CHAMBERS ROSEWOOD WINERY Rare Muscadelle, Rutherglen

Beechworth has carved out a reputation as one of Australia's most amazing, yet largely unknown, wine producing regions. Castagna have crafted a Shiraz of incredible poise and complexity from an outstanding vintage.

Since 1984 Château Rieussec has been the Sauternes property of the Rothschild family, owners of Chateau Lafite. Rieussec, a neighbour of Chateau dYquem, had for generations been a leading producer and was ranked Premier Cru in 1855. Even so, under Rothschild ownership the property has been transformed, with new cellars and winery and far more rigorous grape selection (plus greater use of barrel fermentation and maturation) for the flagship Grand Vin. This has led to Rieussecs clear emergence as a rival to its famous neighbour. Chateau Rieussec is 90% Semillon, with minor contributions from Sauvignon Blanc and Muscadelle. The property is 110ha with 68ha under vine.

Quinta do Noval is the go to Port house for those who prefer VP in a more elegant guise. 1995 was a terrific year at Noval and now almost 20 years old, it is a beautifully balanced and supple wine with a lush, plump texture and smooth, round tannins. Intense flavours of plums, raisins and dark chocolate abound with a hint of secondary development now peaking through.

It is a lovely, driven, spicy, nutty and smoky Amontillado with a generous, pulpy, glycerol-rich personality and a complex finish that has a twist of quinine and bitter coffee.

First made as a single parcel in 2010, La Côte comes from the majestic La Grande Côte vineyard (sometimes referred to as La Côte d’Amigny), a south/southeast-facing hillside on the outskirts of Chavignol. La Côte has quickly become one of the heavyweights of Boulay’s range. It’s the domaine’s coolest terroir and the last to be picked. The site’s pure Kimmeridgian limestone soils and the late picking date deliver density and absurd precision on the palate. Vinified and aged in three and four-year-old barrels, the terroir gives a more expressive style than Monts-Damnés, yet one that still bristles with tension and mineral notes. If the vines are still relatively young by this domaine’s standards (a good 20 years all the same), they nevertheless express the mineral essence of this limestone terroir with incredible intensity. As always, La Côte is the most open of the single-vineyard wines, this year leading with ripe citrus—in the orange/bergamot spectrum—and crystalline passionfruit aromas. The palate is deep, complex, radiant and focused, with a great core of spicy fruit, driving acids and lovely purity, tapering to a super long, chalk-licked finish. It has everything to go toe-to-toe with a top 1er Cru Burgundy.