JM 1ST APPROACH

Franco d’Anna is a highly skilled and intuitive winemaker, in touch with the grapes from the moment they are formed, then picked, pressed and fermented and French oak matured. You either get the purity, balance and finesse of this wine, or you don’t.  James Halliday

I suspect that the mantle for “Australia’s Best Value White Wine” has been settled for the time being. What a sensation. ... Long, complex, giving and finessed to perfection. Meal, nectarine, and lime flavour before a spicy, slatey, stony finish. Hoddles Creek Estate is no longer a “new” story so there’s no call for surprise, but this still managed to bowl me over.  ... 95+ points WInefront.com.au

Boysenberry, blueberry jubes, cranberry and kirsch. Licorice and orange peel too. Brightness and good dimension. Just delicious. .... Rated : 93 Points Winefront.com.au

The nose on this is everything that’s good about straight Mataro, black fruits in the boysenberry mould, Turkish delight, slight cooked meat complexity, licorice. Luxuriously layered palate with black cherry and kirsch, well rounded slippery feel with spice and a savoury complexion. Great presence on the finish, persistent with bright fruit and well balanced too. A welcome addition to the cellar especially at the ludicrous price. ....Wining Pom

” Bright crimson-purple; the perfumed bouquet has the full offering of red and black fruits, spice and oak, the medium-bodied palate having no need to go beyond those characters, but does have seriously good texture, and a long, balanced finish.” –
“seriously good texture, and a long, balanced finish.” – 96 Points James Halliday

Bright, clear purple-crimson; the lower alcohol pays dividends with the more elegant and intense profile of the fruit flavours and the persistent high quality tannins of the kind you find in Bordeaux in a good vintage. Especially impressive for ancient mariners such as myself. 94 points James Halliday

Its a greatly compelling proposition. ..... a stint in the cellar wil only do it good. I don't know how they keep the price so low, I really don't. Wine Companion

...The southern Rhone may not be my bag, but again I’d be jumping into this. Violets, peanuts, dark cherries, kirsch. Controlled. Tight. Needs some bottle age or a decent decant. Takes the more popular opposition in its class to task. Flavour and interest at a terrific price. Rated : 91 Points Winefront

Discreet, finely aromatic nose with elegant, almost graceful fruit, cool notes, a hint of fresh herbs, subtle minerality, delicately juicy with a firm acid structure, elegant with a crisp bite, fresh and radiant, appealing, animated drinking.

Well, if a rosé is made by such Burgundy royalty as DRC’s Aubert de Villaine and Dujac’s Jacques Seysses; a bloke sort of has to try it, hey? this is based on old vines Cinsault, a variety not known for its power and complexities, to add fragrance and zip to their reds. In this, the variety’s characteristic rosés, seem to appear not only in the aromatics, but also in a radiant rose pink colour. This is so textured, long and fresh and it plays out with a tingling backbone and a nice drying, savoury note at the end. This is worth finding. Don’t know if I’ve seen a better rosé... Adelaide Review

The result: pristine perfect Eden Valley shiraz, right on the knocker. It’s a very model of a modern major shiraz. Lots of bright, sweet-sour, floral top notes matched to oodles of jubey, blueberried, black cherried fruit. Crushed leaves – dry and gum – add spicy, savoury punch. Sweet-scented, smoke-accented and beguiling. Love both its composure and overall flavour profile. It’s a new label but on the quality of the wine itself, it’s under-priced. 94 points Winefront.com.au

top notes matched to oodles of jubey, blueberried, black cherried fruit. Crushed leaves – dry and gum – add spicy, savoury punch. Sweet-scented, smoke-accented and beguiling. Love both its composure and overall flavour profile. It’s a new label but on the quality of the wine itself, it’s under-priced. 94 points Winefront.com.au

The Woods Crampton Mataro- Boysenberry, blueberry jubes, cranberry and kirsch. Licorice and orange peel too. Brightness and good dimension. Just delicious. Made and priced way in the drinker's/buyer's flavour. Snap. Rated : 93 Points Winefront.com.au