Any price
Bleasdale Frank Potts Langhorne Creek Cabernet Blend
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).
Bentwing Reserve Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon
Coonawarra is a very special place. It doesn’t share the relentless dry heat of the Adelaide summer, being much more temperate. It also has the excellent free-draining terra rossa soils that make it perfect for grape-growing. The resulting wines show incredible richness, flavour, structure and complexity - as you'll taste with the mighty Bentwing Reserve Coonawarra Cabernet here. It's a terrific partner to a lamb roast.
Bleasdale Bremerview Langhorne Creek Shiraz
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.
Maison Dominique Piron Beaujolais-Villages
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.
Hungerford Hill Hunter Valley Shiraz
The warm and dry 2017 vintage allowed perfectly ripe fruit to be harvested. The red plum and black cherry aromas lead to a fruit driven and softly textured palate with background vanillin and spice from oak barrel maturation.
Paxton AAA Shiraz Grenache
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.
Zonte's Footstep Scarlet Ladybird Rosé
A veritable summer pudding of fresh macerated berries and perfume spice, dominated by wild strawberry and Campari-like cherry smells. A super fresh and zingy with lip-smacking nectarine and berry fruit flavours. Medium-bodied, juicy-fruited with a touch of natural sweetness. Mouth-filling tart Strawberries and cream with soft spice rounding out a lush mouthful. Flavoursome with fresh acidity and a tiny tweak of soft tannin taming the finish.
Kilikanoon Baroota Reserve Shiraz
Il Papavero Pinot Grigio
As Richard Baudains of Decanter notes, "Everybody's talking about how fantastic today's best Sicilian wines are." That's certainly true of this crisp, fruity Pinot Grigio from Scipione Giuliani, the genius behind the bestselling Il Papavero range. It's laden with sunshine crispness and light, bright fruit. A sensational match to fresh seafood!
Ermita de San Lorenzo Gran Selección
As famed Spanish wine expert John Radford wrote in Decanter, the tiny enclave of Campo de Borja is “the source of some of the best value wines from Spain, if not the world”. It’s true. Where else could you find such a mellow, complex, oak aged red at this price? It’s made by our old friend Pamela Geddes (who also makes our bestselling Monasterio de Santa Cruz) at the 500 year old Bodegas Ruberte. 60% of the wine is Garnacha from vines planted in 1958. They’re not as prolific these days but the intensity of flavour in the grapes is impressive. The balance is Cabernet Sauvignon, which adds classic cassis character and structure to the spicy raspberry Garnacha. A rich and fragrant Spanish red best enjoyed with rustic lamb dishes.