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!
From a 37-acre vineyard, Château Pavie Macquin is stunningly situated on the clay-limestone plateau of Saint-Émilion on the right bank of Bordeaux. 2010 has produced a formidable wine: a blend of 70% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, this is a top release of the harvest year and a highlight from St-Émillion in 2010. Tannins, restraint and inward concentration are motifs, this is a wine for the patient, sophisticated collector who wishes to embellish a cellar with pedigree wines that need time and maturity to come to the fore.
With a name that directly translates from French as 'The Soil', the Le Sol Syrah (Shiraz) pays homage to the terroir that creates this rich and evocative wine. With the trademark Gimblett Gravels stony soil, with exhibits amazing refinement and breeding while not relinquishing body and complexity.
Penfolds RWT Shiraz is a big juicy Barossan Shiraz refined by the use of older French oak barrels. 1998 is considered to be one of the classic vintages of the modern age. Drinking wonderfully now but with many years still to come in its development, this is a great addition to any cellar.
Château Certan-de-May is a wonderul, quaint vineyard with only 5 hectares under vine that produce a rich, smooth and fleshy Merlot dominated wine. Located right in the heart of the Pomerol appellation on Bordeaux's right bank, this vineyard enjoys the same soil as it's neighbour, the acclaimed Château Cheval Blanc. The 2009 vintage release of the Certan is a bruising, black fruited beast that is slightly overpowering to some degree early in its life, yet for those who like their Merlot's with a bit of power, this is your Pomerol. Give it 5 to 10 years in the cellar though and all parties are sure to revel in this succulent masterpiece.
Although this wine is plush, dense and rich, it possesses a compelling percussion and balance. Right up there with Grange and Hill Of Grace as one of Australia's best Shiraz, and from one of the greatest vintages too!
Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame is name in honour of the famed and undoubted Champagne pioneer, widow Clicquot. Widowed at the tender age of 28, Madame Clicquot continued her late husband's work and is the sole reason why her Champagne house is held in the high esteem that it is today. The 1998 La Grande Dame is a wine of pure beauty and power. A majority blend of Pinot Noir, the vintage conditions are clearly visible in the glass with flavours of peach, apricot and touch of brioche and nuttiness. A true classic for the ages.
Château Clinet is a rising star in the small Right Bank region of Pomerol. With its gravely soil mixed with sand, Château Clinet has gradually increased the Merlot component of the wine to produce a voluptuous, smooth and yet still complex red wine that is both pleasing upon release and turns into a read star with a few years in the cellar.