19 Oct 2025
An Australian Walkabout
How many different Australian wines can you try?
- wine
- tasting
- australia
24! Not a bad effort out of 43.
On Friday, I attended the wines of Australia Growers walk-around organised by the Wine Society. With so many wines to try, it was pretty difficult to make comprehensive tasting notes! I do want to recommend some standout wines that I would definitely consider picking up and offer reasonable value for money.
- It Takes a Village, Australian Grand Vin 2025 (£75 for three - order by 22nd October)
- Wildman Wine Astro Bunny South Australia Pét-Nat 2024 (£17)
- Robert Oatley Pennant Margaret River Chardonnay 2020 (£36)
- Pewsey Vale ‘The Contours Museum Reserve’ Eden Valley Riesling 2012 (£40)
- Yalumba ‘The Signature’ Barossa Cabernet Sauvignon-Shiraz 2019 (£40)
- Henschke Keyneton Euphonium Barossa 2018 (£37)
There were incredible wines at the premium end (see Henschke, Mount Langi Ghiran and Vasse Felix ) but for the price I would rather go for the recommendations listed above.
Producers
Vanguardist Wines – Michael J. Corbett
Trained in the south of France, Roussillon and you can see the influence this has had on Corbett’s wines.
It Takes a Village, Australian Grand Vin 2025 (£75 for three - order by 22nd October)
Currently available en primeur, so tasting it needs to project where it’ll be in 5-10 years time. Very concentrated, it wants to open. Ripe black fruits with herbal and floral notes.
Vanguardist ‘Oeno’ McLaren Vale Grenache 2023 (£19.50)
Red berries with some forest fruit richness. Med(+) tannins - grippy. Some spice.
Vanguardist ‘Blewitt’ McLaren Vale Grenache Syrah 2023 (£19.50)
Fresh, ripe fruits. Very bright expression. Surprisingly, open. Med-Med(+) tannins.