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One of the Margaret River's more celebrated producers, Howard Park have forged a healthy cult following. The 2001 Cabernet Blend is a full bodied red that has developed liquorice and humidor characters beneath a layers of concentrated blackberry.

Podere La Brancaia is one of Tuscanys leading wine estates, each year winning national and international awards. The winery is located in the heart of the Chianti Classico zone at Poppi, in Radda in Chianti, and draws on its own fruit from Poppi and La Brancaia in Castellina. A selection of their best Sangiovese, with 20% Merlot, matured in barriques (half new) for 16 months, followed by 6 months in the bottle. Loaded with ripe fruits of dark cherry and plum, the Merlot gives the wine mid-palate depth and richness to make this a great wine for drinking now or cellaring over the short term.

Château Trotte Vielle 1er grand cru classe (B), St-Emilion The name literally translates to ‘trotting old lady’ and origin of this name somewhat contested. Some say it is a reference to an 18th-century lady who ‘trotted’ about the village in search of gossip while the winery says they can produce written evidence of the name some few hundred years before that. We can concern ourselves less with the origins of the name and more on what to expect from the wine. The Left Bank winery has been owned by the négociant house Borie-Manoux (who also own Château Batailley in Pauillac and Château Beau Site in St-Estèphe) since 1949. Located east of St-Émilion, the walled vineyard is planted to (almost) half and half 95% Merlot and Cabernet Franc, with the former slight edging in the number of vines. The balance of the vineyard is planted to Cabernet Sauvignon. Form the 10-hectare walled vineyard, the grapes are harvested by hand, fermented in concrete vats before the wine is wine is matured in majority new oak, French of course.