The £7.50 wine a real contender on supermarket shelves (Picture: Getty Images)
Remember when you couldn’t move for Australian wine?
And I mean the high-octane, turbo-charged stuff that gave you a headache just by looking at it.
Names like Hardy’s, Banrock Station, Rosemount, Lindeman’s, and Jacob’s Creek basically owned our shopping trolley in the 90s. And of course, we can’t forget the mighty (at the time) Oxford Landing.
They provided us with easy-to-understand wines that spoke our language, at a time when you’d need a Duolingo degree to pronounce European wines.
And no wonder, purchasing French wine was like trying to decipher ancient hieroglyphics. Pronouncing Italian wines was a bit like playing a game of Twister with your tongue, and as for German wines, you needed to unhinge your jaw to order a bottle of Spätburgunder in a restaurant. And not in a good way.
Oxford Landing used to be ‘cringe’ in the 90s (Picture: Robertson Buckhaven)
Why was Australian wine so popular in the 90s?
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Much like the Aussie people themselves, their wine was upfront, outgoing, straightforward, and did exactly what it said it would – give you a fruity and boozy time with none of the fuss.
Back then, wines from Europe were unapproachable, expensive, and almost actively dissuaded you from drinking them. Style-wise, many French, Spanish, or Italian wines were understated, nuanced, and head-scratchingly subtle, while Australia offered that fruit injection, otherwise known as ‘sunshine in a bottle’.
It can’t be denied that Australian wine democratised wine drinking in Britain. How could anything with a kangaroo or wombat on the bottle be bad? The name of the grape was plastered over the label like a Nike advertisement in Piccadilly Circus. And sometimes, they’d even tell you what style to expect, like ‘light and fruity’, ‘big and bold’ or ‘ginormous and scary’. Well, maybe not the last one.
These weren’t particularly exciting wines by today’s standards. But crucially, they were reliable, and there was no name of a particular sub-region of the Rhône Valley to remember. No third-generation chateau we were supposed to know, but never did. Australian wine was our knight in wine-ing armour, a game-changer, until that game changed.
And by that, I mean people’s palates.
It tastes better than you remember (Picture: Robertson Buckhaven)
So, what happened to Australian wine?
Wine critics, like me, dismissed Aussie wines as ‘alcoholic fruit bombs’ that tasted like wine gums. Aussie Chardonnay was derided as like drinking melted butter on toast, which actually sounds quite tasty to me now.
Over time, the inevitable backlash came, and the wines started to be seen as cringe. The drinking British public suddenly wanted the stories, provenance, sustainability credentials, less alcohol and toned-down flavours that European wines could offer. Then natural wine came on the scene, and all bets were off. The brands that survived were the ones that evolved to suit the new demands.
How did Oxford Landing fit in?
A quick background on the wine, which has been going for longer than you might think. It was born on the banks of South Australia’s Murray River in 1958, produced by Wyndham Hill Smith. The area got its name from a paddle steamer called The City of Oxford, which then caught fire and washed ashore on the riverbank.
Did you dink Oxford Landing wine in the 90s?
No, but I’m going to start nowCheck
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Over the past couple of decades, Oxford Landing (and Australian wine in general) has been undergoing an under-the-radar metamorphosis. There’s meticulous vineyard management now, earlier picking to preserve the freshness of the grapes, subtle use of oak and less alcohol. And of course, sustainability is high up their priority list.
They’re leading the way in keeping their labels relatable, while coming out with well-made wines that aren’t going to tax people too much mentally. Brands like Oxford Landing understand that it’s perfectly acceptable to just want to enjoy a glass of something simple and delicious on a Wednesday evening.
With that in mind, I gave the wines a try to see if they taste better than I remember from back in the day.
Spoiler alert: They do.
What do Oxford Landing wines taste like today?
Here’s my honest verdict (lowest-to-highest scores):
Shiraz, 13.5%, Waitrose, £7.50 (currently on offer for £6.50)
A good wine but not my favourite (Picture: Robertson Buckhaven)
A deep nose of cassis and damson with some flecks of cherry kirsch. A brooding palate with good texture and weight, balanced acidity and some delicious concentration of blackberry and loganberry flavours. Lighter in concentration than other examples of Aussie Shiraz. Good.
Score: 7/10
Rosé, 11.5%, Morrisons, £7.50 (£6.25 with More Card)
Dry, zesty, fresh, and clean (Picture: Robertson Buckhaven)
A blend of Sangiovese and Tempranillo. Notes of watermelon, strawberry and cherry blossom on the nose. A dry and zesty style, with fresh strawberries and cherries on the palate, a mouthwatering acidity and a deliciously fresh and clean style. Very good.
Score: 7.5/10
Pinot Grigio, 10.5%, Morrisons, £7.25 (£6.25 with More Card)
A moreish drink (Picture: Robertson Buckhaven)
A subtle nose of lime and singed star anise. A nuanced and zesty palate with great energy, lime and an attractive russet apple bitterness. A moreish salinity on the finish. Very good.
Score: 8/10
Chardonnay, 10.5%, Ocado/Waitrose/Morrisons, £7.50
Rich and buttery on the nose (Picture: Robertson Buckhaven)
Rich and slightly buttery on the nose, with a whiff of vanilla oak influence. A fresh, dry and textured palate with a prickle of spiced pear, starfruit and yellow apple. A lovely zestiness and a light, pithy-bitter finish. Very good.
Score: 8/10
Sauvignon Blanc, 10.5%, Tesco/Sainsbury’s/Waitrose/Co-op/Asda, £7.50 (£6 with Tesco Clubcard)
Not your typical Sauvignon Blanc (Picture: Robertson Buckhaven)
Fresh and peachy on the nose with notes of pear, apricot and lemon. In the mouth, it’s dry with fresh stone fruit, bright acidity and a touch of herbaceousness. Not a typical style of Sauvignon Blanc, it’s riper than many with good weight and texture. Very good!
Score: 8.5/10
Merlot, 13.5%, Tesco/Co-op, £7.50
A juicy, fruity wine (Picture: Robertson Buckhaven)
Juicy notes of plum, hedgerow fruit and pink pepper on the nose. A round and generous palate, with good weight and texture, balance and some complexity. Blueberries and stewed damsons come through, with some baking spice on the finish. Very good.
Score 9/10
Final verdict
Oxford Landing 2.0 is producing wines that nail what we’re looking for in a mid-week sipper. Complexity and flavour are enhanced; alcohol is lower.
Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing MetroLifestyleTeam@metro.co.uk
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