Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste produce some of the best value wines in the Pauillac region, if not simply some of the best quality in general. Cabernet based reds are their staple and generally produce wines of a robust and masculine nature. In recent years the wines are close to rivalling the famed Pichons .

This Cabernet Sauvignon gives pronounced flavours of chocolate, red berries and black cherry skins with echoes of light tobacco and bramble on the finish.

"Replacing the Petit Chapelle cuvee and first made in 2015, the 2016 Hermitage La Maison Bleue is smoking good. Black fruits, charcoal, powdered rock, currants and chocolate notes all give way to a big, concentrated, impressively structures barrel sample that has tons of potential. I expect the tannin will have integrated by the time this is released, but a few years of bottle age still recommended." - Jeb Dunnuck

The estate was started in 1955. Patrick and Christophe Bonnefond now control 65 acres in northern Rhone of which 18 acres is in Cote Rotie. Colline du Couzou comes from an assemblage of plots in the north and south of the Cote Rotie appellation. The fruit is 80% dedstemmed and consists of 95% Syrah and 5% Cinsault. The wine is aged in small barrels for 18 months.

Pooley Wines was established in 1985 when the late Denis and Margaret Pooley planted ten rows of Riesling and seven rows of Pinot Noir on their 16-hectare farm at Cooinda Vale in the Coal River Valley in southern Tasmania. Cooinda Vale Vineyard was established in 1985 by Pooley’s founders, Margaret and Dennis Pooley. Sitting between 80-100m above sea level, the vineyard is tucked away in a nook of hills North of Campania making it much more protected from prevailing weather conditions. Being more continental it also experiences greater extremes in temperatures bringing more frequent frosts, snow and heat waves. The iron lacking grey brown sandy loam over clay subsoils at this site tend to bring a moderate level of struggle to the vines by restricting deep root growth and water accessibility but in turn creates a wine that is more delicate and finer. Named after the second generation John Roy Denis Pooley and sourced from a very small block of Syrah that was planted in 1999 Matt Pooley as a trial block of Syrah looking specifically at climate change and where it would lead Tasmania's wine future. Four rows of this varietal were planted, later expanded to eight rows which is enough to make 2-3 barrels depending on the vintage. 100% destemmed, with wild fermentation for 10 days and pressed to French oak barriques for 14 months. Crunchy notes of bramble, blueberries, violets, and a dusting of white pepper on the nose. A mouth-watering display of aniseed, red liquorice, tobacco leaf, and cocoa continuing on the palate. Brilliant tension, integrated tannins, and layered complexity. Simply wondrous. This wine will continue to develop with careful cellaring. Drink now til 2040.