. — 3 years ago

Simon Gilligan

9.6

Absolutely outstanding QPR and noticeably better than the 2019. Deep and lushly fruited, great fruit density, silky tannin that brings a gentle grip. — 3 years ago

Simon Gilligan

9.3

Big tannic and dry, a hearty grunty Grenache. Borderline too dry .. think I left it too long on decant and lost the clarity of early fruit and spice .. will just pop and pour next one. — 3 years ago

Simon Gilligan

9.3

The CRFT cellar door is quite close to home so I’ve been there a few times, but this is my first bottle of their Chardonnay. Small volume, organic, could just about point to the rows of vines from where I sat and tasted. Peach/citrus flavours that run long. Not quite the flinty minerally follow through that I loved with the Shaw+Smith M3 but still lovely. — 4 years ago

Simon Gilligan

9.4

Deliciously deeply flavoured Adelaide Hills Sauvignon Semillon .. lemon, stone fruit with a long savoury skinsy finish. — 3 years ago

Simon Gilligan

9.5

Amazingly found this bottle at rustic pizza, Clare Valley at a $130. Thought this might be our only chance to drink a Wendouree so grabbed it. Beautifully fresh fruited, lovely balance, crisp acidity, medium bodied. Black/red fruited with violet highlights, spice, earth, eucalypt, silky dry tannin. The longer we sat with it the leather and tannin became quite firm, perhaps overwhelming some of the earlier fruit flavours. Drunk too young but still memorable. — 3 years ago

Simon Gilligan

9.5

In the bigger end of the Pinot spectrum, I really like this. Dark fruited, 25% whole bunch, french oak with a lovely dusky crimson/ruby colour. Great fruit density and concentration, spiced, lovely acidity and tannins with a long savoury finish. — 4 years ago

Simon Gilligan

9.6

Amazingly plush fruited, blackcurrent, raspberry, violet, widely spread on the palette, licorice, a bit of sarsaparilla, spice, ripe pillowy tannin with great length. Great freshness given the spread of vintages in this. — 3 years ago

Simon Gilligan

9.6

A core of dense deep dark fruits, quintessential McLaren Val chocolate, coffee, subtle herbs and spice. Ripe and sweet, with tannin of amazing length and silky yet muscular grip. Sweet as in the very-best-of, not overdone, everything is beautifully balanced and turns to a mild savoury finish. — 3 years ago

Simon Gilligan

9.5

Grabbed this after a tour of Shaw+Smith plus tasting. Drank over a couple of hours, following a 2 hour decant. Loved it, Quintessential cool-climate shiraz, medium bodied fresh, dark fruits, coffee, bitter chocolate, earthy, peppery, whole bunch, savoury with super fine tannin bringing a gentle grip to a long finish. Balanced and complex - we kept coming back on each taste for something different until .. it was gone — 3 years ago