Penfolds Bin 389 is the classic South Australian red! Often referred to as 'Baby Grange' or 'Poor Man's Grange', Bin 389 was the wine that helped to build Penfolds' solid reputation with wine drinkers around the world. A magnificent blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz from the very best regions and vineyards available to Peter Gago and his team, the robust nature of the Cabernet grape give structure and body to the wine while the opulent Shiraz fruit provides suppleness and intensity. A true icon of Australian wine first created by the legend himself, Max Schubert, Peter Gago is quoted as saying 'Through thick and thin, across all vintages, Bin 389 always delivers - benefitting from over half a century of practice!

Penfolds Bin 407 began life back in 1993 with the release of the 1990 vintage Cabernet Sauvignon. Created as a result of the availability of high quality Cabernet fruit, Bin 407 is inspired by its older brother, Bin 707. Not only offering varietal definition, but also approachability, structure and depth of flavour. The Bin 407 highlights the Penfolds approach to multi-region, multi-vineyard blending to create a Cabernet that rewards the drinker in both early and later years.

Traditionally favoured by Indigenous societies for their medicinal benefits and protein content, native Green Ants are a unique bush tucker hand harvested in the Northern Territory by the Motlop family of the Larrakia people. The Green Ants display vibrant coriander and kaffir lime leaf flavours, with a citrus and lime burst on the palate further enhanced by Finger Lime. Native Juniper (Boobialla) is evident in the floral, perfumed aromatics, while spicy notes of Pepper Berry balance the citrus flavours. Strawberry Gum, Lemon Myrtle and Anise Myrtle provide green, leafy herbaceous characters which replicate traditional English Juniper resin characters.

Yarra Valley makes some of the finest wines in the world. In 2015, Four Pillars combined Rare Dry Gin with some of the best Shiraz Grapes in Australia to create Bloody Shiraz Gin for the first time. 2018 release has great depth of colour compared to previous releases. Flavour-wise it's showing dark fruit, red berry and spice. There is also plenty of that classic Yarra Shiraz white pepper. And of course a lovely ginny character carries those grape aromas, making it unmistakably gin. The palate is lovely and sweet, with long juniper and spice characters to finish.

Based on a strong belief people should drink better, not more, Four Pillars is leading the charge to elevate the craft of distilling and celebrate the craft of cocktail making in Australia. Their Rare Dry Gin is made in a truly modern Australian style, capturing the flavours of both Asia and the Mediterranean with a mix of local and exotic botanicals (even using fresh oranges as one of its botanicals rather than dried orange peel). Each bottle is individually numbered, hand labelled and produced in small batches from their small distillery in the Yarra Valley.

First gin distilled on the French Riviera, Inspired by the Perfume Mastery of Grasse. 44N is produced using a unique 3 step cutting edge process. The process is inspired by the high tech extraction and distillation techniques used for making the best perfumes in the world and has never before been used in spirits. The 20 high quality botanicals that go into 44n include Cade (a species of juniper typical to the Mediterranean), Mimosa, Rose Centifolia, Immortelle and Verbena which meld together with our unique process. Top notes The first thing that hits your nose is fresh zingy lemon peel and grapfruit. The aroma of a marine breeze, samphire, is punctuated by touches of mimosa. Cade adds woody, piney facets. Body notes A blooming floral body with hints of Grasse's rose centifolia and jasmine. Jammy facets of bitter orange are countered by the herbaceous punch of angelica. Hints of warm pepper here and there round out the middle notes. Base notes The tangy warm spicy notes of alexanders, underlying all along, allude to the undergrowth where the cade grows freely. Orris and honey ensure a sweet yet musky long-lasting effect on the tongue, holding their end as floral and citrus notes mingle nicely together.

Penfolds St Henri is one of Australia's greatest red wines. The Shiraz for St Henri is selected for subtlety and elegance and the finished wine has the structure complexity for extended bottle maturation. The 1991 is a classic St Henri vintage that is good to drink until 2022.

Drawing on over a century of distilling wisdom, Ukiyo Japanese Yuzu Gin is born in Kagoshima from a base of locally grown rice that is distilled into a traditional shch spirit. We redistill our shch with juniper, yuzu, regional citrus and botanicals, respecting the 1500 year old tradition of cultivating and harvesting yuzu in Japan. The yuzu flavour is tart and fragrant, resembling that of the lemon and grapefruit, with overtones of mandarin orange.

Co-created by one of Scotland’s most awarded Master Distillers, Jim McEwan, together with Cape Byron Distillery Co-founder and distiller Eddie Brook are two new Australian takes on a classic Scottish single malt. Many readers will already know of Jim McEwan who has more than fifty years of experience in the whisky business, having worked at Bowmore for 38 years, before overseeing the rebirth of Bruichladdich and most recently helping to get new Islay distillery, Ardnahoe, off the ground. Two editions are on offer: A Chardonnay barrelled limited edition, and this, the Cape Byron 'Original', aged in Scotland's traditional vessel of choice: American oak x-Bourbon casks. Says Brook, “They go together like a match made in heaven. [The whisky is] not overly dominated by the oak, it’s letting the spirit sing, and we’re seeing this marriage.” What partly accounts for the distinctive style is that the pair have resisted the temptation to use smaller barrels to ‘accelerate’ the ageing process. It's the opposite approach of most Australian distillers. “...We’ve got this climate that gives us faster maturation. Now that’s great, but it can also get too much, you can get too much tannin and then over-oaking in your whisky, ” Brook explains. "To avoid this, we only mature in full format barrels, between 200 to 300 litres in size". Specially designed warehousing facilities further offset Byron’s temperature extremes. According to McEwan, another factor is the distillery's proximity to the coast. “Walk down the barrel room... you’re getting that marine character and influence coming through" he says. "That moisture is falling on the oak staves, and slowly but surely, there’ll be a residue of salt and eventually as the whisky moves in and out, as the temperature increases, the alcohol will expand and it will touch the salt, and pull it back, and that brings a unique marine freshness to the spirit – quite different from anything else...” No surprise that McEwan reckons fans of Bruichladdich might taste some similarities in the Cape Byron spirit. “They’re not dissimilar. There’s no peat, [Eddie’s] using American oak, I used a lot of American oak Bourbon casks as well. I’ve used wine casks – and you’ve got all the wine casks there. There’s a similarity there between what I was doing in Islay and what Eddie’s doing here." As for the taste? Can't say there are many like this - either here or abroad - but you can appreciate why McEwen draws comparisons with Bruichladdich. Cape Byron's Original is a creamy, near voluptuous malt that defies its age. Peaches and cream come through with sweet barley and shortbread on the nose. The co-mingling of dried mango and juicy malt with the Bourbon vanilla aspects is nicely done, and there's a spicy edge adding vibrancy. At the finish, more peaches and cream, dried mango and a little grilled pineapple, pepper and coastal freshness develop. It's a whisky less about overt complexity, all about generous mouthfeel and precocious flavour. No doubt that equation will change over time. Right now, the creative forces behind the project have guaranteed one of the more compelling Aussie releases in recent years. Matured for three years in 200 litre ex-Buffalo Trace Bourbon casks. 47% Alc./Vol. Non chill filtered. Batch 001 tasted. Notes from the producers... The colour of a Byron Bay sunset. The palate offers soft vanilla, creme brulee and biscotti characters, layered over distinct notes of pear, coconut and buttery macadamia.