Guide to recent Australian vintages

It is of course complete nonsense that Australia produces a continuous succession of equally successful vintages with extremely similar characteristics. But then you knew that. During my intensive tastings in the major wine regions around Adelaide, Australia’s wine capital, I have been struck by the dramatic differences between recent growing seasons – and indeed the dramatic differences in the weather on successive days. I arrived last Friday when it was so cold that I had to wear a thick woollen sweater and dined by an open fire that evening. This was the culmination of a week of grey weather in...