If Pinot Noir could replace blood, Neil Prentice would have it running through his veins. He is absolutely obsessed with the stuff. No fertilizers have ever been used. The vines have never been irrigated.

There is no doubting the quality of Northern Tassie Pinot. This is a fine example from the Tamar Valley has elegance, length and varietal flavours of plum and cherry balanced by a touch of oak and light astringency.

Based in Nuits-St-Georges, the famous Domaine Faiveley was founded in 1825 and in more recent times, the domaine has greatly expanded its vineyards across the entire Côte d'Or. The grapes are entirely destemmed and fermented in a mix of new wooden vats for the top end wines and stainless steel for the lesser cuvées. This Pinot noir has a beautiful ruby colour. It has pleasant, fresh, red-fruit aromas on the nose, which we find again on the palate. It has rich and very ripe substance, with fine round tannins. It's a very well-structured and pleasing wine.

The Jim Barry McCrae Wood is a fine example of the bold Clare Valley Shiraz style. Intense and concentrated, it is well worth putting away for five years at least!

Planted on terraces and alluvial schist based soils formed by the Mata-Au (Clutha) River producing perfumed wines with elegant texture, structure and mineral length.

Zontes Footstep has been on a quest to find and grow the worlds best white varieties in regions that express the fruits best attributes for more than a decade. Our Pinot Noir comes from one of the finest cool-climate vineyards located in the Adelaide Hills. The soils in this vineyard are ancient; research estimates the soils are 1800 million years old, mostly gravel with limestone/calcium silicates and ferrous pebbles spread throughout. Hand-pruned, harvested and made it is our holotype for Pinot Noir. Winemaking Whole bunches of hand-selected and picked in the cool of the early morning dawn. Destemmed without crushing the fruit. 30% of this was the whole cluster fermented, while the remaining fruit was crushed and went through traditional open fermentation with 30 days of extended skin contact. These parcels were packed into 30% new and seasoned French oak hogsheads to mature and take on the character for seven months. Deepish red with a healthy tinge of purple hue. Dark cherry aromas, rich and ripe, fruit-driven with abundant spice, nettle characters. Red cherries and plum are to the fore followed by some subtle hints of fresh rocket and anise. Medium-bodied driven by cherry again hints of strawberry sasparilla root and dried oregano. Damson plums and cinnamon kick in with notes of cedar-like flavours and tannins. Long aftertaste of ripe red cherries/plums, subtle anise and spicy cedar notes. Absolutely delicious.

Winner of multiple trophies at the 2011 London International Wine Challenge, Bird in Hand Shiraz strikes a balance between finesse and intensity with flavours of dark red berries and spice. Aged in French oak, it has complex fine grained tannins, finishing long and rich.

Red fruit aromas in the red cherry and redcurrant spectrum carry through onto the palate.

This vibrant NZ Pinot shows earthy forest floor notes and dark cherries on the nose. Richly textured on the palate the flavours have elements of wild berries mushroom and chocolate framed by quality French oak.