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Nicole Bilson

Nicole loves wine. So much so that she gave up a successful career in Pharmacy, perfected her spitting technique, and moved from sunny Queensland to the wine-drenched laneways of Melbourne. Stints in hospitality, wineries, retail, sales and marketing filled the next few years while Nicole built her knowledge and searched for the right path. She completed the Wine and Spirits Education Trust (WSET) Diploma in 2016 and became a certified WSET Educator the following year. She now juggles a number of roles including teaching people about wine, curating wines lists for restaurants and bars, judging in Australian wine shows and, of course, writing. In 2016 she won the Negociants Working With Wine writing award and has since contributed to Gourmet Traveller WINE, Halliday Wine Companion Magazine and Nourish Magazine.
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Brown Brothers Patricia Cabernet Sauvignon 2018

Brown Brothers spoil us when they release wines like this with five years of age; we get to drink them...
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Peter Lehmann Margaret Barossa Semillon 2016

Released with five years of bottle age, it’s a real treat to be able to buy semillon without needing the...
Peter Lehmann Masters Wigan

Peter Lehmann Wigan Eden Valley Riesling 2016

With five years of age on release, this wine is still very youthful; a lifted river-pebble-minerality, delicate lime curd and...
Peter Lehmann Masters Mentor

Peter Lehmann Mentor Barossa Cabernet Sauvignon 2019

This is a wine you just want to dive into. It smells like blackberries so ripe they are almost falling...
Peter Lehmann Masters Songs

Peter Lehmann 8 Songs Barossa Shiraz 2019

If there is such a thing as licorice fudge then it smells just like this wine – rich, spicy aniseed...
PLW Stonewell Shiraz

Peter Lehmann Stonewell Barossa Shiraz 2017

Incredible colour; dense, dark and staining the sides of the glass as you swirl. It smells like chocolate cake slathered...
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Brown Brothers Patricia Pinot Noir & Chardonnay Brut 2017

2017 was a cool year with a long slow ripening, the perfect conditions for exceptional sparkling wine. The fruit for...
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Barossa Boy Young Wisdom Mataro 2020

If Mataro sounds like a new grape for you, it might be because it has a number of pseudonyms. Also...
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Barossa Boy Risk it for the Biscuit Semillon 2022

One of Trent Burge’s (aka the Barossa Boy’s) favourite sayings is ‘Risk it for the biscuit’. This time the risk...
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Barossa Boy Lifeblood Shiraz 2018

As a sixth generation Barossa winemaker, it’s no surprise that Trent Burge, the Barossa Boy, knows how to handle Shiraz....
Riddoch The Author Cabernet Sauvignon Terra Rosa

Riddoch The Author Cabernet Sauvignon 2019

A heady combination of dried lavender, dried rose petals and fine black tea leaves leap from the glass. Ripe blackberries...
Riddoch The Author Shiraz Terra Rosa

Riddoch The Author Shiraz 2019

There is immediate pleasure as you bring your nose to the glass – it’s like burying your face in a...
Riddoch The Winegrower Shiraz

Riddoch The Winegrower Shiraz 2021

The aromas are big, and spicy with blackberry jam and macerated cherries, poached quince and cinnamon sticks. In the mouth...
Riddoch The Pastoralist Cabernet Sauvignon

Riddoch The Pastoralist Cabernet Sauvignon 2021

The cool climate of Coonawarra has managed to coax some remarkably delicate florals from beautifully ripe Cabernet Sauvignon. There’s fragrant...
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Mount Eyre Vineyards Nero d’Avola 2022

Nero d’Avola is a variety hailing from Sicily, where the hot mediterranean climate coax out both rich fruit and spicy,...
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Mount Eyre Vineyards Three Ponds Semillon 2022

This wine hails from the Three Ponds property, in the lower Hunter Valley. Made in the classic Hunter style using...
Taltarni Pyrenees Estate Shiraz NV

Taltarni Old Vine Estate Shiraz 2020

From the original 1960s plantings, wines like this make you wonder why the Pyrenees isn’t more widely known as a...
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Taltarni Dynamic Shiraz Viognier 2022

Taltarni’s ‘Dynamic’ range is all about showing the style, taste and artistic expression of the winemakers. This fruit is from...
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Taltarni Discovery Sangiovese 2021

Oh yes please! Aromas of strawberry sorbet, sour cherry, baked rhubarb and a blend of preserved flower petals with savoury...
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Taltarni Discovery Grenache Touriga 2022

This is a quirky little blend from Taltarni’s Discovery Range, created to allow the winemaker to play with some different,...
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Taltarni Discovery Grenache Shiraz Mourvèdre 2021

A classic little GSM from what deserves more recognition as a classic region. The ‘discovery’ here refers to the coming-of-age...

Brokenwood Indigo Vineyard Pinot Noir 2021

I found this wine intensely challenging in all the best ways. It was so beautifully balanced and deliciously moreish that...

Brokenwood Indigo Vineyard Chardonnay 2021

Beechworth can’t be far off earning a reputation for Chardonnay as prestigious as that of the Yarra Valley and Mornington...

Brokenwood ILR Reserve Semillon 2015

So perfectly toasty that if tasted blind you might swear you can smell beautiful toasty oak. Take a moment, delve in,...

Stories

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One to One by Oxford Landing

I first encountered Oxford Landing in 2015. It was the affordably priced wine on the huge portfolio I was navigating...
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Riverlife by Oxford Landing

Oxford Landing has a long reputation for good, affordable wines, well loved by the glass at the local pub. With...

Chalmers: Future-Proofing Wine

Like it or not, the traditional grape varieties that built Australia’s reputation as a great place to make wine are...

New Vine to Wine range from Mitchelton

There’s romance in a cellar door surrounded by vines and wines that tell the story of their place as Mitchelton...

What makes a wine great – it’s not what you’d think…

It was a bustling Saturday night in one of Melbourne’s hipster suburbs in a raved-about venue. Thick coats, moments before...

Eggstravagant Wines

I was standing in a queue at the checkout when a woman winked at me and said “There’s going to...
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