Lobo e Falcão
Wine Spectator calls Portugal “the most exciting wine place on the planet”, with its terrific range of native grape varieties and wines that always offer standout value. The rich, mouthfilling Lobo e Falcão fits firmly in that category. It’s made at a 17th century estate owned by the Lobo de Vasconcellos family, once the location of the king’s falconry. Special barrels of wine were kept for the king when he visited. Today, talented winemaker Joana Lopes makes this red specially for us, blending Syrah with Portugal’s exciting native grapes. Previously awarded a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Award, the 2018 has lovely intensity of flavour due to another low yield year. Generous wild berry fruit and spice with a velvet texture – a very moreish red.
Portuga
Portuga is made by Casa Santos Lima, a grand Portuguese estate in the Lisboa region, just north of the capitol. João Santos Lima founded it in the 19th century and it has been in the same family for three generations. Diogo Sepúlveda is the winemaker today. He has worked vintages all across the world, including Bordeaux's prestigious Pomerol and California's Napa Valley. He is a talented winemaker, who relaxes in his spare time by wrestling bulls (all muscle, no knives!). Portuga is a rich, velvety blend of traditional native varieties, with Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah, aged gently in oak. Delicious either served on its own, with rich pork dishes, or tangy tomato pasta. It's an ideal wine for a barbecue too or with mature hard cheeses.
The Waxed Bat Reserve
"Big and gold, lots of chocolaty plum fruit, cassis, tobacco, liquorice. An extremely polished effort" (Decanter World Wine Awards). The legendary Opi Sadler has triumphed again! His Waxed Bat Reserve edition had taken Gold and Platinum medals, then Best in Show Trophy at the highly prestigious Decanter World Wine Awards. That was beating 17,000 other wines from around the world. Perhaps it should be of no surprise when we know it has so much intense ripe black fruit and creamy oak. It clearly shows that Malbec and Cabernet from Argentina's high altitude Mendoza region is a match made in heaven. Even better when the wines are aged in barrel, too. It's a sumptuous mouthfilling red, smooth enough to drink solo but at its very best with garlic studded roast lamb, a juicy steak or a warming casserole. Decant early if you can.
McPherson XV Pure
Nick Spencer Gundagai Light Dry Red
Pinot Noir 60%, Sangiovese 28%, Shiraz 12% All the individual varieties were fermented separately in small 2 tonne parcels. The fruit was 100% destemmed and pressed after 18 days on skins. The Pinot Noir and Sangiovese were blended together immediately after pressing and the Shiraz shortly after to ensure a longer period of time for the varieties to integrate. Nick Spencer Wines is a small Canberra based wine company dedicated to producing exceptional, hand crafted wines that honour their local landscape. Producing stunning, award winning wines for nearly two decades, Nick's passion and remarkable talent for considered, quality wines is evident in every bottle. Awarded a degree in oenology at the University of Adelaide in 2000, Nick has worked for notable producers across the industry including Rosemount, Coldstream Hills, Madew Wines, Tertini Wines, and most recently, proudly lead the team at Eden Road for almost a decade. Nick has received extensive industry recognition, winning the 2009 Jimmy Watson Memorial Trophy, the National Wineshow Trophy for Best Shiraz in 2011; as a Len Evans tutorial scholar in 2011, as a finalist in the Young Gun of Wine Award in 2011 and a finalist in the Gourmet Traveler Winemaker of the Year in 2014. Nick made wine in Khakheti in Georgia for several years, has toured extensively through France, New Zealand and Californian wine regions and is a regular judge at many regional and national wine shows including in Sydney and Queensland. Nick lives in Canberra with his wife Sarah and their two young children.
RedHeads R'dotto Royale
RedHeads is an exclusive winemaking studio home to dynamic winemakers . Here, they’re able to craft their own wines their own way – where the only bottom line is top quality in the glass! This gorgeous, rich red is named after Venice's 18th century gambling house, R'dotto. It's RedHeads' biggest gamble to date! Five Italian stars grown by top growers combine in this seductive, velvety wine that will win you over, hands down.
El Bombero Gran Reserva
Big Red El Bombero has been a top choice with customers for many years. And in seriously good vintages, like 2012, winemaker Javier Domeque crafts a sophisticated Gran Reserva version using the pick of the crop from his oldest vines. To qualify for Gran Reserva status, the wine was aged in oak for three years with further time in bottle prior to release. It's made entirely from Garnacha, an important component of many full bodied Spanish reds, and also of Châteauneuf du Pape from neighbouring France. At 14% vol, it's a touch less powerful than El Bombero itself but full of rich berry flavour and with delicious spicy complexity from American oak. The 2011 is perfect right now. Just decant for an hour and serve with roast shoulder of lamb.
The Holdings Syrah Malbec
This luscious red comes from Zuccardi - an outstanding, third generation family cellar founded in the 1960s by Don Alberto Zuccardi. A decade before, he'd started an irrigation company, then planted a vineyard to demonstrate to other producers how his system could benefit grape quality. The rest, as they say, is history, and Zuccardi have become one of the leading cellars in Mendoza. Today his grandson Sebastián is winemaker, assisted by Rubén Ruffo. This is a silky, elegant red, with Syrah adding spicy red fruits and structure to Malbec's darker velvety berry notes. Recommended with chilli, a beef stir-fry or on its own.
The Black Pig Reserve McLaren Vale GSM
There’s bundles of flavour in this classy Grenache, Shiraz and Mourvédre. A special blend that offers soft layers of fruit, and rich and velvety charm – The Black Pig delivers again!
RedHeads The Red Sedan Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz
A South Australian blend of spicy Shiraz and fruity Cabernet that pays homage to a much-loved classic car. A consistent source of driving (and now drinking) pleasure.