A frequent Gold medal winner, Stones & Bones is so-called because it’s grown in a landscape littered with ancient boulders and dinosaur fossils. In the modern Portuguese tradition, the wine is a blend of local and international grapes. Touriga Nacional, the backbone of vintage port, joins forces with Syrah, Tinta Roriz and Alicante to produce truly mammoth, rich fruit flavours. Equally impressive is the winemaker, Diogo Sepúlveda, who relaxes after work by cycling or playing football, or, more unusually, bull wrestling! Having worked in Pomerol, then in the Barossa with heirloom Shiraz vines, his credentials for making this rich, old vine Portuguese red are second to none. For maximum enjoyment, decant and serve with a rich beef casserole.

This Heirloom Vineyards Eden Valley Shiraz has lifted red fruit signature of Eden Shiraz, but its site also offers some very unique and distinctive aromas of blackberry and intriguing notes of a spice, and the perfume of blueberries. The palate is cool, fresh and light, but persistently fruity and very zingy. The finish is fine, natural and unforced. It's a delicious, confident drink. There is some cream and spice from the French Oak but it's all about the pure fruit.

From vineyards planted 2,000 years ago, this rich, dark, velvety black red is only made in the best years. One sip and will take you back in time to the first century AD where vineyards were planted to serve the ruling elite at the thriving Roman port of Troia. Here, on Portugal’s windswept Atlantic coast, the only grape that thrives in the dry, sandy soils and under 300 hours of super-hot sun a month, is local star Castelão. This small, dark-skinned grape boasts fathomless depths of flavour – if you know how to unlock it. Enter Gold-medal maestro at Portugal’s most awarded winery, Leonor Freitas – nicknamed the “Dame of Castelão”. Baía di Tróia delivers an immensely concentrated, black red – rippling with ripe plums, red berries and black fruit, laced with chocolate, spice and toasty oak. At 15.5% smooth power, it's not for the faint-hearted! A rich casserole ideal.

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).

We used to think that Sofia Barbanera's regular Saracosa was intense. And then she upped the ante, with this lavish, luscious, silky smooth Saracosa Governo. A limited-edition luxury version of her already indulgent ‘Super Tuscan’, Governo uses an ancient Tuscan method of allowing a portion of the grapes to air dry for a period of time, dialling the flavour concentration way up. Italy’s top critic, Luca Maroni, has long been a fan of the Saracosa reds, and this one is no exception – he has rated both the 2016 and the 2017 vintagehere a stunning 98 points! English wine writer Oz Clarke is also smitten by Governo’s many charms, calling it “indulgent and exotic”. One taste and we think you’ll fall in love with it too.

You don’t often see Bordeaux’s inky Petit Verdot blended with spicy Shiraz. But here in Australia, there are no rules so winemakers are free to blend them. The result? Gorgeous layers of dense black fruit with a rich helping of smoky spice. This is a beautiful wine that “tip toes and tapdances over your palate”.

The savoury and smooth Tempranillo is complimented by thespicy fruit and structure of Graciano. The resultant wine has greater intensity, depth and length.

Save the vines and enjoy a gorgeous, rich red! Poggioreale used to be an important wine village in Sicily. It was where Dino Taschetta grew up, like generations of his family before him. After an earthquake reduced Poggioreale to ruins in 1968, a new town was built further down the hill and the vineyards above the village, the highest and oldest in Sicily, were then neglected for decades. Now, with many of the island’s oldest Nero d’Avola vines grubbed up, there’s even more reason to treasure what’s left. Dino recently returned to the family estate and began to restore the vineyard. His first vintage was 2017 and he was in urgent need of a customer. Our Buyer tasted the wine and reserved it all. A year later, we’ve returned for more.

Malbec is a grape close to Sam's heart. His wife Maria, who works with him, is from Argentina, so perhaps that's not surprising. He also has a passion for th Durif grape and has done for decades. His car licence plate even reads 'DURIF'. What he loves most though is making wines that wine lovers adore. And he has been doing that for years very well indeed. We've worked with him for decades, and this shy, modest man is a simply brilliant at creating wines that show judges - and our customers love! His Grandfathers back in Italy began thhe winemaking tradion of the Trimboli family, they would be very proud of Sam.