This is our short selection of greatest hits, the best of the best. Almost all the wines are still available.
Sparkling Wines
Blue Pyrenees Midnight Cuvée Blanc de Blancs 2010—$20 at jackswine. It’s $138 for a 6-pack, but you get a $20 voucher for joining the mailing list. These guys are in Ballarat, I talked to them – they’re really helpful. This wine beat every other Australian sparkling wine at the inaugural 2014 Champagne & Sparkling Wine World Championships in the UK, including heavyweights from the House of Arras. More details here. Be quick.
Hanging Rock Rosé Brut NV – $25 at Cloudwine. John Ellis makes some of our best bubblies over there at Macedon, but they’re usually out our price range. This is a serious Rosé Brut, not the usual pink fluff.
Bundaleer Sparkling Shiraz – $17 at MyCellars. A fabulous wine from a small boutique in the Southern Flinders ranges that offers more depth of flavour than most of the fruit bombs that dominate this category. Remember, MyCellars delivers any quantity of bottles for free to BWU$20 subscribers – promo code BWU20.
Riesling
Leo Buring Clare Valley 2013 – $15 at Kemenys. More fruit than usual for this style but dry with terrific vitality and poise. One of the last cracker 2013 Riesling out there.
Frogmore Creek Riesling 2013 – $19 at Dan M’s. Fine as Dresden China.
Barwang Grantite Track Tumbarumba Riesling 2013 – $14 at MyCellar. This is a $30 wine with a big reputation from the high country in New South Wales. Off-dry style, be warned.
Semillon
Mount Pleasant Cellar Release Elizabeth Semillon 2007 – $12 at Our Cellar. Not our style but Huon H gives this 95 points, which makes it the bargain of the year if you like old Mt Pleasant Lizzies.
Thomas Braemore Semillon 2014 – $24 at MyCellars. 97 Points & Special Value Wine & Top 100 Wines of 2014 James Halliday; ‘masterpiece of finesse’ – 96 Points Huon Hooke; ‘Cracking wine. Cracking value’ – 95 Points Campbell Mattinson.
Sauvignon Blanc and blends
Vavasour Sauvignon Blanc 2013 – $13 at WSD. For less than the bulk Kiwi savvies, you can buy the genuine article. A great next step for those who’re tiring of the lollywater and acid Marlborough style.
Rosily Sauvignon Blanc Semillon 2014 – $20 at the winery . A real sleeper this one, and built to last. We discovered this winery on a recent trip, and all their wines are too cheap for the quality drinking. they offer.
Cullen Mangan Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc Semillon 2013 – $25 at Wineboxwarehouse. The wines made by Vanya Cullen don’t need my endorsement. They rarely come into our price orbait but this one just touches.
Pinot Gris
Ninth Island Pinot Grigio 2013 – $15 at Wineonline. A very fine PG with notes of pears and honey, has wonderful balance. Great with pork dishes.
Montalto Pennon Hill Pinot Grigio 2013 – $20 at Kemenys. This ‘cheaper label’ from Montalto on the Mornington Peninsula delivers a PG with real finesse. This snuck up on us and just got better and better. Class act, bargain.
Chardonnay
Louis Latour Macon Lugny ‘Les Genievres’ 2012 – $23 at OurCellar. A real taste of white Burgundy here, even if it comes from the fringes of the appellation. Less fruity and more savoury than most of our Chardies, and bit more restrained in the European manner but with plenty of polish, and will get better given a year or three.
Paxton Wild Yeast Chardonnay 2012 – $24 at Wineonline (30% off sale) one of the best Chardies we’ve tasted in 2014. Lovey complexity, with nothing overdone.
Other Whites
Yalumba Eden Valley Roussanne 2013 – $17 at Wineonline. This is a cracker, choc-full of flavours ranging from stone fruits to almonds. Great food wine, will fill out with another year.
Massena ‘The Surly Muse’ Viognier 2013 – $14 at Winedirect (30% off sale). Makes fine music with the typical honeysuckle and apricot notes and a polished score. Not the most complex wine but great drinking at this price.
Pipers Brook Estate Gewürztraminer 2013 – $22.50 at Trio Wine. A real tour de force – enough flavour here to make Alsactian winemakers weep. Held together by tight Tassie line and length. Benchmark Gewürz at a giveaway price.
Rosé
Angoves 9 vines Rosé 2014 – $12 at Dan M’s. Made from early-picked Grenache and Shiraz. Haven’t tried this but Angoves claims it’s the most awarded Rose in Oz, and Halliday it’s one of the most reliable Rosies and gives it 92 points.
Turkey Flat Rosé 2014 – $13 at Winedirect (during 30% off sale). The most popular Rose in Oz. Pale pink in colour and with just a lick of sweetness, vibrant red fruit and spicy aromatics, a plush, almost creamy palate.
