Wine Reviews By Barry Weinman

October Wines of the Month

Singlefile – Run Free – Pinot Grigio – 2026. Intensely aromatic, so much so that I thought it was riesling to start. But the textural notes and a slightly mealy character place this firmly in the Gris/Grigio spectrum. This is a delightful wine that is full of energy, yet with the pristine fruit taking centre stage. The most surprising aspect of this wine is that it is actually quite serious, with length, persistence and intensity that defy expectations. 12.9% alc | 93pts | $29

Plantagenet – Wyjup Collection – Chardonnay – 2024. This is a very interesting and enjoyable wine. The fruit is ripe, but there is life and energy running the length of the palate. The fruit shows as both stone fruit and tropical fruit characters, and everything is in balance. The oak plays an important role but does not impact negatively on the palate. Rather, it allows the fruit to remain the focus. Importantly, the acidity is a highlight. It has excellent length and persistence, and it gets an extra point for being a lovely drink. 14.0% alc | 95pts

Singlefile – Single Vineyard – Porongurup – Pinot Noir – 2025. Lovely colour, lovely nose, lovely palate, lovely wine! OK, so this is not the densest, most powerful or structured wine, but it makes up for this by being deeply satisfying and moreish. Pretty, fragrant berry and cherry fruit is the star, supported by supple tannins and oak. Refreshing acidity is a key feature on the long finish. It will develop more depth and complexity with 5+ years in the cellar. Matured in 30% new Burgundian oak and 70% one-year-old oak. 13.8% alc | 95pts | $75

Grosset – Springvale – Riesling – 2026. Breathtakingly beautiful nose that captures the very essence of riesling. On the palate, the generosity of fruit is a defining feature, and the fruit quality is stunning. Precise acidity plays an important role, providing drive and cut-through. The palate texture is surprisingly soft, supple and completely seamless, making this a delightful drink now. But the ageing quality is apparent on the very close. A great Springvale! 12.5% alc | 96+pts | $58

Grosset – Polish Hill – Riesling – 2026. Oh, I am in love! What a stunning wine. This has the purest of fruit, and it presents as extraordinarily fine and elegant. Yet there is great depth behind the supple, subtle exterior. Remarkably vibrant acidity plays an important role but does not impact on the fruit in the slightest. It was only with air and time in the glass, however, that the true power of this wine started to fully express itself. It became even better drinking after a day sitting open on the tasting bench.
12.3% alc | 97+pts | $85

Dhillon – Glenhope Vineyard – Chardonnay – 2025. Wow, this is good, and excellent value from Lamonts in Cottesloe, given that it is made by the team at Bindi. The fruit is perfectly ripe, but in a restrained, almost analytical way, providing a window into the climate and philosophy behind this wine. There are hints of white peach, with abundant citrus notes, particularly grapefruit. Where this really shows its class is in its mouthfeel and length of flavours. Excellent winemaking; the oak plays an important part in the structure and textural components but has been beautifully assimilated into the fruit. And a few years will see this get even better, as the fruit really expresses itself. 13.5% alc – 95pts – $39.

Hutton – Reserve – Chardonnay – 2024. Funky and very good. This has had the royal treatment in the winery, with wild ferment and barrel fermentation in French oak (22% new). And the way it comes together with the grapefruit-like acidity on the palate is brilliant. The flinty minerality that sits on both the nose and palate presents as curry leaf and spice. A hedonistic wine that I look forward to seeing age over the next few years. The fruit is a mix of Gin Gin, clone 3 and clone 5. 12.9% alc – 95pts – $100.

Vasse Felix – Tom Cullity – Cabernet/Malbec – 2023. This takes all the highlights from the other wines in the tasting and distils them into a single, cohesive package. But this wine comes with a caveat. It is young: very young. The palate is seamless and the fruit and winemaking superb, but it is just so, so closed. It is only with a little air that this really starts to reveal just how good it is. The depth, power and intensity are next level, with the oak (58% new French barriques) providing the backdrop on which the fruit has been painted. It is a thirty-year prospect, so give it a big decant if you are going to get the most from it today. You won’t be sorry. The power of this wine was amplified with time in the glass, with the acidity serving as a counterfoil ensuring balance. Wonderful. 14.5% alc – 97pts – $200.

Bream Creek – Cabernet/Merlot – 2025. What a lovely wine. The vibrant fruit is the focus, but this has been brilliantly paired to the oak and acidity. There is a generosity to this wine that comes from the perfectly ripe fruit that makes it so much more accessible today. I would go as far as to say that this is totally delicious. With mid-term ageing, I am confident that this will develop more depth and complexity, but for me, I would be very happy drinking it young (which is a rare thing indeed). Gets an extra point for its drinkability. 14.0% alc – 95pts – $45.

