NEWS

Oakdene Halliday Wine Companion 2020

2020 Halliday Wine Companion

Every year the release of Halliday's Wine Companion draws a lot of attention and excitement and the release of the 2020 edition is no exception. 

This year Oakdene has 6 wines rated 94 points or above and retained a 5 red star rating for the sixth year running keeping Oakdene in the top echelon of Australian producers.

Here is a snapshot of our scores and reviews.

95 points, 2017 Oakdene Single Vineyard William Shiraz 
Hand-picked, wild yeast fermented in small open vats with 15% whole bunches, matured in French barriques (30% new) for 16 months. Oakdene has decided to go for it in this spectacular vintage, and has got off to a flying start with this sumptuous wine. Picked at a modest baume level, it has the power more commonly found in the Barossa or Eden Valley at 14.5%-15% alcohol. This also has fine-grained tannins in best cool climate style.

95 points, 2017 Oakdene Single Vineyard Bernard's Cabernets
71% merlot, 16% cabernet franc, 13% cabernet sauvignon. Fine and elegant, the varieties complement each other with redcurrant, plum, cedary spice and pencil shavings amongst the aromas you can pick up on the bouquet, and a suite of similar flavours on the palate. It's long and supple with enough grip to encourage cellaring.

94 points, 2018 Oakdene Single Vineyard Jessica Sauvignon
Hand-picked, crushed, pressed to French barriques (15% new) for cultured yeast fermentation and 8 months maturation. High quality estate fruit, matched by skilled winemaking. This is a wine of real quality and stamina, its citrussy acidity driving the long palate and aftertaste.

94 points, 2017 Oakdene Single Vineyard Liz's Chardonnay
Wild-fermented in new and used French barriques. Attractive and generous in an open-hearted fashion, with white and yellow peach fruit, citrussy acidity and cashew/oak. Good overall balance and length.

94 points, 2017 Bellarine Peninsula Pinot Noir
Estate-grown, fermented in small open fermenters, matured in new and used French oak for 11 months. A highly expressive bouquet reflects the vinification (some French oak in particular), and the underlying quality of the fruit. The palate is plump, rich and textured. There's lots on offer here, now or in 10 years time.

94 points, 2017 Oakdene Single Vineyard Peta's Pinot Noir
Wild-fermented with some whole bunches to build spicy notes on the bouquet and palate, matured for 12 months in new and used French barriques. The bouquet is fine, the palate needing time to settle down (which it will do).

94 points, 2018 Oakdene Late Harvest Riesling
Probably not quite what is expected of a late harvest style in 375ml packaging, that being more typical of a luscious dessert wine. The water-white colour is an indicator. Following that there's ripe and aromatic riesling character on the bouquet, and a palate which is certainly sweet, but light on it's feet with crisp acidity escorting it all the way. Drink now and enjoy I'd say.

91 points, 2018 Bellarine Peninsula Pinot Grigio
Shows some skins/lees type savoury characters on the bouquet, along with the usual ripe pear aromas of the variety and a hint of apple pie with cinnamon. Nicely textured palate, quite mouthfilling, and offering sweet fruit flavour and lively youthfulness. It has reasonable acidity but it's basically soft and forward in style, so drink now is the way to go.

91 points, 2018 Bellarine Peninsula Rose
Made from whole bunch pressed pinot noir. Lifted aromas of strawberry, fresh and inviting, and there's a 'vinosity' of aroma that can sometimes be missing with rose. Flavours are light but attractive, red berries leading the way with rose water and watermelon in addition. Finishes well with a pleasantly astringent twist.

91 points, 2017 Bellarine Peninsula Shiraz
Estate-grown, open-fermented, matured in French barriques for 11 months. Excellent hue and depth. Well made, with a crosscurrent of red and black cherries on one hand, some muted savoury/leafy notes on the other. The overall balance is good, as is the length.

89 points, 2018 Oakdene Bellarine Peninsula Sauvignon Blanc
Generous fruit, mostly in the riper spectrum for the variety, although there's a background of more herbal characters and some evidence of the post-ferment time on lees. The flavours are fresh and juicy, just lacking the intensity for a higher score but there'll be few complaints from the customers.

16/08/2019 at 8:04 PM Permalink

Oakdene Bellarine Peninsula Sauvignon Blanc - 95 Points

“No-frills winemaking throws all the focus onto the fragrant bouquet and highly expressive palate. Has thrived in the cool vintage, and created something special, tropical/lemongrass notes – unusual bedfellows that have clearly been well satisfied by their union..”

21/03/2018 at 9:45 AM Permalink

2016 Oakdene Jessica Awarded Best Sauvignon Blanc at the Halliday Wine Companion Awards

OAKDENE VINEYARDS 2016 JESSICA SAUVIGNON, 96 points

Awarded Best Sauvignon Blanc at the 2018 Halliday Wine Companion Awards

We are thrilled that our very own Oakdene 2016 Jessica Sauvignon has tonight taken out the top place in its category at the Halliday Australian Wine Companion Awards!  The wine was named Best Sauvignon Blanc and awarded 96 points.

