Australia & NZ
These far-flung wine regions may be referred to ‘new’ when compared against the historic European wine regions, but they have a long winemaking history. Spared from Phylloxera, Australia in particular has world's highest concentration of venerable vines and legendary producers such as Penfolds, Henschke and Tyrell’s have been around for over 150 years. Though for many years piggybacking on Europe’s successes, branding their own wines as ‘Chablis’, ‘Hermitage’ etc., Australia now have created a real identity of their own, making inimitable styles like Coonawarra Cabernet or Hunter Valley Semillon.
New Zealand doesn’t quite have as an extensive history but has established itself in an astonishingly short amount of time as a reliable source of whistle clean, distinctive examples of varietals like Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc.
Australia & NZ
Product Name | Region | Qty | Score | Price | |||||
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South Australia | 2 | 98 (HWC) | د.إ2,685.00 | |||||
Halliday Wine Companion (98)A full-bodied wine of ultimate coherence and quality, the bouquet setting the signal for the palate to follow. Attention to detail is obvious, especially the handling of tannins and oak. The integration of these components with the blackcurrant fruit is faultless. |
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South Australia | 1 | 98 (VJ) | د.إ2,885.00 | |||||
The Vintage Journal (98)Deep crimson. Complex blackcurrant, blackberry, praline, roasted chestnut mocha, marzipan notes. Richly flavoured, round and smooth with beautiful pure blackcurrant, blackberry mocha espresso flavours, fine loose-knit grainy tannins and underlying roasted chestnut, toffee notes. Finishes chocolaty and long with a long life ahead. |
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South Australia | 1 | 96 (WA) | د.إ1,215.00 | |||||
Wine Advocate (96)Deep garnet colored, the 2005 Hillside Shiraz reveals a wonderfully expressive, spicy nose with some notes of game, potpourri, dried cranberries and kirsch. It is a glorious, full-bodied wine packed with complex flavor layers, medium-firm velvety tannins and balanced acid. It finishes long. Drink it now to 2017+. |
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Auckland | 1 | 91+ (WA) | د.إ1,490.00 | |||||
Wine Advocate (91+)The 2015 Coddington Chardonnay is youthfully muted with subtle suggestions of lemon curd, lime leaves and grapefruit peel plus a yeasty, toasty, cedary waft. Light to medium-bodied, fine, fresh and delicate in the mouth, it delivers good citrus and yeasty notes. |
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Auckland | 1 | 95 (TRR) | د.إ780.00 | |||||
The Real Review (95)Ripe stone fruit/peach/nectarine flavours with nutty oak, vanilla, and bready yeast lees flavours. Complex and accessible wine that would benefit from a little bottle age but is deliciously accessible now. |
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Auckland | 1 | 92 (WA) | د.إ1,195.00 | |||||
Wine Advocate (92)The 2015 Estate Chardonnay is more open-knit and less taut than the single vineyard wines, with an expressive nose of ripe nectarines, pink grapefruit and guava, plus underlying notes of baking bread and ginger. Medium-bodied, it offers richness and good depth in the mouth with a an approachable, refreshing backbone and great harmony. |
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Auckland | 1 | 97 (VN) | د.إ1,750.00 | |||||
Vinous (97)The Chardonnay Mate's Vineyard, appears to have gone on a yoga retreat in 2020: not only is its usual powerful self, but it's remarkably zen too, exuding a sense of calmness. It is full-bodied, round and offers fruit ripeness, but the propensity of the Mendoza clone to hen-and-chicks means that it retains a sense of nerve, with powerful citrusy acidity providing the needle that pulls a tight thread through this wine's core. The 2020 is still far too young, and it is aromatically shy, but even in its full mature glory, it won't exhibit aromatic fireworks – nor should it. This is Chardonnay. Okay, you might detect lemon and limes, white flowers and just-ripe white nectarine, with 30% new oak imbuing an additional layer of savoriness, but when it comes down to it, this wine's trump card is in its shape, texture and persistence. |
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Auckland | 2 | 94 (TRR) | د.إ748.00 | |||||
The Real Review (94)Tangy, refreshing wine with white peach, apple, lime/citrus, ginger/yeast lees and subtle spicy oak flavours with a thread of oyster shell/saline characters. Stylish wine from a favourable vintage. |
