A Gold, 92pt beauty. Château La Clarière is blessed with 50 different vineyard plots, all ideally situated on the superb limestone plateau from where both Saint-Emilion and Castillon’s finest wines hail. However, the grapes from the Enclos single vineyard, literally five metres from Saint-Emilion’s priciest Grands Crus Classés, have always been kept separate. It’s a vineyard surrounded by hedgerows, shrubs and dotted with trees – its most biodiverse; farmed organically too. All Merlot, carefully fermented on the estate, with regular plunge down and a year’s ageing in part new and part seasoned French oak barrels, it’s a very fine, velvety claret. Open early and preferably decant. It will make a very handsome partner to roast red meats or a cheeseboard.

Savour a silky, ripe and utterly charming, fine-dining Saint-Emilion Grand Cru. Surrounded by extensive parkland blessed with century-old trees, Château Montlabert is a grand, imposing, 18th-century estate. It lies within the lieu-dit Grace Dieu that lends the property its name. Its vineyards comprise 13 hectares, all in one block, planted on deep sandy, gravelly soils with deep-lying clay to help retain moisture in the drier years. Their wine is a charming, silky red made mostly, as you’d expect, from Merlot, with a little of both Cabernets to lend cassis notes to the deep plum flavour. 14 months in French oak barrels, half of those new, lend layers of complexity and subtle oak nuances. Let the wine breathe for an hour or two before serving with boeuf bourguignon, confit de canard or a wild mushroom risotto.

Intense yet elegant. A clean, precise and powerful expression of dark berry fruits, fine tannins and intergrated oak.

Elderton is one of Australia's great Shiraz producers, year in and year out. Brimming with ripe juicy blood-plum and chocolate flavours, this is almost like Black Forest cake in a bottle!

The Zema family has a proud history of producing great Coonawarra wines with plenty of regional character. This rich inky offering is redolent of ripe berries with a long satisfying finish.

Bowen Estate Shiraz shared similar firm structure as it's sibling, the Cabernet Sauvignon. It's lifted aromas of ripe black fruits, warming spices and hint of earthy background makes it a welcoming drink with hearty food.

When it comes to Australian Merlot, Katnook is among the very best. Lovely plum dark berry and cedary cigar box characters slip seamlessly into a finish that seems everlasting. Aged for 22 months in French oak, the swathes of blackcurrant are a delight to the senses.

The Adams brothers and their vineyard are responsible for many of the iconic wines that take pride of place in many cellars. Parcels of their best fruit is kept aside for their own label, Brothers In Arms. Fantastic Langhorne Creek concentration is on show here with layers of chocolate and dark, black fruit. A brute with a touch of style.

The Bethany Cabernet Merlot from the Schrapel family's Bethany winery exhibits herbal blackberry and cherry flavours with subtle oak in the background. Drinking well now, but also can handle a little bit of medium term cellaring to really coax those soft, ripe tannins to infuse beautifully with its primary fruit.