This sensational Shiraz is made by the “exceptionally gifted” Elena Brooks (Halliday). Her medal cabinet bulges with Trophies and Golds won all over the world, and she regularly earns seriously high scores from acclaimed wine critics. Just recently, Elena’s Dandelion Vineyards also won the Southern Hemisphere Winery of the Year Trophy in the US. How does she do it? With a lot of skill, and a lot of passion, like the kind that went into the Lioness. The 2016 has already won TWO Gold medals and a rare Platinum - plus a stellar 96 points from the San Diego Wine Competition. You can look foward to cherry liqueur and chocolate aromas, while on the palate, lush, red fruits jostle with black cherries, plums, dark chocolate, vanilla and sweet spice. Enjoy in big glasses for full effect.

McLaren Vale is home to some of Australia's biggest reds and here's a prize example from the bestselling 'Black Pig' - a cassis-rich Cabernet with wall-to-wall black cherry and bramble tones and a delicious lick of menthol.

Bleasdale is “one of the most historic wineries in Australia ... in 2015 celebrating 165 years of continuous winemaking by the direct descendants of the founding Potts family.” (James Halliday). Last year, winemaker Paul Hotker, a “master blender” , was named Halliday’s Winemaker of the Year. This “clever” 96pt blend shows his skill and style. “Clever cabernet-dominant blend incorporating malbec, franc, merlot and petit verdot to great effect. Red and black fruited, leafy cabernet, fine savoury tannins, line and length to burn. Gold at the National Wine Show ‘17 speaks volumes ... 96pts” (Halliday).

Bleasdale is “one of the most historic wineries in Australia... in 2015 celebrating 165 years of continuous winemaking by the direct descendants of the founding Potts family.” (Halliday). Among many major awards, they’ve won the Jimmy Watson Trophy and they recently made the 2023 Shortlist for the Halliday Wine Companion's Best Value Winery. Winemaker Paul Hotker, a “master blender”, was named Halliday’s Winemaker of the Year 2018. This fine red is another example of why Langhorne Creek Shiraz is regarded by many as delivering Australia’s best-value reds, vintage after vintage. Intense aromas of blackberries, plums and Asian spice. Juicy dark fruits define the medium-to-full palate, with clove and liquorice notes dancing up back. Soft tannins.

Beaujolais is on the comeback thanks to great family domaines like this one. Maison Dominique Piron was founded during the reign of Louis XIII and today has 95 hectares of vines throughout Beaujolais’ finest villages, a third of them in Morgon. Dominique Piron is the 14th generation of the family to be in charge and he has joined forces with a long-standing friend, Julien Revillon. Together they have a vision to produce Beaujolais as fine and luscious as any Grand Cru Burgundy. They go to great lengths to achieve this, in the vineyard and in the cellar. Taste this silky, ripe, fruit laden Beaujolais Villages. Packed with juicy flavour and a suppleness rarely found in other reds, it’s a sublime picnic wine, perfect with pâtés and chicken.

Not many wines can boast 23 top Gold medals in six years, but that’s the triumphant haul for this claret, 2015 to 2020. It’s from a small estate in Saint-Germain du Puch, between Bordeaux and Saint-Emilion. The estate grows Merlot, Malbec and Cabernet on clay and limestone soils typical of the greater Saint-Emilion region. Owners Agnès and Alexandre Sueur and winemaker Gregory Dalla Longa make wines that reflect this special terroir and the unique character of each vintage. And Bordeaux 2020, with its long, warm summer, was certainly high quality. "Bordeaux has another terrific vintage on its hands with 2020" wrote Jeb Dunnock, "outstanding quality level" put Suckling. Decant at least an hour prior to serving it with roast lamb or duck.

In 1912, horse fanatic Joseph Osborn sold his stables and horses and bought the family the d'Arenberg estate in premium McLaren Vale. Joseph chose McLaren Vale as it has some of Australia's oldest vineyards, and with an array of soils and the cooling affect of the nearby ocean, it's ideal for vines. Winemaker today is sixth generation Chester Osborn. He continues the family tradition of treading the grapes by foot part way through fermentation. It certainly ensures plenty of dark colour, character and richness in the wines. You'll always spot a d'Arenberg wine with its bold red stripe on the label.

Shiraz and Grenache blend beautifully in many of the warmer parts of South Australia. This AAA is Paxton's 9th release, crafted similar to a Rhone-style wine yet it is packed with Au's Terroir. Bright with juicy red berry fruits and spices on the palate with well integrated oak and tannins, giving this wine a remarkable lengthy finish.

We managed to secure the last stocks of this Trophy and double Gold-medal winning vintage. In the winery: Selected bunches were hand picked in the third week of March and gently crushed into open top fermenters.In the glass: Vibrant, dense red black.On the nose: Appealing mix of super-ripe black fruit with classic mint herbaceousness. On the palate: Excellent balance with a powerful black fruit core cloaked with bright spice and herb and underlying cedary oak.