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Wairarapa | 1 | 89+ (WA) | د.إ3,855.00 | |||||
Wine Advocate (89+)Deep garnet-purple in color and replete with aromas of ripe mulberries, black currants and black cherries with suggestions of black pepper, bacon, tree bark and star anise, the medium-bodied 2010 Syrah offers just enough black fruit, savory and spicy flavors in the mouth and is supported by a low to medium level of rounded tannins, perky acid and a finish with good length. Drink it now to 2018+. |
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Western Australia | 1 | - | د.إ2,410.00 | |||||
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Western Australia | 1 | 99 (WP) | د.إ4,310.00 | |||||
Wine Pilot (99)In many ways the most Burgundian of any of the Leeuwin releases, this will rank up there with the best to date. There’s a waxy light mealy aroma which picks up nuances of limestone and spice with a trace of grapefruit. But it is the palate that really distinguishes it. There is an austerity with the minerally chalky feel that cuts through the fruit extending to a finish of extraordinary length. Precision and focus harness a wine of great power and poise before dry savoury edges lift the finish. |
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Western Australia | 1 | 99 (RJO) | د.إ6,465.00 | |||||
Ray Jordan (99)It would not surprise me if this was considered the greatest Leeuwin chardonnay yet. You would get no argument from me... there is elegance and power here. Subtle layered wine. It was a year of great concentration and power. Has pear and lime character that is part of the DNA. The fruit is generous, especially about the mid palate. Has a subtle and not overstated flinty character with a lift of spice. The oak is brilliantly managed and complementary. It's very tight and precise and the whole-bunch technique gives it that stalky, phenolics character. There's a savoury almond meal character on the finish. Incredible length and power here. The minerally character on the finish is quite pronounced. In the top three, certainly, of any Leeuwin chardonnay. |
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Western Australia | 1 | 93 (WA) | د.إ1,125.00 | |||||
Wine Advocate (93)Has been through a few subtle iterations in recent years and this one reverts to a previous style which is more generous and immediately flavoursome. Has a creamy texture with a light lemon curd and peachy stone fruit all held with deliberate restraint to give it that extra polish and classy dimension. |
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Western Australia | 1 | 97 (WA) | د.إ734.00 | |||||
Wine Advocate (97)The 2019 Burnside Vineyard Chardonnay is flinty, spicy and lean, with curry leaf, a hint of Champion Ruby (rolling tobacco in Australia—think Golden Virginia) and a bit of saltbush (local flora). It is very smart. The cooler year is moderated by the close proximity to the beach here—it is briny and so good. I could drink a lot of this. It has a beautiful clean finish. Excellent. |
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Western Australia | 1 | 96 (HWC) | د.إ843.00 | |||||
Halliday Wine Companion (96)From a schistous single vineyard close to the coast, this was made sans additions with an ambient ferment, evident lees handling and maturation in French oak of the utmost quality, to boot. More generous aromatically than wines made of fruit from the souther zones, the wine nevertheless boasts a nervous mineral tension underlying its swag of stone fruit flavours. The mid-palate boasts a hint of curd, but none of the excessive sulphidic funk of many contemporary expressions. |
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Western Australia | 1 | 95 (HWC) | د.إ658.00 | |||||
Halliday Wine Companion (95)Grown on limestone and sand-loam soils close to the ocean. The coolest of the single vineyard chardonnay sites. Aromas of cashew and oatmeal mingle with white-fleshed stone fruit and a suggestion of salty sea breezes. Tight and precise on the palate, green apple and citrus curd flavours run into a long, textural, minerally finish. Drink by 2027 |
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South Australia | 1 | 94 (HWC) | د.إ984.00 | |||||
Halliday Wine Companion (94)Sourced from the proprietary Lopresti vineyard, known as the 'Chinese Block'. Near Wilunga, this is a warmer zone. Hand picked and placed in drying crates to undergo appassimento; this elevates tannins while concentrating fruit in a shift of the phenolic makeup, imparting a firm, ferrous savouriness. Unabashedly big, yet far from jammy, as a welcome result. Asian spice, blood stone, bitter amaro and cherry pith, with a verdant echo of cabernet in the background. |
