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Rich, but impressively structured, this is the flagship red wine from McLaren Vale producer Serafino; a metrosexual wine made in tiny quantities. It has lots of power with intense dark fruit alongside coffee, spice and oak notes on the nose. The palate is all dark chocolate and ripe plums, beautifully integrated with French and American oak, but there is also a purity and length (and just 14% alcohol) along with the architecture to suggest a long cellar life. Half lethal martial arts expert, half gymnast, this is a wine of impressive class and drinkability. $70. www.serafinowines.com.au.
This is a wine that just screams "summer fun". I really liked the bitter lemon and ultra-dry lime sherbet notes on the palate, the hyperactive crisp acidity and refreshingly dry finish. Crisp and fresh with just 11% alcohol, it's a perfect choice for lunchtime al fresco dining - and a brilliant partner for a seafood platter, fresh oysters or good old-fashioned fish and chips. There's a real purity to this McLaren Vale white (think a cold Alpine stream) but absolutely no shortage of flavour. A terrific unoaked wine for enjoying chilled - and while it still has all its youthful exuberance. $22. www.mitolowines.com.au.
Many of the Pedro Ximenez vines in South Australia got ripped out years ago as fortified wines struggled to find a market. Thankfully, a few remain and the fruit that goes into this little beauty is grown in the family vineyards of Carl Lindner, one of the Dandelion partners. With vines averaging 30 years of age (and some much older) this is a wine of intensity and power, but at the same time full of charm: a James Bond wine, one might say. Burnt ochre in colour, it has a nose full of nutty goodness that leads on to a plate on which mixed nut, dark Christmas cake fruit, English toffee, marmalade and citrus peel notes are beautiful melded together. This is a deep, dark, mysterious wine; sweet, rich, rancio and complex. A little bottle of deliciousness. I don't score, but if I did, I'd give this 96/100. $27.50 for 375mls. www.dandelionvineyards.com.au.
