The best

• red wine
• white wine
• champagne
• rosé
• whisky
• spirits
• beer

deals in Australia

Moss Wood Moss Wood Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Margaret River Moss Wood is one of the Margaret River originals (planted 1969; first vintage 1973) and this iconic flagship wine Langtons Classified since 1990 has long been Western Australias leading Cabernet Sauvignon. Figures from the cellarage company Wine Ark show that it consistently rates as Australias Most Collected Cabernet. Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignon is intensely perfumed and finely structured with cassis-blackcurrant aromas, hints of cedar and touches of violet. The oak and fruit are neatly balanced. With proven ageing potential the wine develops subtle earth/demi-glace briar characters on the bouquet, and complexity and suppleness on the palate. The unirrigated and widely spaced vineyard (now 14.86-hectares) is planted on gentle north-east facing slopes with sandy loams to a gravelly red/brown loams over clay. Typically the fruit is hand-picked, de-stemmed into open tanks and hand-plunged four times a day until completion of fermentation. At the end of vinification, the wine is allowed to macerate for around 10 to 14 days prior to pressing off into barrel. The wine is matured in 30% new and seasoned French oak barriques for 24 months.

La Dame de Montrose, first vintage 1983, is the highly-regarded second wine of Chateau Montrose, the St. Estephe deuxième cru (second growth). Montrose has a little more than 90ha of vines, the entire site overlooking the Gironde. The vineyard is 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot. Around 50% (or less) of the crop goes to make the grand vin and around 30% (or more) goes into La Dame de Montrose. (The rest is used elsewhere or sold in bulk.) In good years La Dame de Montrose is considered a bargain, in the best years it stands alone as a great wine. The Dame de Montrose herself is the late Yvonne Charmolüe, who ran the estate from 1944 to 1960.

Domaine A Cabernet Sauvignon, which also includes a small percentage of Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot is a foil to the more opulent mainland styles. Violets, roses and blackcurrants pervade through the wine like an English country garden. The tannins are especially fine grained and there is a beautiful freshness and mineral quality on the palate. The parcels of fruit are batch vinified in stainless steel tanks before maturation in 100% new oak for between two and three years.

MCHENRY HOHNEN Rolling Stone Cabernet Malbec Petit Verdot, Margaret River

Grosset Gaia Cabernet is one distinguished CabernetBring it on! By Gaia standards, its plump and plush with sweet fruit, rich dark chocolate and tannin presence. Gaia is always a wonderful long-term cellaring option, as is the case with the '08, but this vintage the added bonus of up front fruit enables immediate enjoyment.

This wine is the flagship of Domaine A and is only produced in vintages of exceptionally high standard. The bouquet shows classic Cabernet varietal aromas and the palate is long and concentrated.

Katnook Prodigy Shiraz is a wonderful example of great Coonawarra Shiraz. Savoury spice and dark berry fruits with a hint of white pepper. An elegant wine with medium intensity and great length. Amazingly concentrated for current drinking, the Prodigy will benefit for over decade in the cellar.