Wine reviews

Sutton Grange Estate 2021 Viognier,
96 points
— 2023 Halliday Wine Companion
St Anne’s Vineyards NV Sparkling Shiraz, Mandy Plush Memorial Trophy
— 2022 Ballarat Wine Show
2019 Sutton Grange Estate Syrah
The Max Schubert AM Trophy, Most Outstanding Red Wine in Show
— 2022 Royal Adelaide Wine Show
2019 Sutton Grange Estate Syrah
Best Shiraz 2019 Vintage and Older
— 2022 Royal Adelaide Wine Show
Sutton Grange Winery 2020 Fairbank Syrah, 95 points
— 2023 Halliday Wine Companion
Sutton Grange Winery 2019 Fairbank Syrah
Champion wine of show
— National Wine Show of Australia 2022
Mandurang Valley
Best Small Cellar Door
— Gourmet Traveller WINE Best Cellar Door Awards 2022
Balgownie Estate
Best Large Cellar Door and Best Food
— Gourmet Traveller WINE Best Cellar Door Awards 2022
Killiecrankie Wines
Star Cellar Door - Bendigo
— Gourmet Traveller WINE Best Cellar Door Awards 2022
Killiecrankie Wines 2015 Shiraz | Past Presidents Award (The best Red Wine 6+ years old)
— Daylesford Wine Show, 2021
2018 Sutton Grange Estate Syrah | Dr Gilbert Phillips Trophy for Best Red Wine
— Sydney Royal Wine Show 2021
2019 Sutton Grange Estate Syrah
Best Shiraz in Show
— 2022 Royal Adelaide Wine Show
Sutton Grange Winery 2021 Fairbank Rosé, 95 points
— 2023 Halliday Wine Companion
GilGraves 2020 Easy Red named top six of Australia’s Best Chilled Reds
— Young Gun Of Wine Australia's Best Chilled Reds
Heart of Gold Vineyard
Cellar door with the Best Accomodation
— Gourmet Traveller WINE Best Cellar Door Awards 2022
Lome/Bress
Best Additional Cellar Door Experience (Event Days)
— Gourmet Traveller WINE Best Cellar Door Awards 2022
Sutton Grange Winery
Best tasting experience - Bendigo
— Gourmet Traveller WINE Best Cellar Door Awards 2022
Sutton Grange Winery 2019 Fairbank Syrah | Gold Medal
— Adelaide Wine Show, 96 points
Black Wallaby Wines 2021 Sylvie Sangiovese | Gold medal for best Sangiovese
— Australian Small Winemakers Show 2021
Sutton Grange Winery
#230 Top wineries in Australia
— The Real Review 2021
Balgownie Estate
#90 Top wineries in Australia
— The Real Review 2021
Mandurang Valley Wines
STAR CELLAR DOOR
— Gourmet Traveller WINE Best Cellar Door Awards, 2021
Balgownie Estate
Cellar Door with Best Food & Accommodation
— Gourmet Traveller WINE Best Cellar Door Awards 2021
Killiecrankie Wines
Best Additional Cellar Door Experience (Art and Concerts)
— Gourmet Traveller WINE Best Cellar Door Awards 2021
David Lawson, Winemaker
Black Wallaby Wines
Julian West Memorial Trophy for the best wine producer under 25 tonnes.
— 2021 Daylesford Wine Show
2018 Sutton Grange Aglianico
”Top New Releases”
— Gourmet Traveller WINE - Feb/March 2021 issue
Balgownie Estate Railway Block Shiraz 2017
Easily the juiciest and most approachable of the super premium Balgownie Shiraz
— The top 20 Shiraz of August 2020, Andrew Graham, Australian Wine Review
Awarded 5 Red Stars and Best Winery in the Bendigo region
Balgownie Estate Bendigo
— 2021 Halliday Wine Companion Awards
Truly astonishing
Sandhurst Ridge 2017 Reserve Bendigo Shiraz
— 2021 Halliday Wine Companion Awards - 95 points
Such poise and savouriness! This is a winner and for the price, an outstanding wine
Water Wheel 2018 Bendigo Grenache
— 2021 Halliday Wine Companion Awards - 95 points
OUTSTANDING WINE - 2017 Blackjack Block 6 Shiraz
— Gourmet Traveller WINE, 2020
Balgownie Estate Bendigo - Best Additional Cellar Door Experience (Glamping) Bendigo
— Gourmet Traveller WINE Best Cellar Door Awards, 2020
Glenwillow Wines - Best Small Cellar Door Bendigo
— Gourmet Traveller WINE Best Cellar Door Awards, 2020
 
