TARDIEU-LAURENT Cuvee Speciale, Chateauneuf-du-Pape

Vinas de Gain is Artadis entry level wine typically showing vibrant black fruit, plush tannins and a smooth supple texture. The Tempranillo grapes are sourced from vines between 25 and 40 years of age that are managed along organic and biodynamic lines. Vinas de Gais is matured in up to 40% new and 60% one and two year old casks for 12-14 months.

Schubert Goose-yard Block Shiraz, Barossa Valley Concentrated, rich and dense, this is Schubert Estate’s flagship wine. The Goose-Yard Block is a classic Barossa Valley Shiraz, characterised power, elegance and poise which earns it regular podium berths. Expect your nose to be tweaked and your mouth to be slapped and to want to come back for more. If well kept in a good cellar, the youthful boisterousness settles into a assured comfort one should expect from the top wine from a 100-year-old winery.

Krondorf 121 Settlers Barossa Valley Shiraz The 121 Settlers Old Vine Shiraz is sourced from a single site at the cooler southern extremity of Barossa, in St. Jakobi, abutting the western ridge of the Lyndoch sub-zone. Here, a conflation of red clay and loam promotes earlier ripening, a mitigating factor against inclement weather and the growing risk of early season frosts that Climate Change has foisted upon us. As importantly these dense soils imbue the wines with a firm tannic carriage, ensuring passage to greater complexity in the cellar, while serving as a structural harness for typically exuberant Barossan fruit. The average age of the vines is in excess of 35 years, with gnarled octogenarian survivors among them. Yields are inherently low as the established root systems reach deep below the soils substrata in search of water and the requisite nutrients drawn through it. Yet the fruit that is produced is immaculate: vibrant, concentrated and firmly stamped with the regional postcode of generosity. The winemaking is dutifully sensitive, chaperoning the fruit from vineyard to bottle with minimal intrusion: gravity feeds, gentle pigeage and 16-18 months in used, rather than new, oak. The result is one of dark fruit allusions from plum to blackberry, underlain by a potpourri of spice including black pepper, clove and star anise, all melded to a pungent thread of mineral. The oak is apparent, but only as an adjunct to propel the finish long. As with many Barossan greats, the fruit weight allows for early appeal, albeit, this is a wine that will easily cellar for 15 years onwards.

JEAN-NOEL GAGNARD Cuvee L'Estimee , Chassagne-Montrachet

MISHA'S VINEYARD The Starlet Sauvignon Blanc, Central Otago Mishas Vineyard is located on a spectacular site in New Zealand on the edge of Lake Dunstan in the Bendigo sub-region of Central Otago. The sun-drenched, north-west facing terraces of the 57 hectare estate provide optimal conditions for producing world-class Pinot Gris. A no compromise philosophy requires exacting viticulture regimes, hand-picking, and considerate winemaking methodologies. The fruit for this wine is hand-picked and whole bunch pressed. The free run and early press portion (70%) is handled anaerobically settled, racked, inoculated and then cool fermented in stainless steel without air contact. The remaining juice portion is handled more oxidatively and spends time in older French oak barrels where it goes through a spontaneous ferment. Blending the two components contributes complexity to both the flavour and texture of the finished wine, which typically shows exotically fragrant aromas of elderflower, lime and passionfruit and a rounded palate with tropical fruits and pineapple notes balanced by fresh citrus acidity.

Medium bodied with the plush dark berry fruit framed by fine grained tannins to give a long and persistent finish.