This superb Pinot Noir shows what heights can be reached when modestly priced wines are produced in outstanding vintages. Expect a red and dark cherry fragrance with a hint of spice. It's light bodied with earthy flavours of red berries delivered with finesses one of the finest producers of the 'Fronsac' appellation. Predominantly Merlot, there's supreme depth of dark fruit, together with the 'polished' structure so synonymous with the 2012 vintage.

Hand-crafted from a single vineyard site, The Paringa is a Pinot Noir of utmost class, pedigree and intensity. Made from specifically selected barrels of Pinot Noir that were clearly superior at the time of blending and bottling, the wine is a powerful amalgamation of spice, cherry and charry oak characters with a palate of extreme persistence and integrity. Yet another Lindsay McCall masterpiece.

OAKRIDGE WINES 864 Close Planted Block Shiraz, Yarra Valley

The 864 Close Planted Syrah is a wine of light and shade. The brightness of red and black fruits, with hints of bramble, are layered with stewed rhubarb, licorice, pastry, and a cabinet of spice. This multidimensional syrah boasts a long finish with mouth-coating, pinot-like tannins, and a pleasing moreish quality. The Close Planted block, on Coldstreams’s grey alluvial loam, is east-facing at 120 metres above sea level. The R6VW28 clone is planted at 5,200 plants per hectare, and is farmed to yield 6.3 tonnes per hectare. Grapes are hand-picked and sorted to open top fermenters with 70% of fruit placed over 30% whole bunches. During its three-week fermentation, the wine is regularly pumped over and plunged. At the end of this process, it’s pressed to French oak puncheons to mature for 14 months on gross lees. Representing the pinnacle of winemaking at Oakridge, the 864 range are high-scoring, limited-release, single-block wines that stand out internationally as exceptional varietal examples.

Fragrant and finely structured the Yabby Lake Block 2 Pinot Noir shows enticing floral spice perfume and seductive silky texture. The fruit is handpicked, meticulously sorted and gently de-stemmed into small open fermenters. A small portion of whole bunches is included in the ferment. Maturation takes place in large French oak puncheons for 12 months.

Yarra Yering is not only a Victorian icon, but a true Australian wine treasure. The Underhill Shiraz is sourced exclusively from the 1974 planted block of Shiraz at the western-most extremity of the vineyard. Drawn from soils with a higher clay base which has resulted in a wine of a more masculine bent offering darker fruits and spice with chewier tannins and a savoury undertone.

Put simply, this is the finest Pinot Noir from the finest producer in arguably the finest region for production in Australia. A wine of incredible depth, concentraion, texture and length. If you love Pinot Noir, you simply must try this stunning wine.

This vineyard is typically a warm site, but the cooler 2021 vintage has given the wine a lifted, ethereal perfume more characteristic of the “Up Hill” sites. On the palate too, it is red rather than black cherry, with lively fruit, delicate acid and fine lingering tannins which give the wine great persistence.