Journal

Max Allen's 20 top drink picks of 2023


We were lucky enough to be selected by Max Allen (Australian Financial Review) in his 20 top drinks of 2023.

Those beverages that he claims “I’ll look back on to remind me of 2023”… See the below exert from the article published November 24, 2023, where Max includes our 2021 Obstgarten Riesling Selection:

“When you look back at your life, what moments come to mind? Milestones of family and friends, births, deaths and marriages, for sure. But what else? Some remember significant sporting moments: the season their team won the flag, or where they were when Sam Kerr kicked that goal. Some think of holidays they took. Others recall memorable meals.

I think about the drinks. I mark my life in bottles and glasses: the first time I tasted Grange (Tony Bilson’s restaurant in Sydney, September 1990); the wine we drank at our wedding (Cope Williams Romsey Brut); tasting the first orange wine made in Australia (by T’Gallant’s Kevin McCarthy, in 2007). So here, for my annual round-up of top drinks this year, I’ve compiled a list of the bottles I’ll look back on to remind me of 2023.”

What Max says about our riesling: “Whereas the Adelina is a fabulous example of the classic Australian dry riesling style, this is a shimmering example of the slightly sweet but dry-finishing riesling style inspired by wines produced in Germany. It is 10 per cent alcohol and contains around 40 grams per litre of grape sugar: bright yellow fruit – crunchy yellow peach, perhaps, or slightly underripe apricot – tumbles across the tongue carried by precise, focused citrussy acidity and a touch of marmaladey Botrytis complexity. Thrilling.”

Read the full article here.

Tess Brown