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Ken Gargett

Ken was born and bred in Brisbane, Queensland. He had a non-trendy, perfectly happy childhood, in a family convinced alcohol meant instant condemnation to Hades. But a break fishing on the Great Barrier Reef, and some good wine, started a serious obsession that eventually took over. It did not stop Ken being chastised later for drinking Pol champagne, disgusted he’d drink anything made by a Cambodian dictator. Now, Ken mostly writes on wine, champagne and spirits for various newspapers, magazines and books, but is perhaps best known for his work in The Courier Mail. He also has a little sideline writing on cigars, fishing, travel and food. When not writing, fly-fishing for trout in NZ or bonefish on the flats of Cuba, travelling or smoking cigars, he is no doubt following a variety of sporting teams – the occasionally glorious Queensland Reds rugby, the dysfunctional Washington Redskins, the dodgy Arsenal and especially revels in the world restored to its proper axis with the return of the Ashes to their rightful home.

Twinwoods Single Vineyard Margaret River Cabernet Sauvignon 2018

A classy effort from Margaret River, the colour here is an opaque maroon. This is taut, poised, tight and appealingly...

Twinwoods Margaret River Cabernet Sauvignon 2022

This was a standout in the range. It is a dark cherry red colour, delightfully fragrant. A wine which is...

Twinwoods Single Vineyard Margaret River Shiraz 2018

Nice opportunity to compare consecutive vintages here. Personally, this is the pick of the pair for me but no doubt,...

Twinwoods Chardonnay 2023

While the Twinwoods reds are sourced from the estate vineyard in the Wilyabrup sub-region, Chardonnay comes from a discrete region...
NV Cab Shiraz

Jeanneret Clare Cabernet Shiraz 2022

From a range of sub-regions, including Armagh, Penwortham, Leasingham and Sevenhill, the wine spent 14 to 56 days on skins,...

Jeanneret Gewürztraminer 2022

From the Hill River sub-region, this wine spent a mix of between 288 and 303 days on lees. A terrific...
Big Fine Girl NV

Jeanneret Big Fine Girl Riesling 2023

Another fine Riesling from the Clare Valley, from the impressive 2023 vintage. This is a blend of sub-regions, including Watervale,...
Watervale Riesling No Shadow No Vintage

Jeanneret Watervale Riesling 2023

From a fine vintage for the Clare Valley, this hails from one of its legendary sub-regions, Watervale, and a single...
Sevenhill NV

Jeanneret Sevenhill Riesling 2022

From the rather lofty altitude of 510 metres in the Clare Valley, this exciting Riesling is from one of the...

Bec Hardy Garden Series Shiraz McLaren Vale 2022

McLaren Vale Shiraz from a superb vintage, this is cracking value and delicious drinking. After destemming and then fermentation in...
paringa shiraz front fx

Paringa Shiraz 2022

We have seen enough vintages of this wine in recent years to know that the combination of value and flavour...
BW Indigo Vineyard Chardonnay DV

Brokenwood Indigo Vineyard Beechworth Chardonnay 2023

It is a very long time since this region had just one superstar performer and a number of wannabees. Now...
BW Shiraz Hunter Valley DV (no background)

Brokenwood Shiraz Hunter Valley 2022

Many will remember this wine from years gone by, when it was a high quality quaffer and bargain buying. Someone...
BW Rayner Vineyard Shiraz DV HR

Brokenwood Rayner Vineyard McLaren Vale Shiraz 2022

In the Hunter, 2021 and 2022 were both excellent vintages with the more recent year considered the better of the...
BW Stanleigh Park Vineyard Semillon DV

Brokenwood Stanleigh Park Vineyard Semillon 2022

This is the first release of a single vineyard Semillon from this estate, situated in the Lovedale sub-region, since 2013....
Mania Pinot NV

Mania Pinot Noir 2023

From the Tamar Valley region in Tasmania, fermentation is with wild yeasts, followed by maturation for ten months in French...
RIESLING

Woods Crampton Riesling 2023

The fruit for this fresh and attractive Riesling is sourced from three higher altitude vineyards in the Eden Valley, around...
Fontavera delle Venezie DOC Pinot Grigio

Fontavera delle Venezia Pinot Grigio 2023

Brightly coloured and fun label for this organic Pinot Grigio, from vineyards at the foothills of the Alps. Whole bunch...
Barossa Valley Shiraz

Woods Crampton Barossa Shiraz 2022

The fruit here is from a single, low yielding and dry grown vineyard situated in Eden Valley. Cold soaking and...
Mania Chadonnay

Mania Chardonnay 2022

From a single vineyard in the Tamar Valley, this is cracking value. Whole bunch pressing to older French oak, for...
El Payador Malbec NV

El Peyador Malbec 2023

Mendoza Malbec is a crowd-pleasing style. Specifically, 60% from the Lujan de Cuyo sub-region and the remainder from the Uco...
Brandini Alta Langa DOCG Brut

Brandini Alta Langa Brut Metodo Classico DOCG 2019

The region now has something like 65 producers, from barely anything not so long ago. It is not often one...
Brandini Barolo Annunziata DOCG

Brandini Barolo Annunziata DOCG 2018

From a wonderfully elegant vintage, this is a single vineyard Barolo from the La Morra sub-region. Fermentation in stainless steel,...
Ghostgum Pinot Noir Web Square

Southern Light Vineyards Ghostgum Pinot Noir 2022

The four blocks of Pinot Noir were planted between 1994 and 2021. Cropping is deliberately kept extremely low to encourage...

Stories

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Penfolds 2023 – ‘The Aussies’

There is no release more anticipated by winelovers in Australia than the annual Penfold’s Collection and of course, most especially...

Artisans of the Barossa (2021 Grenache Project)

One of the more interesting projects currently afloat in Aussie wine at the moment, especially appropriate given the skyrocketing interest...

Alkina – The Curious Box of Paradoxes

Alkina is a curious box of paradoxes. Seemingly unlimited resources but still tiny; a small local operation yet part of...

Cumulus and Quilty & Gransden

They say that Disneyland is the happiest place on earth. Perhaps, but I would suggest that the Australian wine industry...

Greenock Creek New Releases 2021

It was back in 1984 that the first grapes were picked for the inaugural vintage from Greenock Creek wines. Taken...

Duval on Grenache

The name, Duval, is and always will be inextricably linked with Grange. John Duval was chief winemaker at Penfold’s from...
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