Return to Oz: the new generation of Australian wines

Irresistible, experimental but definitely grown-up, the new Australian wines that are well worth embracing

Like many people of my generation my relationship with Australian wine has been one of extremes. It started in my 20s with heady first love for sunshine-filled bottles that were, compared with their thin, mean European equivalents, startlingly fruity, generous and easy (and cheap) to drink.

Then, in my 30s, came the break-up. What was easy began to seem facile, fruity turned syrupy and generous became overbearing. I’d grown up, I thought, and all those identikit critter-labelled brands seemed to confirm the French idea that the Australians were not making wine so much as alcoholic fruit juice.