Recent Articles

October 2026 New Releases

A diverse set of releases, with impressive wines from Singlefile, Plantagenet and Stefano Lubiana.

Grosset 2026 Rieslings Reviewed

A profound Polish Hill, and a Springvale that may be the finest yet released under the label.

Chardonnay New Release: September 2026

A fascinating aspect of this tasting was the name of the Wente chardonnay clone that Cullen attributed to the Kevin John Solstice Sun Chardonnay.

The names Wente, Gin Gin, Mendoza and UC Davis Clone 1 all appear to be used interchangeably in Margaret River. Technically, it appears that the latter three all share the same Wente ancestry. Gin Gin clone refers to Wente cuttings from the original Gin Gin vineyards that have adapted locally whereas Mendoza refers to Wente cuttings that were originally planted in Argentina that adapted to that environment. In reality, they are all described as having very similar characteristics, and the classic “hen and chicken” bunch composition.

Classic Cabernet – September 2026

It is no secret that I love Bordeaux varietal based wines. The quality/value ratio is right up there, with very worthwhile wines available at a variety of price points. And the highlights from this tasting served to reinforce that view.

Farvie in Focus: 2018 – 2024 vintage tasting

Barry Weinman: 7 September 2026

Swinney Vineyard sits in the Frankland River region of Western Australia and has quickly established itself as one of Australia’s most exciting fine wine producers. While the family has been growing grapes for generations, the launch of the Farvie range represented a bold step into ultra-premium, site-driven winemaking. Produced from the estate’s dry-grown bush vines and guided by a philosophy that seeks to express vineyard character above all else, Farvie has become one of Australia’s most compelling collections of Grenache, Mourvèdre and Shiraz. Tasting through the range from 2018 to 2024 provides a fascinating insight into the evolution of both the wines and the winemaking philosophy behind them. 

Penfolds 2026 Portfolio Launch Part One: White Wines

Barry Weinman: Tasted 25th June 2026

Few wineries have shaped the story of Australian wine as profoundly as Penfolds. Since its foundation in 1844, Penfolds has been more than a producer of great wine; it has been a custodian of innovation and, through the enduring success of Grange, the winery that helped establish Australia’s reputation on the world fine wine stage.

Penfolds 2026 Portfolio Launch Part Two: Best of the Bin Reds

Barry Weinman: Tasted 25th June 2026:

Whilst Grange may be Australia’s most celebrated wine, many people, myself included, built our cellars around wines like Bin 28 Kalimna Shiraz and Bin 128 Coonawarra Shiraz (as well as 389, which will be covered in a separate article). These are wines that have quietly carried the Penfolds House Style across the decades, providing remarkable consistency while introducing drinkers to two very different expressions of Australian Shiraz.

Penfolds 2026 Portfolio Launch Part Three: Super-premium Superstars – Bin 407 to Magill Estate

Barry Weinman: Tasted 25th June 2026

For me, this is where the real excitement exists within the range (along with the brilliant 2024 Bin 128). These are wines that need no introduction to Australian wine collectors.

Penfolds 2026 Portfolio Launch Part Four: The Californian Adventure

Barry Weinman: Tasted 25th June 2026

Penfolds’ expansion into California represents one of the boldest international projects undertaken by an Australian wine company. Rather than simply producing Californian wines, Penfolds has sought to express its distinctive House Style through Californian vineyards, drawing on relationships and vineyard holdings developed over several decades. The resulting collection—featuring wines such as Bin 704, Bin 600, Bin 149 and Quantum—combines Californian fruit with Penfolds’ centuries of winemaking experience. While initially met with curiosity, the Californian program has matured into a serious and credible extension of the Penfolds portfolio, reinforcing the winery’s long-held belief that great wine should be defined by quality and style rather than constrained by geography.

Penfolds 2026 Portfolio Launch Part Five: The Luxury Reds: Bin 169 to Grange

Barry Weinman: Tasted 25th June 2026

Penfolds Grange, Bin 707 and Bin 169 represent three distinct expressions of Penfolds’ winemaking philosophy: Grange, the internationally acclaimed icon that redefined Australian fine wine, is predominantly Shiraz and the first experimental release was in 1951.

