Howard Parks Flink Rock Pinot Noir features fruit from the sub-regional trio of Mt Barker, Porongurup and Frankland River. In the glass: Attractive light Pinot red. On the nose: Fresh, concentrated strawberry and cedary oak. On the palate: Quite light and elegant, its juicy with silken dark cherry fruit, savoury depth and length and soft, background oak. Shows just the right amount of stalky complexity.

Sam Trimboli LOVES Durif. He calls it a “stunning little powerhouse grape that develops astounding complexity”. The numberplate on his car even sports the word ‘Durif’, that’s how highly he rates it. The grapes for this wine come from a small vineyard that Sam helped establish in the 1980s and is now at peak maturity.

If you thought that Argentina was the only place to find fine Malbec, think again! Zonte's Footstep have triumphed with this luscious Langhorne Creek example boastinga berryfest of flavour, FIVE Gold medals and 93 points from Halliday: "Violets, boysenberries, redcurrant and leather. Bright and characterful at once. Sweet and vibrant through the mouth, dry and firm through the finish. Mid-weight. In lovely form...93pts" (Halliday).

Sevenhill was originally set up in 1851 when the Jesuits who settled in the area planted the Clare Valley’s first vines to produce sacramental wine. The estate’s wines, along with its old stone winery, stately St Aloysius’ Church, College building and spacious gardens has made the Sevenhill name famous. So much so that they have recently won the Gourmet Traveller Award for best Large Cellar Door in the Clare Valley! Ray Jordan gives their 2021 Malbec a solid 92pts, "Malbec is a variety that does rather well in Clare, especially as a major blending component with cabernet. Still this one does it solo, and it does it well. Lots of the distinctive red floral fruits on the nose have that stamp of malbec. Bright and alive on a high energy palate with plenty of ripe red fruit characters with chalky tannins and understated oak in support."

This wine is dark purple with intense aromas of violets, blackberries, plums and clove spice. Drinking well now, but with the potential to be a long term cellaring prospect if desired. Lightly fined and racked before bottling without filtration, it is normal for some sediment to form. Decanting one hour before drinking is recommended. Bleasdale is not only one of the oldest wineries in the Langhorne Creek region, but one of the oldest in Australia. Frank Potts, who founded Bleasdale in 1850, has a fascinating history. Born with sea legs, he joined the British Royal Navy at 9 years old and served on Lord Nelsons famous ship HMS Victory. He sailed around the world before landing in South Australia in 1836. He planted the first vines in 1858 and sold fruit to Thomas Hardy. He then expanded the vineyards in the 1860s. He was an innovator and a pioneer who played his role in establishing Australias wine industry. The Potts family still own Bleasdale and descendants Michael and Ben Potts handle the winemaking duties, along with Paul Hotker. They make wines from fruit grown on their 61 hectares of vineyards from varietals like Verdelho, Shiraz and Malbec in sparkling, table and fortified styles. Each parcel of fruit is carefully selected to produce a range of wines that can be enjoyed immediately, or cellared for that special occasion.

Life is about connections, and Daniel is nothing if not a “people person”, we wanted this wine to reflect the everyday quality occasions where fun is had, friends are made and life happens. Peter Munro, St Hugo Chief Winemaker Plush, opulent and generous, a modern masterpiece of open and inviting fruit with a little hint of something more. Various parcels were created individually with the objective of blending these to form a synergistic whole. For this reason, many winemaking techniques were employed, including, cold soaking to ensure vibrant floral were present. Generally, parcels spent between 10-15 days on skins in a mixture of open fermenters and closed statics fermenters, reaching temperatures of 26-28°C, to ensure optimum flavour and tannins were extracted. All the resulting parcels were matured in oak for a short period to maintain their fresh vibrant nature. Good Spring rainfall then set the vines up well for what was to become a very mild and dry ripening season. With no significant rain, temperatures below average and only 3 days above 35°C in February and March, ideal ripening conditions were observed resulting in an extended ripening window; a wonderful vintage. Colour: Bright vibrant red. Taste: Fun, generous lively fresh red fruits dance on the palate with softness and approachability. Fine tannins emerge slowly but are controlled by the plush vibrant cherry fruit that lingers. Aroma: Raspberry, strawberry and spiced plums, with lifted violets to entice and an ever so slight hint of char that adds to the intrigue.

Devil's Corner Resolution Pinot Noir is a full bodied style of Pinot Noir showing blackberry, sour cherry and hints of cedar from the quality French oak. The wine displays a juicy fruit driven middle palate with a crisp savoury texture and fine grained tannins. Given the wines depth and structure it is well worth putting some away in the cellar and looking at it again in 5 to 8 years.

Brokenwood Shiraz is a ripe and generous Shiraz with lifted cherry and mint aromas nicely balanced with sweet chocolate notes on the nose and a soft rich palate with savoury cedary flavours and fine grained tannins on the finish.