Our Journal

A sommelier masterclass in Australian wine

14th March, 2012

It was great to see so many of the key players in the Irish trade attend the last day of Wine Australia Ireland‘s Sommelier Course at Fallon & Byrne Dublin yesterday.  The tasting of 17 wines was tutored by our very own David Gleave.  Drawing upon his recent trip to Australia, David spoke about the superb quality of Riesling being produced in Australia today (illustrated by the 2006 Contours Pewsey Vale Riesling and the Grosset 2011 Polish Hill Riesling).  The four Chardonnays were equally stunning, showing just how exciting the wines currently being made from this variety in Australia are.  The 2010 M3 Chardonnay from Shaw and Smith was a standout. 

The Cabernet category showed, as Brian Croser has said, that this is one of the most undervalued varieties in Australia today.  A 2002 Cyril Henschke Cabernet was outstanding, and proved his point.  Perhaps the most exciting range of wines, however, was the line-up of Shirazes.  A 2002 Stonewell from Peter Lehmann, a 2008 O’Riada Shiraz/Viognier from Clonakilla, a 2004 Graveyard Vineyard from Brokenwood and a 2004 Warner Vineyard Shiraz from Giaconda were equally outstanding yet stylistically diverse. 

It is, as David Gleave said, exciting to see that the quality and diversity offered by Australia is greater today than it has ever been.