James Halliday’s Top 100, 2013 Cullen Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc Semillon and 2012 Diana Madeline!
Top 100 Wines of 2014
Every year James Halliday selects his Top 100 wines from the many thousands of wines he sampled over the course of that year. Featuring wines of all varieties and at a range of prices, it’s an invaluable guide to the very best of Australian
wine each year. Also incorporated into the Top 100 is an overview of the year in wine, looking at the major trends and the key issues facing grape growers and wine makers. The Top 100 is first published in The Australian newspaper in November and is uploaded onto winecompanion.com.au shortly after.
This year 1582 wines were submitted for the Top 100. Of the 80 table wines selected, 25 came from Western Australia, Margaret River contributing 17 of these; 20 came from Victoria, 12 from the Yarra Valley; South Australia contributed 19, evenly spread across its regions; the Hunter Valley produced nine of the New South Wales total of 13; and three came from Tasmania. Read the full article Here
2014 Best white wines over 20: 2013 Cullen Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc Semillon, 97 Points
A 71/29% blend, wild yeast fermented, with no acid additions; 87% of the wine was matured for 5 months in French barriques (62% new). Follows in a long and proud tradition of exceptionally complex wines that rely on gentle persuasion, not brute force or, if you prefer, seduction rather than rape. The flavours are so attractive and mouthfilling now, it is easy to forget the wine will mature with grace for well over a decade. Screwcap. 12.5% alc. Rating: 97 points. Drink to: 2025
2014 Best red wines over $20: 2012 Diana Madeline, 98 Points
Diana Madeline 2012 A 76/17/7% blend of cabernet sauvignon, merlot and cabernet franc aged for 19 months in French barriques (38% new). The palate has astonishing power and length given its alcohol, reflecting the years during which the vineyard has been managed biodynamically, the soil filled with life and beneficial micro-organisms that are indisputably having a positive impact on the vines. You might well be looking at a wine from Bordeaux’s Left Bank, coiled up like a spring, but perfectly balanced, the finish almost painfully long. Screwcap. 13.5% alc. Rating: 98 points. Drink to: 2042