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The cool climate of the ACTs Canberra District is the perfect place to grow and produce quality Chardonnay and Lerida Estate Lake George Chardonnay is a fine example. Picked early to maintain its distinctive freshness and elegance, this delicious white has a vibrant aroma of quince, nectarine and orange zest with a hint of cashew. The palate demonstrates tangy white stone fruit and grapefruit characters with a subtle mineral undertone that adds complexity. 100% barrel fermented and matured for 11 months with regular lees stirring in French oak, this is a classic, definitive Chardonnay.

Hungerford Hill Chardonnay displays citrus aromas with nuances of nectarine, seasoned spicy oak and minerality on the nose. There is complex layers on the palate compose of great length of acidity balanced by nutty French oak flavours and lees characters.

Schloss Vollrads vineyards date back to nearly a millennia and the history can be tasted in Rowald Hepp's truly elegant wines. The Kabinett Riesling is beautifully balanced between soft, ripe citrus fruit with a lovely sweetness on the palate with clean cut acidity and delicate minerality.

Grosset's Watervale Riesling is a fresh, zesty Riesling full of character and flavour. The nose gives lemon, lime and orange rind with a touch of minerally freshness. The palate has concentrated zesty flavours with crisp acidity leading to a long lemony finish.

This Shiraz wine by Collector lively crimson colour is accompanied by a fragrant bouquet of dark cherry, blackberry, pepper and aniseed, with a savoury, textured mouth feel.

No two words go together as well as Canberra and Shiraz in the wine world. The favourable terroir and hands on winemaking make Lerida Estate's Shiraz a must have. Brambly spice aromas are complimented by a palate that is long and refined with flavours of berried and touch of pepper. With age, the wine will become progressively richer, revealing warmer, more complex flavours, riper berries and a little liquorice.

Frogmore Creek from Southern Tasmania is about as pure an expression of cool climate Riesling on could hope to find. A beautifully structured Riesling with elegant citrus flavours and vibrant acidity. Put it away for a while and reap the rewards.

Whenever we taste a blind Shiraz line up where this wine is featured, it's hard not to be lured into its enticing character of purity and style. Hauntingly akin to a Northern Rhone example, violets, spice, wild herb and earth wrap around a delicious core of red fruits and plum. Bravo Nick O'Leary. 'Canberra's benign 201213 growing season produced, in abundance, grape quality not seen in the much cooler, wetter 2011 and 2012 vintages. Our exciting 2013 reds include Nick O'Leary's shiraz a jaw dropper that kept judges gaping as they piled gongs on it at the 2014 Royal Brisbane Wine Show. They gave it a gold medal, then three trophies: best one-year-old red of the show (Stoddart trophy), best shiraz of the show and best red of the show. This is a significant achievement for Canberra shiraz and not just for O'Leary. It provides yet more recognition, in a hotly contested national event, of our region's distinctive style. O'Leary's highly perfumed, medium-bodied wine shows the vibrant red berry- and-spice character of cool-grown shiraz on a luscious, silky palate, cut with fi ne tannins. This is a lot of wine at a modest price.' (2013 Vintage) - 4½ Stars. - Canberra Times, 03 Sep 2014.