The best

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

deals in Australia

TARDIEU-LAURENT Cuvee Speciale, Chateauneuf-du-Pape

The Prospera displays a dark ruby-red colour tinted with a crimson rim. On the nose, the aromas are brimming with plentiful ripe fruits of cherry and strawberry, followed by fine spices and florals. The palate presents a fruit-driven wine with characters of fresh cherry and juicy plum, ascended by hints of cinnamon and liquorice.

A vibrant purple hue in the glass. Brooding but fleshy aromatics are laced with an herbal spice note. Tannins are prominent but don’t dominate – cherry pip flavours wash over the mid palate. A savoury finish with an immense length and persistence. This wine will blossom with some bottle age.

Take home a mighty Shiraz of concentration power and balance, from winemaker Chris Thomas, now part owner of Dowie Doole. It was founded in 1995 by Drew Dowie and Norm Doole, lon associated with grape growing in McLaren vale. Since 2015, it has been in the hands of Chief Winemaker Chris Thomas, who bought it from them with other investor friends. This is an archetypal McLaren vale Shiraz with dark fruit and chocolate, coffee, herbs and licorice.

Hand-picked from the top section of the 1891 Ancestor Vine block, the fruit was fermented in a two-tonne open fermenter and the skins were hand plunged three times a day. At sugar dryness the wine was drained off and the skins pressed. The resultant wine was transferred straight to barrel and matured for nearly two years in one new and two older French oak barriques. Elegant, restrained and poised. A wine of integrity and finesse. Red fruits following on the palate, fine French oak char and fine grain tannins.

Tuck into an opulent McLaren Vale Shiraz Cab brimming with classic regional richness, class and complexity from the perfectly-sited vineyards of Dowie Doole, now in the confident and skilled hands of winemaker Chris Thomas. Enjoy rich plummy Shiraz showing classic McLaren Vale generosity and complexity, balanced by firm, fine grained tannins and savoury Cabernet backbone. Notes of dark fruit, hints of cassis, bay leaf, coffee bean and liquorice carry through to a long luxurious finish. Founders Drew Dowie and Norm Doole, both visionary and passionate about sustainability, have always been nuts about McLaren Vale geology – the sandy soils of Blewitt Springs and the ancient rocks of Tatachilla in particular. They paired up to form DOWIE DOOLE in 1995, and then, in 2015, sold it to their chief winemaker and fellow devotee Chris Thomas, who has worked at many top wineries including Fox Creek and Serafino Wines in McLaren Vale – as well as in Burgundy, France. Norm and Drew own neighbouring estates, one in each locale mentioned above, and both have sold one of their premium vineyards to ‘DD’ in order to boost its overall potential. Norm Doole’s California Road vineyard and Drew Dowie’s Tintookie vineyard at Blewitt Springs.