The McLaren Vale can be considered the true home of Grenache blends here in Australia witho some of the oldest vines in the world being dry grown there. Steve Maglieri's Serafino label provides a rich and delicious GSM blend a nose of rose petal and tobacco. The palate flows on with dense coffee and cedar notes that glide across the tongue.

While normally associated with Grenache and Shiraz blends, Mourvèdre recently has begun to stand on its own two feet as a stand-alone wine. Quite evocative in nature, Chapel Hill's Mourvèdre is a dark and brooding red with wonderful hints of spice and violet tones. Walking the line between medium and full-bodied, this wouldn't be out of place next to either a thick cut steak or a plate of picked Mediterranean vegetables.

Michel Chapoutier has been able to do it again! A savoury masterpiece from the southern Rhône appellation of Luberon. A spicy blend of Grenache and Syrah that displays intense varietal characters of nutmeg and black pepper. The palate, while medium-bodied, is quite forceful with robust flavours of blueberry and blackberry fruits. Great use of older oak has also assisted this Luberon be a brilliant follow on from the every popular Chapoutier Côteaux-du-Tricastin.

A savoury spicy blend aged in seasoned oak. The nose shows plum, raspberry and tarry aromas and the medium bodied palate displays blackberry licorice and rich earthy flavours with fine, supple tannins.

Kym Teusner's Joshua is a fresh and lively fruit driven wine produced entirely free from oak influence. The nose offers Summer berries and sweet spice, and the palate is juicy and peppery with a long finish. Superb drinking on its own or with a wide variety of cuisine.

Some would say McLaren Vale is the spiritual home of Australian Grenache. We are not about to start arguing when Grenache like this one from Chapel Hill are produced. Generous rich red fruits with smattering of dried herbs and a fleshy mid-palate. There is real concentration and complexity to this wine.

Torbreck The Steading is a decadent blend of three traditional Barossa varieties. Grenache and Mataro from old bush vines provide wonderful richness and fruit flavours with only free run Shiraz used to allow the Grenache to shine through.

A more serious wine from the Southern Rhone. Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre and Cinsault roots grow in reddish, brown soils through limestone and reach deep, deep down. Vinification is traditional in concrete vats with daily pumping over, followed with ageing for six months in old large foudre, then bottled without fining and no filtration. The resulting wine is a triumph and a jewel in the crown for the Rhone.

A blend of Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre and Cinsault, from fifty-year-old vines, grown in five very different terroirs, aged for eight months in foudres. A captivating wine, herby and aromatic, rich spicy well balanced and powerful, yet long and very elegant at the same time.

Recently promoted from AC Village to a fully-fledged Cru (to rank alongside Gigondas, Vacqueyras, Tavel, Lirac and Chateauneuf-du-Pape), exciting changes are happening in the hamlet of Cairanne. Denis Alary - a quiet thoughtful man and one of the nicest people you are ever likely to meet. The first Alarys arrived to cultivate the vines here in 1692; ten generations on, Denis, supported by his family, produces exceptional wines.