Tasted: 2002 Noon Reserve Cabernet
When deciding on a food match for this wine, we turned to one of our reliable favourites: Ottolenghi’s Baked Rice with Confit Tomatoes and Garlic (page 174 of his ‘Simple’ cookbook). The rice is baked with cinnamon quills for a fragrant lift and delivers a natural sweetness from the slow-cooked tomatoes and garlic. Soft and […]
Tasted: Colin 2015 Chemin des Roses Champagne – it’s raining!
Friday nights are pizza nights at our place, and tonight we’ve opted for takeaway from Pizzateca. To mark the occasion—and to celebrate the rain—we opened a bottle of Champagne. We’ve recorded 8mm in the gauge today, the most rain we’ve had since last November. After months of looking out at a brown landscape and parched […]
Tasted: 1999 Noon Reserve Shiraz with Pizzateca Arancini
We are overdue in revisiting some of the older vintages in our cellar, so tonight we decided to dig out a Reserve Shiraz. We wanted something earthy and creamy to complement the more delicate texture of this mature wine, so we paired it with black truffle and mushroom arancini in a cream sauce from our […]
Tasted: 2023 Chateau de Maligny Petit Chablis
We mail ordered a cheese hamper from The Smelly Cheese shop in Adelaide and it included a bottle of this wine, along with Époisses cheese, black wafers & muscatels. It was a lovely wine and frankly, a nice surprise! Quite suave in texture for a Chablis, with the freshness of an early morning walk on […]
Tasted: 1997 Noon Reserve Cabernet with Chicken Marbella
Chicken Marbella (page 229 in Ottolenghi’s ‘Simple’ cookbook) is excellent if you’re looking for a dish to have with an older wine. The baked sweet/salty combination of dates, molasses, olives and capers is rich and gentle and pairs very well with soft, mature reds. Prepared ahead and baked in one dish, it’s so easy to […]
Tasted: 2021 K1 Single Vineyard Reserve Chardonnay
The 2021 K1 Reserve Chardonnay is one of the best chardonnays we have tasted in the last 12 months. It’s beautifully balanced and full of flavour. Complex with toasty oak but not too much, it’s delicious and leaves you wanting more. Premium price but worth the money. Purchased in April 2025 from the K1 cellar […]
Tasted: 2023 Somos Vermentino, McLaren Vale
We opened this bottle on the day it was purchased because we thought it would match well with the bowl of vegetable korma and garlic naan we were preparing for dinner. All those at the table agreed that it had great texture, lovely balance and an elegant finish that paired perfectly with the spicy food. […]
Tasted: Palazzolo e Figli 2022 Sauvignon Blanc
This wine had the typical gooseberry aromas of the variety but with outstanding balance and refinement. It’s Sauvignon Blanc for Riesling lovers! Served with pan-seared tuna on a bed of Asian noodle salad with ginger and soy dressing. There are not many imported wines this good at this price. Purchased in 2024 by Drew from […]
Tasted: 2016 Noon Reserve Cabernet with Lamb & Barley Pie
This is the second time we’ve cooked this pie & served it with one of our cabernets and it’s a lovely match. The recipe is from a book called The Tivoli Road Baker (page 140) which has quickly become one of our favourite books when we’re looking for something to bake, sweet or savoury. If […]