The best

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

deals in Australia

Château Lafleur is a tiny 4.5-hectare Pomerol property located opposite Pétrus and producing wines of comparable quality. It is owned and run by Sylvie and Jacques Guinadeau. While the majority of great Bordeaux châteaux have changed hands over the past several generations, Château Lafleur remains in the same family hands to this day. Its vineyards are situated on the gravel-rich Pomerol plateau and adjoin those of La Fleur-Pétrus. The soils here are particularly deep and are enriched by deposits of potassium and iron. Only natural fertilisers are used and yields are painfully low, even by Pomerol standards. Lafleur's wine is typically a blend of Merlot (50%) and Cabernet Franc (50%). It is aged in small oak barrels (50% new) for 18 months. Wines from Lafleur display a spectacularly intense perfume (partly attributable to the high percentage of Cabernet Franc in the blend) and display layers and layers of concentrated, black fruits, minerals, tobacco spices and creamy liquorice on the palate. The best vintages can last for up to 50 years.

The formidable fortress depicted on the famed vanilla Latour label was built to withstand the Gironde pirate attacks of the 15th Century. And, truly, as well as the tower still stands, so does Latour and its consistent excellence regardless of vintage. Nominally Pauillac, this First Growth sits almost astride the border of St. Julien and its output as one would expect is dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon with 10 per cent awarded to both Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Any experience with Latour is to be savoured with patience this notoriously slow-developing wine requires at least a decade or twos development. But the reward for this patience is a fulsome melange of power, finesse, depth and tone.

Chris Ringland's Barossa Ranges Shiraz is steeped in the Barossas post-colonial story and the high art and science of winemaking. Typically deep in colour with intense dark berry, paneforte, espresso roasted chestnut aromas, it displays a plush and concentrated palate with blackberry, mocha, paneforte spicy flavours and dense fine chocolaty tannins. Despite the opulence, flamboyance, richness and concentration, the wine has superb percussion and freshness. The wine is a small vinification of around four to five hogsheads or 1500 litres. The "unusually thick skinned" Shiraz is entirely sourced from Chris Ringland's dry-grown vineyard on the edge of the Barossa Valley, but technically in Eden Valley, along Flaxman's Valley near Randall's Hill. The wine is "painstakingly hand-made" in open fermenters and regularly pumped-over to extract colour, flavour and tannins. After draining and pressing through a traditional basket press, fermentation is completed in 100% new French oak hogsheads. A period of up to 50 months oak maturation follows to achieve optimum complexity and balance between oak and fruit. The extraordinarily high release prices (higher than Penfolds Grange), limited production and reputation make Chris Ringland Barossa Ranges Shiraz the stuff of legend.

Les Amoureuses, located just below and north of Les Musigny is 5.4 h and is, unquestionably, one of the greatest red premier cru vineyards in Burgundy. Pousse dOrs 0.1965ha plot is in the upper part of Les Amoureuses where the Comblanchien limestone is very similar to Musigny but with slightly less top soil producing a wine with a little more delicacy but still incredible minerality and structure.

Simply a wine of true perfection. 2009 in Bordeaux has bestowed many a Châteaux with a wine for the ages and in iconic estates like Château Haut-Brion, the wines have been lifted to 'nirvana-ish' levels. One wouldn't be adverse to simply sitting on the nose of this wine for hours without having a want to taste it such is the complexity and aromatic waves that are present. In the mouth though, this Pessac-Léognan boasts flavours of cigar, raspberries, plums, figs and blueberries with a finish that seems to go on for decades. Breathtakingly stunning.

Another terrific success for the flagship estate (a 92-acre vineyard situated on the famed limestone and clay-rich slopes of Cote Pavie) of Chantal and Gerard Perse, the 2011 Pavie is composed of 70% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon. 2011 may be the biggest, richest, most massive wine of the vintage. With thrilling levels of concentration, tremendous purity, high but sweet tannin, a skyscraper-like mouthfeel, and terrific intensity, depth and palate presence, this larger-than-life effort will require 5-8 years of cellaring, and should age effortlessly over the following 25-30 years.

Founded in 1981 by Lodovico Antinori and named after the grove of flowering ash trees that surround the winery, the estate over looks the Tyrrhenian Sea with views stretching to islands of the Tuscan Archipelago and as far as Corsica. Sitting adjacent Tenuta San Guido (producer of Sassicaia) this is one of the estates that helped put Bolgehri on the map, along with Lodovicos older brothers Solaia and Tiganello, as well as Sassicaia. There are 3 wines in the range, the flagship Ornellaia; its second label, Le Serre Nuove; and its entry-level gem, Le Volte. Grape Varieties in 2014: 45% Cabernet Sauvignon, 38% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc, 7% Petit Verdot. The 2015 vintage comprised 53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot, 17% Cabernet Franc, 7% Petit Verdot.