These awards coincide with the release of the latest edition (2018) of the influential manual, James Halliday’s’ definitive guide to Australian Wine.

First produced in 2008 from our 5 acre Sauvignon Blanc parcel planted in 2002.  Jessica Sauvignon was considered a project wine with the aim of producing an alternate style to the fruit driven Sauvignon Blanc gaining a strong foothold in the market.

The 2016 Jessica Single Vineyard Sauvignon, benefited from a slightly warmer growing season than usual, the bouquet displays gooseberry, guava with citrus overtones and subtle barrel ferment characters. The palate is full and complex with restrained tropical fruits, vanilla and a mineral edge, leading to a creamy and rich mid palate, lively acidity and a long textural finish.

A small quantity is available as a celebratory pre-release via our Cellar Door or click here to purchase direct. 

15/08/2017 at 11:48 AM Permalink

Halliday Scores Oakdene's 2014 Single Vineyard William Shiraz 95 points!

James Halliday’s Wine Companion has reviewed the current release of our Single Vineyard William Shiraz 2014. See below some great words form Campbell Mattinson giving it  a fantastic 96 points. For the record, this is the fifth vintage in a row the wine has received 95 points or higher from James Halliday's Wine Companion.  ($43.00 a bottle)

“In beautiful form. Meat and spice notes galore but with plush, ripe, generous fruit as a flood of seductive power. Tannin is smoky, filigreed, and deceptively firm. The longer you spend with this wine the more it impresses. It's stellar.”

Drink By 2030

Campbell Mattinson

James Halliday Wine Companion 2016

www.winecompanion.com.au

18/05/2016 at 5:13 PM Permalink

Gourmet Traveller Wine's Best Cellar Door Awards

The leading wine writers in the country have been very busy visiting every region to determine the best tasting experiences at cellar doors around Australia for Gourmet Traveller Wine.  Last year Oakdene won the 'Star Cellar Door' for the Geelong area and this year we are proud to be the 'Best Additional Experience' for 2015 (restaurant, accommodation and orchid nursery).

Come and join us at our Upside Down House, cellar door, to see what everyone is raving about. 

08/04/2015 at 4:08 PM Permalink

WBM Wine Review - 2014 Oakdene Pinot Grigio - 93 Points

Wine Review by Mike Bennie (Wine Business Monthly - March 2015)

"A blush of colour! Chalky texture, loads of savouriness, wet pebble texture and a bold vein of granite-like minerality. Nashi pear juice comes to mind too. This is a great example of how some judicious winemaking decisions can make Pinot Gris a more complex, compelling wine with drinkability and interest hand-in-hand. So well done."

27/03/2015 at 9:37 AM Permalink

Wine Jury - 2014 Sauvignon Blanc $21 - 90 Points

Wine Review by Brett Smith (The Geelong Advertiser - 19th March 2015)

"Tropical aromas exuding from the glass are sweet. Fresh, ripe melon and passionfruit flavours blend well with the subtle citrus, which helps add a light zing on the palate. Throw in subtle minerality and some herbal qualities and it has better than average complexity. A very clean and refreshing sauvignon that would appeal to those who like a little more sweetness. Easy to drink. A bronze medal winner at the 2014 Geelong Wine Show."

20/03/2015 at 12:59 PM Permalink

Wine Jury - 2014 Oakdene Single Vineyard Pinot Grigio $23 - 91 Points

Wine Review by Brett Smith (The Geelong Advertiser - 5th March 2015)

"Pale straw in colour, with fresh fruit aromas of nashi pear, apple and citrus. The fruit flavours continue to drive this refreshing white across the palate, each well balanced and with a rich mouth feel. There's a nice minerality from start to finish and the acidity is spot on, while the finish is dry. Fine summer drinking from the Bellarine Peninsula."

06/03/2015 at 4:10 PM Permalink

Herald Sun Wine Review - 2014 Oakdene Pinot Grigio - 4 Stars

Wine Review (Herald Sun - 24 February 205)

"Whether called pinot grigio or gris, most Australian-grown versions are tending to the fresher styling that strictly should be attached to the former tag. Here, it's early picked fruit with the faintest of pale English rose blush colour, a subtle rose fragrance lifts the nose before enticing the tongue with crisp and tangy white fruits."

25/02/2015 at 11:19 AM Permalink

Wine Jury - 2013 Oakdene Bernard's Cabernets $28 - 92 Points

Wine Review by Shaun Viljoen (The Geelong Advertiser - 19 January 2015)

"This Bellarine Peninsula blend is 58 per cent merlot, 30 per cent cab franc and 12 per cent cab sav. The result is a dark red with an aroma of ripe berries and lifted spice. The flavour features smooth dark fruits and black pepper with a long finish. A balanced drop with complexity and good body." 

20/02/2015 at 10:13 AM Permalink