Pinot Noir
Saint Clair Pinot Noir 2013 – $18 at Dan M’s. From Marlborough, NZ. Dark cherries with a touch of forest floor, bright and clear style. A real crowd pleaser and a good example of the charms of Pinot Noir.
Red Claw Pinot Noir 2013 – $22 at Kemenys. Made by the geniuses at Yabby Lake on the Mornington Peninsula. Serious Pinot – good colour, good body, depth and varietal definition.
Mud House Central Otago Pinot Noir 2013 – $22 at Dan M’s. Fuller, more intense style, great example of Otago Pinot at a sharp price.
Cabernet Sauvignon
Hidden Label Margaret River Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 – $13 at Kemenys. This is Franklin Tate Alexander’s vineyard Cabernet from Margaret River, rich, soft and seductive, cassis and blackberry wrapped in velvet. It’s over $20 under its real label.
Flint’s of Coonawarra Gammon’s Crossing Cabernet Sauvignon 2012- $17.50 at Winedirect (after 30% off). A Coonawarra Cabernet in the older, more elegant style from a small maker.
Xanadu DJL Cabernet Sauvignon 2011 – $20 at Wineboxwarehouse. DJL is short for Dr John Lagan who planted the first vines at Xanadu in 1977. Classic dusty Margaret River Cabernet in the elegant understated Xanadu style. Not complex but plenty of easy charm. Trophy for Best Cabernet Sauvignon at National Wine Show 2014.
Cabernet Merlot
Amberley Secret Lane Cabernet Merlot 2012 – $11 at OurCellar. Seductive, ripe and plush Cab Merlot that’s won lots of bling. Ridiculous value, shows that Margaret River is now producing a lot more Cabernet Merlot than it can sell.
Woodlands Cabernet Merlot 2012 – $22 at Winestar. Class act from one of Margaret River’s top wineries.
Rosily Vineyard the Cartographer 2010 – $23 at the winery. A wonderful Margaret River Bordeaux blend, smooth and elegant. Cabernet Sauvignon 49%, Cabernet Franc 27%, Merlot 21%, Petit Verdot 3%, all in perfect harmony here. Ready to enjoy.
Shiraz
Partisan McLaren Vale Shiraz 2012 – $11 at Winedirect (after 30% discount). Another super bargain, classic generous McLaren Vale Shiraz from a great year, 93 points from the Winefront, 92 from us.
Moppity Lock & Key Reserve Shiraz – $19 at Winemakers Choice. Serious Shiraz but already enjoyable. Combines the generosity of Barossa Shiraz with cool climate discipline. 6 golds.
Shiraz Blends
Harem ‘Layla’ Barossa Valley Grenache Shiraz Mataro 2012 – $12 at Glug. She’s a rich and generous woman with a soft core. And she’s not expensive.
Pondalowie Vineyards Vineyard Blend 2012 – $20 at Cloudwine. Blend of Shiraz, Cabernet and Tempranillo from a boutique in Bendigo, this is a vibrant red with opulent flavor and dark berry fruits and soft, polished tannins. Absolute steal.
SC Pannell Tempranillo Touriga 2013 – $22 at MyCellars. Another winner from Steve Pannell in McLaren Vale. Haven’t tried this vintage but the 2013 has won 4 trophies and gained big raves from reliable sources.
Other Reds
Massena Mataro 2013 – $17.50 at Winedirect (after 30% discount). Rich, ripe and seductive, and fruit-driven so we can see Mataro in its purest form.
Purple Hands Wines Old Vine Grenache 2013 – $17.50 at Winedirect (after 30% off)
Villacampa Ribera Del Duero Tempranillo 2012 -$20 at Winesellersdirect. Ribera Del Duero in northern Spain is famous for producing rich and complex wines, and this wine shows why: this is not your lightweight bistro style but the real thing: a brooding wine of many layers, but never heavy.
Pico Maccario Lavignone Barbera D’Asti DOCG 2013 – $23 at Cloudwine. This sleek Italian beauty has all the breeding of a Melbourne Cup winner, and the glossy looks. 9 out of 10 on the CPR scale.
Dessert Wines
De Bortoli Deen Vat 5 Botrytis Semillon 2009 375mL – $10.50 at Dan M’s. This is a little less rich than the 2008 but has more finesse and length, and will fill out given time. Incredible value.
2012 Heggies Eden Valley Botrytis Riesling – $18 at Sixty Darling Street – 02 9818 307 – sales@wineroom.com.au. Wonderful sticky, won the trophy for the best Aussie Riesling at the 2014 Canberra International Riesling competition. Great price.
Yalumba FSW 8B Botrytis Viognier 2012 375ml – $25 at Dan M’s. For those of you like to explore the exotica: a rare Viognier sticky made from Wrattonbully fruit. Haven’t tried it but the reliable Huon Hooke gives it 95 points and a big rave.
Seppeltsfield DP57 Grand Tokay 500ml – $28 at Kemenys. There’s nothing like this made anywhere else in the world. Perfect with the Christmas pudding, ridiculous bargain.