Winter Reds – June 2026

Barry Weinman – June 2026

There has been a remarkable evolution in Australian cabernet and shiraz over the last three decades. In general, the wines have become ever more polished and refined. There is still great fruit quality and intensity, but the way the tannins and acids are now polished in the winery makes the wines so much more approachable than wines of old.

New Release Chardonnay – June 2026

Despite the quality and success of their pinots, following the release of the 2025 vintage, I am convinced that chardonnay is the best wine that Picardy produces. Especially when value comes into the equation.

A New World chardonnay that tips its hat to Burgundy.

Tenafeate Creek Wines

Barry Weinman – June 2026

Every now and then, the panel reviews a wine that defies expectations. Sometimes, this is a very well-renowned wine that fails to impress. And now and then, it is a wine that I am not familiar with that excels.

And rarely, a whole range of wines comes along that knocks my socks off. And so it was with Tenafeate Creek Wines.

Established in 1973 on what was once a group-settlement dairy farm in Wilyabrup, the estate is part of the original pioneering wave that helped define Margaret River as a world-class fine-wine region. The name relates to a hay shed perched on a rise above the then-pastures, where the wines were originally made.

Rowe Wines

May 2026

Richard Rowe is not a household name when it comes to great Australian wine, but he should be. For more than 50 years, he has been instrumental in crafting some of Australia’s finest wines during stints at wineries including Leasingham, Evans & Tate and KWV.

Rumour has it that, after retiring to the Margaret River region of Western Australia, his children talked him into starting a boutique winery in the region. The results are spectacular.

Idée Fixe: Fixation, Place and Precision

May 2026

In 2012, Paul Holmes à Court, proprietor of Vasse Felix, acquired an additional Karridale vineyard — one of Margaret River’s most marginal and slow-ripening sub-regions. Sitting close to the ocean and influenced by the Leeuwin Current, it consistently produced chardonnay with unusually high natural acidity and restrained fruit expression. Whilst these qualities were considered challenging for table wine, they proved revelatory for sparkling wine production. Trial bottlings sparked what would become a decade-long preoccupation.

Henschke: 2022 Vintage

Barry Weinman – May 2026

Some days in wine are more remarkable than others. And so it was when John Jens reached out to ask whether he could bring around the new Henschke reds from the 2022 vintage.

To taste the Hill of Grace or Mount Edelstone is a rare treat. To taste them side by side, alongside the Wheelwright and the Hill of Roses, was an extraordinary privilege — and the wines did not disappoint. Whilst the sheer quality was a given, the highlight for me was the subtle variations in style that each vineyard presented.

New Release Pinot Noir: May 2026

Barry Weinman – May 2026

With the cooler weather settling in, it is the perfect time for pinot noir. Last week’s panel tasting presented a number of wines well worth seeking out.

The most surprising wine was Singlefile’s 2024 Run Free Pinot Noir. How a wine of such quality can be sold for $30 is beyond me. The 2024 pinot from Battles is the first release of the variety from this producer, and it is a cracker. And the Picardy and Singlefile Family Reserve pinots showed the more serious side of the variety.

New Release Highlights: May 2026

Barry Weinman: May 2026

Across various blind tastings conducted over the last few weeks, these are some of the standout wines.

On the Tasting Bench: March 2026

Here are three of the highlights from the last few weeks of tasting.

The 2023 Leeuwin Art Series Chardonnay is another stunning rendition of this wine, and the 2023 Moss Wood cabernet is the best young Moss Wood that I have tasted in several years.

And a wine that I know nothing about, but charmed the panel was the Thunderstone Pinot Noir 2024. Great stuff!

Vasse Felix 2024 Vintage Chardonnays: Chasing perfection

Barry Weinman: 25th March 2026

Hot on the heels of the brilliant Cullen Kevin John and Pierro chardonnays from the 2024 vintage comes the trio of premium wines from Vasse Felix.

If you needed any further proof of the potential of the 2024 vintage for premium chardonnay in Margaret River, these three wines deliver that in spades.

Whilst the quality is the reason for this review, it is the contrasting styles between the three wines that are the most interesting part of the story. Same winery, same winemakers, same region, but each is a unique expression of high-quality chardonnay.

Swinney Farvie – 2024 Vintage in Focus

10th February 2026

The Great Southern, whilst geographically large, is relatively small from the perspective of wines produced. In 2024, the total crush for the region was 4,322 tonnes. This is only 17% of the size of Margaret River’s crush (25,593 tonnes).

Barossa Beauties – Welland Wines

February 2026

With the current release reds from Welland Wines in the Barossa, Quality/Price ratio is off the scale.