Gold Award
Byronsvale Estate Shiraz 2017
— Victorian Wine Show, 2019
Sutton Grange Winery
Best Large Cellar Door
— Gourmet Traveller WINE Best Cellar Door Awards 2021
BlackJack Wines
Best Tasting Experience
— Gourmet Traveller WINE Best Cellar Door Awards 2021
2018 Black Wallaby Shiraz | Top Gold Medal, Best Shiraz of Show and Best Wine of Show
— 2021 Daylesford Wine Show
2018 Black Estate Shiraz | GOLD medal
Category: Shiraz and Viognier, 2018 and older
— 2021 Victorian Wine Show
Balgownie Estate Centre Block Shiraz 2017
This is what mod Australian Shiraz is about – ripeness, unmistakable generosity of flavour, but also delivered with a sense of shape and purpose
— The top 20 Shiraz of August 2020, Andrew Graham, Australian Wine Review
Melanie Chester’s arrival has seen good wines become even better
Sutton Grange Winery
Australia’s Top Ten Dark Horses
— 2021 Halliday Wine Companion Awards
Has come through with flying colours
BlackJack Vineyards 2016 Mr Ramoy
— 2021 Halliday Wine Companion Awards - 95 points
2017 Sutton Grange Estate Syrah shows black cherry, spices and oak on the nose, with a suggestion of licorice. A firm backbone of tannins gives structure but there’s enough fruit to match it. Ripe plums, mulberries and fresh blackcurrants backed by a solid frame of oak. There’s plenty of power and drive to the finish
— Gourmet Traveller WINE, 2020
BlackJack Wines - Star Cellar Door Bendigo
— Gourmet Traveller WINE Best Cellar Door Awards, 2020
Sutton Grange Winery - Best Large Cellar Door Bendigo
— Gourmet Traveller WINE Best Cellar Door Awards, 2020
Bronze & Silver
Byronsvale Myers Creek Shiraz 2017
— Victorian Wine Show | Rutherglen Wine Show, 2019
Silver medal
GilGraves 2018 Field Blend
— Winestate Magazine 2019
Black Wallaby Wines 2017 Albino Blend
Best White Wine other than Chardonnay
— Daylesford Wine Show 2019
 
Killiecrankie Wines
Best Red Wine aged 6 years or more for their 2013 Killiecrankie Shiraz +
Most Successful Exhibitor

— Daylesford Wine Show 2019
 
Sutton Grange Winery
Top Wineries of Australia 2019
— The Real Review
 
Balgownie Estate - Cellar Door with the Best Food, Bendigo/Heathcote region.
— Gourmet Traveller Wine's Best Cellar Door Awards, 2019
 
Typical deep colour - and full-bodied.
— Turners Crossing Vineyard, The Crossing Shiraz 2008, Rating 95, 2019 Halliday Wine Companion
 
This full bodied red has depth and tremendous concentration yet is fresh and succulent. It drinks well young and offers plenty for the future
— 2016 Sutton Grange Estate Syrah. Peter Forrestal, Money Magazine, 2019
 
Champion of the Show, Best Regional Red Wine and Best Regional Shiraz
— Lome Vineyard’s 2015 Shiraz, Daylesford Wine Show 2017
Sutton Grange Winery - Best Additional Experiences, Bendigo/Heathcote region.
— Gourmet Traveller Wine's Best Cellar Door Awards, 2019
 
Balgownie Estate - Winery with a five-star rating in the 2019 James Halliday Wine Companion.
— 2019 Halliday Wine Companion
 
Everything beautifully sewn together. Pitch-perfect now but still plenty of life ahead.
— Balgownie Estate 2007 Museum Release Bendigo Shiraz, Rating 96, 2019 Halliday Wine Companion
 
The colour is bright, setting the scene for a medium-bodied wine that has a complex palate full of savoury and spicy characters running through the long finish and lingering after taste
— 2014 Glenwillow Reserve Bendigo Shiraz, Rating 95, 2017 James Halliday Wine Companion
 
GOLD for the Killiecrankie Wines 2015 Ravenswood Run Shiraz
— 2017 Winewise Magazine Small Vigneron Awards
This Shiraz is charmingly old school, medium bodied with a lovely seasoned spice/pepper note. Four stars!
— BlackJack The Major's Line 2014 Shiraz, The Herald Sun, January 2017
 
Big but exquisite. It’s bold, it’s integrated, it’s firm, it’s ready for anything
— Sutton Grange Winery’s Estate Ram's Horn Block Syrah 2012, Rating 96, Halliday Wine Companion 2017
Excellent crimson-purple; a powerful, intense, black-fruited shiraz that exudes flavour from every pore, but is light on its feet...the finish reaffirms the quality of this wine
— Sandhurst Ridge’s Reserve Bendigo Shiraz 2013, Rating 95, Halliday Wine Companion 2017
 
…full of rose petals and spice, immediately grabs attention; the palate is crisp and bone dry, with savoury complexity snuggling up with the rose petals
— Harcourt Valley Vineyards Heathcote Rose 2015, Rating 95, Halliday Wine Companion 2017
…The wine takes volume of flavour and gives it a nudge, and does so with a masterful sense of control, even poise. It’s firm, rich and warm…
— Balgownie Estate’s Old Vine Bendigo Shiraz 2013, Rating 96, Halliday Wine Companion 2017
 
