In the upper echelon of 2nd Growth estates, Chateau Cos D''Estournel is located in St-Estephe appelltion, on the fringe of Paulliac and notably just north of the famed Lafite vineyards. Tourists flock to the Medoc estate to see the unusual, Asian-inspired Chateau design, but the wines hold their own and rightfully are considered the finest within St-Estephe. Oak is set to around 80% new barrels while alcohol is a modest 14.5%; the blend in 2010 is 78% Cabernet Sauvignon with 19% Merlot and complimentary Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot in tow. A wine for thirty or so years.

In Greek 'glykos' means sweetening. This wine is made from local varieties and while not like a dessert wine, it certainly has a decent amount of residual sugar.

This pleasingly rich and unusual blend of Grenache and Cabernet Franc from the Clare Valley offers a bouquet of ripe cherries and plums. The palate shows spicy fruit flavour and soft tannins.

Carpineto Spolverino (Feather Duster) is an exciting Sangiovese blend from Chianti that pokes a little fun at the traditional Italian wine laws which prohibit a wine being labelled 'Chianti Classico' being bottled under screw-cap. As we love our wines to be fresh and vibrant in Australia, this brilliant (and affordable!) Chianti, closed with a Stelvin Lux, has enticing red cherry aromas blended with a touch of tobacco leaf and spice. Wonderfully medium-bodied, the palate is rich and generous, although supported by that typical Tuscan structure of zippy acid and soft, powdery tannin. Saluté!

Sangria is the ultimate summertime drink. With vibrant, aromatic fruit flavours and a refreshing, light weight palate, La Esencia is both delicious and crowd pleasing. This sangria can be served in a number of ways, but is best served with the addition of some fresh fruit like oranges, apples, limes and even pineapple. You can even add some lemonade and ginger ale for a bit of extra lift.

Château Latour à is an unclassified producer yet amongst the great crus of the Pomerol appellation. The excellent 1982 vintage has produced a Latour à for the ages. Still retaining structure in its maturity, the nose exerts dark fruits, herbs and subtle spice leading to the elegantly balanced palate.

Chateau Grand Meynau Bordeaux presents a dark deep ruby red. Intense, ripe fruits such as plum, raspberry and black cherry expose a lovely complexity when the hint of creamy spice surfaces. The palate delivers a harmonious mix of berries and gentle tannins.

Sonata Estate's Soft Dry Red delivers a delicate palate with ripe, juicy berry flavours. A great everyday drinking style red.

Left in a sorry state by the previous owners, in 1962 the Rothschilds of Lafite took over the property and begun to reconstruct the vineyard which was planted mostly to Petit Verdot. 4 decades later and the wines of Château Duhart-Milon are now showing the flavour and concentration you expect from such a site in Pauillac.

Château l'Eglise-Clinet is a much sought after Domaine within the right bank district of Bordeaux and can be hard to come by. A majority blend of Merlot to Cabernet delivers a wine of subtlety and plushness and due to the properties long planted vines, the ageability is second to none in the region. After not pulling out vines after the 1956 frost, this Château can boast some of the oldest vine material in Pomerol and that evidence can be found in the 2003 bottle of l'Eglise-Clinet which is still ageing gracefully in the bottle even after a difficult vintage due to heat.