PHi 2022 Syrah Grenache

 

Taking a sip of this wine is like taking a vinous trip to the Rhone Valley. PHI is the 21st letter of the Ancient Greek alphabet and symbolises balance, harmony and proportion. This red blend has all that and more. There is juiciness, but also elegance. There's savoury and spicy notes, but also impressive fruit weight. The grapes comes from Heathcote and the wine is made by the De Bortoli Yarra Valley team. I paired it with some poached tuna and teriyaki aubergine and it proved an inspired combo. A wine for savouring, with or without food. Soft and plush on the finish. Serious but fun. And downright delicious. $35. https://www.debortoli.com.au/

Jean 2023 Chardonnay

 

Here is a fun French chardonnay that fits the bill for summer enjoyment. It is fully fruited (no one is going to mistake it for Chablis) wine from the warmth of the south of France with plenty of flavour. It comes from the team at Maison Jean Loron with fruit source from vineyards on rocky, elevated hillsides. It is bright and fresh with citrus and tropical fruit flavours on the palate, and it finishes quite dry. Easy to drink, ready for immediate enjoyment, and ideal for pairing chilled with salads or perhaps with fancy pork snags. $30. https://www.singlevineyards.com/

The Other Wine Company 2024 Sangiovese

 

This bright and food friendly young sangiovese is a new addition to the Other Wine Co. portfolio. It's a thoroughly modern take on the classic Italian grape variety from the team that also produces wines under the Shaw+Smith label. This is made from grapes grown in the elevated (and cool) Mount Lofty Ranges in the Adelaide Hills. It is designed as a fresh, uncomplicated, drink-now red and delivers on all counts. There are blue fruit flavours to the fore, hints of spice and lashings of bright acidity. Fermented as a combo of whole bunches and whole berries, it spent two weeks on skins before being basket pressed to old oak and stainless steel. Fun drinking with anything from a vegetable pizza to a gourmet burger. $28. https://www.theotherwineco.com/

d'Arenberg 2019 The Ironstone Pressings

 

If you like your reds with plenty of muscle power you've come to the right place. Released at five years of age - and ready to enjoy - this is a classic big red from fourth-generation McLaren Vale masters d'Arenberg. It is a GSM with 72% grenache, 25% shiraz and a small amount of mourvedre - a regional style favourite. The wine is made old school: open fermenters, basket pressing, lees aging, and the end product is unfined and unfiltered. There is nothing subtle here. You have a wine of power and presence, 15% alcohol, with grippy tannins that demands to be matched with a rib-eye steak. $78. https://www.darenberg.com.au/ 

Hoddles Creek 2023 Junior Pinot Blanc

 

Some wines are captivating from the very first sip. This is one of those wines. Yarra Valley-based Hoddles Creek specialises in chardonnay and pinot noir, but also has several other strings to its bow, including this intriguing pinot blanc. The grape, also known as weißburgunder, is a genetic mutation of pinot noir and is widely grown in Alsace, Germany, northern Italy and in several other European countries, where it produces textural white wines. This has lots of personality. It is hand-picked, whole-bunch pressed, racked as as cloudy juice to old white casks (for texture rather than flavour), held on lees and then bottle with minimal filtration. Lively and super food-friendly. $45. https://www.hoddlescreekestate.com.au/

Crittenden 2022 Cri de Coeur Pinot Noir

Attention to detail in both the vineyard and the winery are hallmarks of the Crittenden ranges. The wines are made with regenerative farming practices and minimal intervention in the vines and thoughtfulness from winemaker Rollo Crittenden in the winery. This flagship pinot from the family-owned Mornington Peninsula producer is an absolute standout: full of depth, structure and textural interest, it finishes soft, sexy and smooth on the palate. Classic cherry and berry flavours merge with savoury/undergrowth/deli notes to deliver a complex but disarmingly easy-to-drink wine that will beguile pinotphiles. Super food friendly. 96/100 from me. $95. www.crittendenwines.com.au

Clonakilla 2023 Chardonnay

 

The Kirk family has been making outstanding wines at Murrumbateman, outside Canberra, for over half a century but also sources grapes from trusted growers outside the region, primarily from the Hilltops, outside Young, and from high-altitude Snowy Mountains. This outstanding chardonnay uses fruit from the Johansen family vineyards outside Tumbarumba, which sit around 700 to 720 metres above sea level. From the third cooler-than-average vintage in a row, this has definite cool-climate flavours; citrus and stone fruit leading the charge. There's lots of refreshment here, along with lashings of minerality. Excellent drinking. $45. https://clonakilla.com.au/