Bay of Fires 2008 Riesling

Fran Austin is producing some outstanding wines at Constellation's southerly outpost and this is a ripping Tasmanian riesling with classic cool-climate structure and flavours. There are some delightful lemon/lime/green apple flavours on the palate, the merest hints of spice and wonderful length and finishing acid. An absolute pleasure to drink. $32.

Penfolds 2004 Grange

I waited until all the hype about the 04 Grange had died down before doing a re-taste and I still think this is one of the most impressive current-release Australian wines I've ever seen. It's pretty close to being the whole package with tremendous flavour and structure, wonderful mouthfeel offering a range of flavours (from dark fruit to spice to integrated oak). Totally satisfying. I don't usually give scores - but I give this one 99/100. Simply superb - if you can afford it. $550.

Radford 2008 Eden Valley Riesling

There are some pretty terrific 08 rieslings in the marketplace but this would have to rank with the top half dozen; steely and intense with lemon and lime aromas and flavours and some really tight minerally acidity. This wine suffered from what I call "an evaporation poblem". The bottle was very soon empty. Brilliant! $24.

d’Arenberg 2008 The Noble Wrinkled

The Osborn family produce a bewildering array of wines, all with witty names, including several stickies. This is a luscious, almost unctuous, dessert wine made from botrytised riesling grapes. There’s wonderful depth of flavour here and a certain dryness on the finish. Pair with tarte tatin, duck liver mousse or blue cheese. $20.

Mantra {muse} 2007 Reserve Chardonnay

A new label for me, but this is a very impressive chardonnay that has lovely ripe melon/peach flavours balanced by some nice minerality and hints of nutty oak. There's creamy fleshiness on the palate but also very good acid on the finish. A throughly modern Australian style. $28.