…In a word: beautiful. Rich, but silken, awash with pure, dark-berried flavour but admirably aided by savoury inputs and a sheer coating of creamy oak…
— BlackJack Vineyards Bendigo Shiraz 2013, Rating 95, Halliday Wine Companion 2017
Impressive from the outset. Violet and mint notes head straight into sweet, luscious blackcurrent. It tumbles over itself to impress but remains firm and tidy to close...
— Glenwillow Wines Bendigo Cabernet Sauvignon 2013, Rating 95, Halliday Wine Companion 2017
 
Matured in new French oak for 12 months. ...vitality and freshness on the very long and finely structured palate.
— Harcourt Valley Vineyard, Single Vineyard Old Vine Bendigo Shiraz 2014, Rating 96, Halliday Wine Companion 2017
Trophy for Best Cabernet goes to the Balgownie Estate 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon.
— Balgownie Estate 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon, Daylesford Wine Show 2016
 
Best Wine of the Daylesford Wine Show 2016 awarded to Water Wheel Vineyard’s 2014 Memsie Homestead Shiraz.
— Water Wheel Vineyard, 2014 Memsie Homestead Shiraz, Daylesford Wine Show 2016
The Past President’s Trophy for Best Mature Red Wine awarded to Killiecrankie Wines 2010 Shiraz.
— Killiecrankie Wines 2010 Shiraz, Daylesford Wine Show 2016
 
A Double Gold Medal. This is rated above a Gold Medal and holds the highest accolade at our show.
— Melbourne International Wine Awards 2015
...a classic Australian interpretation of a time-honoured blend featuring intense dark berry fruit with a touch of charry oak.
— 2015 Winewise Small Vigneron Awards
 
...an impressive cabernet with a full range of blackcurrent, olive, bramble and earthy flavours.
— James Halliday, Australian Wine Companion 2016 Edition
Hums with flavours, rattles with tannin, delights with perfume. Six years old and singing a melodious song.

An enthralling drink now, as it shall remain for many years to come.
— Rating 96, James Halliday, Australian Wine Companion 2016 Edition
 
...the vintage (and possibly the extra year in bottle) has produced the most elegant Sandhurst Ridge wine to date.

Hand-picked, open-fermented, basket-pressed to French barriques for 19 months.
— Rating 95, James Halliday, Australian Wine Companion 2016 Edition
Richness and character. Sturdy flavours of plum, earth and peppercorn meet the prettiness of violet and sweet oak.
— Rating 95, James Halliday, Australian Wine Companion 2016 Edition
 
Estate-grown, hand-picked and matured for 15 months in new and used French oak.

...the very good colour and depth to the fruit bode well for the future.
— Rating 95, James Halliday, Australian Wine Companion 2016 Edition
The bouquet and palate are extremely complex, with a wonderful array of spicy, savoury, peppery overtones to the blackberry and plum fruit.....it is also very elegant and carefully detailed.

This will always be a great wine with food. Top value, too.
— Rating 96, James Halliday, Australian Wine Companion 2016 Edition
 
Deep purple-red; the ultra-fragrant bouquet doesn’t warn you of the wines formidable powder, but just when you think this may be too much, comes the realisation that the palate is beautifully balanced, and there is almost limitless supple black and red fruit under the power. Great now, it will become even greater with a couple of decades under its belt.
— Rating 96, James Halliday, Australian Wine Companion 2013 Edition
A gently aromatic Bendigo blend with less overt viognier influence than past years. Inviting berry aromas have floral, spice and oak touches. It tastes juicy and intense with soft tannins in perfect balance.
— Ralph Kyte-Powell, The Age - Epicure
 
Dominic and Krystina Morris have plenty of experience with tempranillo on the Iberian Peninsula and it shows. Liquorice, cherry, mint and sarsaparilla cordial aromas lead into a savoury palate with a long liquorice-scented aftertaste.
— Ralph Kyte-Powell, The Age - Epicure
A top-notch Bendigo shiraz viognier blend that avoids the eucalypty traits of some central Victorian reds. Instead, it offers complex, elegant aromas of raspberries, glace cherries, spice and milk chocolate. The palate follows through smooth and seamless, medium bodied and succulent in flavour, with a sinewy back-bone of fine tannins that should support some bottle age. First-class Victorian regional wine. Wine of the week.
— Ralph Kyte-Powell, The Age - Epicure - Uncorked
 
...proclaims its varietal character from the first whiff of the bouquet through to the elegant finish. A mix of crushed herbs and citrus leaves is woven through the sour cherry aromas & flavours, the light bodied palate having considerable length.

Great food wine - good with any Mediterranean food.
— James Halliday, Wine Companion Magazine
Deep purple-red; the ultra-fragrant bouquet doesn’t warn you of the wines formidable powder, but just when you think this may be too much, comes the realisation that the palate is beautifully balanced, and there is almost limitless supple black and red fruit under the power. Great now, it will become even greater with a couple of decades under its belt.
— Rating 96, James Halliday, Australian Wine Companion 2013 Edition