The best

• red wine
• white wine
• champagne
• rosé
• whisky
• spirits
• beer

deals in Australia

Hand-picked on the 4th March, pressed to French oak puncheons for natural fermentation, 30% malolactic, 11 months on yeast lees, filtered and bottled.1270 bottles produced.

RIPOSTE BY TIM KNAPPSTEIN The Katana Chardonnay, Adelaide Hills

COMMUNE OF BUTTONS ABC Chardonnay, Basket Range, Adelaide Hills Commune of Buttons began with a single dream between brother and sister, to continue as second-generation growers of grapes. The ABC is an exciting Chardonnay from the Buttons family vineyard in the Adelaide Hills. Whole bunches are pressed in stainless steel tanks and then allowed to go through a wild ferment in the barrel before bottling. This has the distinctive hallmarks of natural wine whilst maintaining a textural, bright and clean freshness.

Petaluma have access to some of South Australia's premier vineyard sites which are put to impressive use here with their White Label Pinot Gris. 100% sourced from the Adelaide Hills, yet four vineyards are used to create this delicious white; two in the Piccadilly Valley, one near Balhannah and one near Lenswood. Only the very best fruit was selected and left to ferment in older French barriques, the resulting wine has a classic cool-climate backbone with racy acidity and depth of flavour on the palate.

As a young winemaker travelling the globe, the 'Old World' Chardonnay that Ben Riggs fell in love with in the 1980's were described as 'like drinking cold chalk soup', and have inspired him to make this beloved Adelaide Hills Chadonnay. Over the years Ben has been searching for the perfect cold site to make a dry Chardonnay renowned for the purity of its aroma and taste.

Very pale with pristine clarity and flashes of green. Nose of passionfruit, gooseberry and freshly squeezed citrus dominate, followed by more subtle grassy, leafy notes and a touch of kafir lime. Wonderfully fresh and showing precise varietal fruits: tangy passionfruit, grapefruit and lemongrass. Long and punchy with great purity, line and a mouth-watering, lime-juice acidity. VineyardsSourced from Jeff Gowers Lenswood Vineyards, the sauvignon blanc plantings on gravelly clay loam over red clay subsoil date back to 1999. Vinification Handpicked grapes were destemmed, crushed and cooled to five degrees Celsius while being transferred to the airbag press. The juice was then pressed into stainless steel tank, keeping the free run and pressings separate. Juice was cold settled for a week at around two degrees and then racked from gross juice lees. The free-run juice parcel was warmed and inoculated with yeast to begin fermentation. Fermentation temperature was kept low to maintain delicate aromatics. Once fermentation was dry the wine was then chilled and stabilised prior to filtration and bottling Wirra Wirra was originally established in 1894 and though abandoned after several decades of production was revived by the late Greg Trott in 1969. The winery produces exceptional value, fruit driven wine styles that dont shy away from ripeness, intensity and oak usage. Wirra Wirra is located approximately four kilometres outside of the township of McLaren Vale in the McLaren Vale wine growing region of South Australia. Wirra Wirra source fruit from estate and selected grower vineyards. Wirra Wirra is the core range but the wines are delineated by tiers including Flagship wines, RGT collection, Church Block, Mrs Wrigley range and the entry level Scrubby Rise wines. The production of these wines is overseen by Chief Winemaker Paul Smith, with able assistance from Tom Ravech and Kelly Wellington. The winery employs modern technology and new world technique to produce expressive wines of intensity, bold flavour and McLaren Vale profile.

When making the 2013 Sidewood Pinot Gris, winemaker Tash Mooney carefully selects the best parcels of fruit from the vineyard that are hand-picked once the Pinot Gris has reached optimum Baume. It then begins its journey through the winery from being whole bunch pressed through to the fermentation process, ensuring at all times that the wines are at optimum temperatures to ascertain the quality of the wine. The 2013 Pinot Gris is pale straw with copper-pink hues, this wine displays vibrant aromas of guava and passionfruit on the nose. This leads to an intense flavour of nashi pear and tropical fruits on the palate with great structure from the crisp and well balanced acid. With its full structure, superb minerality and generous full mid palate it finishes with outstanding length and balance. A great accompaniment to freshly seared scallops, aromatic Thai spiced dishes or enjoy with a grilled vegetable cous cous as a vegetarian option.

The 2018 Katana Chardonnay reveals a supple core of white stone fruit and citrus blossom overlaid with tempered edges of minerality. On the palate bright varietal fruit is guided to the finish with nuances of French oak and crisp acidity.