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South Australia | 3 | - | د.إ1,155.00 | |||||
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South Australia | 3 | - | د.إ1,190.00 | |||||
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South Australia | 2 | 92 (WS) | د.إ1,410.00 | |||||
Wine Spectator (92)Compelling and aromatic, with details of palo santo, sandalwood and sarsaparilla and a core of chocolate-covered cherries, espresso and wild blackberry notes. The tannins are thick and concentrated, but integrated seamlessly, adding to the impact of this lovely wine. Drink now through 2036. 6,132 cases made, 3,892 cases imported. |
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South Australia | 2 | 94 (WA) | د.إ1,475.00 | |||||
Wine Advocate (94)Mollydooker's 2018 Carnival of Love Shiraz is more red-fruited and structured than I expected, given the wine's stated 16% alcohol. Raspberries and cedar mark the nose, with hints of chocolate, espresso and baking spices. In the mouth, it's full-bodied, dense and powerful, with ripe but firm tannins supporting the bright berry flavors, then easing into a long, velvety and mouthwatering finish. It should drink well for around a decade, but if you're shy of tannins, you may want to wait another year or two before opening. |
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South Australia | 2 | - | د.إ1,360.00 | |||||
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South Australia | 1 | 92 (WS) | د.إ2,290.00 | |||||
Wine Spectator (92)Thick, with sink-your-teeth-into-them tannins and powerful, ripe blackberry, huckleberry and blueberry flavors that show aromatic accents of allspice, Earl Grey tea, vanilla bean, milk chocolate and dried violet on the finish. Drink now through 2036. 45,165 cases made, 32,950 cases imported |
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South Australia | 1 | - | د.إ1,280.00 | |||||
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South Australia | 1 | 96 (WA) | د.إ1,750.00 | |||||
Wine Advocate (96)The most dense and concentrated of the current Mollydooker offerings is the 2018 Velvet Glove Shiraz. Because of that, it's also among the most fruit-forward, with the oak elements of vanilla, mocha and cedar pushed into the background in favor of ripe raspberries and blackberries. Taut and focused for its size, this full-bodied effort is smooth and creamy textured on the palate, where the fruit glides into a long, velvety finish. |
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South Australia | 2 | 91 (WS) | د.إ1,480.00 | |||||
Wine Spectator (91)Expressive and fragrant, a bold red with toffee, salted caramel and black walnut liqueur notes set against ripe plum, maraschino and black cherry notes. Details of cardamon and clove linger with plush tannins on the long, expressive finish. Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Drink now through 2035. 10,076 cases made, 7,193 cases imported. |
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Western Australia | 1 | 97 (WAU) | د.إ1,835.00 | |||||
The West Australian (97)The 2017 vintage was one of the milder vintages in WA. The latest Moss Wood captures this vintage perfectly and is without doubt one of the more restrained and tightly framed Moss Woods of recent years. Not the opulence of 2014 or the firm power of the 2016. Yet it retains the elegance, perfume and soft approachability that is Moss Wood. And hidden within is a wine that I suspect will still be drinking beautifully in 30 years. Make sure you decant it even now before drinking. |
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Western Australia | 3 | 97 (WA) | د.إ1,885.00 | |||||
Wine Advocate (97)Concentrated, silky and lingering, the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon is elegant and fine with salted licorice, ripe raspberry, dark chocolate and exotic spice. It's a beautiful wine that continues the legacy of Moss Wood Cabernets, albeit with a slightly softer, more lilting voice. Age-worthy in the supreme. |
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Central Otago | 1 | 97 (JS) | د.إ890.00 | |||||
James Suckling (97)This marries violets, blueberries and darker cherries in a very pure and composed style with gentle bracken and sappy allure. The palate has a succulent, juicy and very fresh feel with neatly carved, fine tannin that holds long, direct and deep. Such regal depth and savory tannin resolve. From organically grown grapes. Drink or hold. Screw cap. |