Moss Wood 2026 Amy's Cuvée Blanc

 

This is one of the simpler wines in the impressive Moss Wood range, but with spring upon us it is a very good choice for enjoying al fresco. This new vintage release is a blend of semillon and sauvignon blanc, two grape varieties that thrive in Margaret River. There is plenty of tropical and citrus flavours on offer here, along with some light oak influence and plenty of crisp acid on the palate. This fresh, youthful wine can confidently be paired with seafood or poultry dishes. Delightful drinking $46. https://www.mosswood.com.au/   

Brockenchack 2026 On Point Pinot Grigio

 

It's been a while since I've seen wines from Eden Valley producer Brockenchack but this one stood out for both quality and value, particularly with the arrival of spring and a change towards lighter dishes that would match with this vibrant, zingy dry white with widespread appeal. It is full of the joys of youth. Freshness and purity are the aims here: mission achieved. There is an appealing combo of citrus and tropical flavours on the brisk palate, and this would be excellent with pan-fried whitebait, or salt and pepper squid. Fresh, zingy and ready to enjoy chilled. $23. https://brockenchackwines.shop/

Zema Estate 2019 Family Selection Cabernet Sauvignon

 

The Zema family has been making high-quality red wines from Coonawarra for well over 40 years - and they are kind enough to do the cellaring for you before releasing their reliably excellent Family Selection wines. This is seven years old and absolutely outstanding. It is a complete package, with length, depth, structure and sophistication. It's ready to enjoy now, but will also cellar for several more years. It is classic Coonawarra in style - and a perfect match for rich red meat dishes. We finished a bottle of this in quick smart time - and that is a very rare occurrence nowadays. Great buying for $45. https://zema.com.au/

Grosset 2026 Springvale Riesling

 

Jeffrey Grosset's Polish Hill Riesling is widely regarded as Australia's benchmark for the style and the new 2026 release ($85) is outstanding. If you are on a restricted budget, however, the 2026 Springvale, made from Watervale fruit, is very close to being its equal this Clare Valley vintage. It also offers biodynamic excellence, classic pithy citrus notes, impressive minerality and immediate appeal. It's aromatic, intense, structured and bloody delicious when paired with seafood dishes, or Asian flavours. Just lovely. It's unfined, Vegan- and vegetarian-friendly and is released this week. Be quick. $58. https://www.grosset.com.au/

Running With Bulls 2025 Not Quite Red Grenache

 

Lighter, fresher, fruiter reds are very much in vogue right now; and this "drink now" release from Hill-Smith Family Estates is an excellent example of the trend. Vibrant and refreshing, it is eminently suitable for serving chilled alongside modern flavours. The winemaking team recommend serving this with bao buns, sticky pork, or halloumi fries with chilli honey; perfect examples of the dishes young Australians are enjoying. The fruit is fresh and vibrant grenache from the Barosss, so think lively berry flavours and a hint of spice. And minimal oak. By all means chill this, but not too much. For those who care about such things, it is certified sustainable and Vegan friendly. I'm more impressed by the slurpability. $21. https://www.smithswinestore.com.au/running-with-bulls/  

Cooks Lot 2025 Handpicked Chardonnay

What an excellent value wine this is from chef-turned-winemaker Duncan Cook, whose new release chardonnay and pinot noir from cool Orange in central western NSW both shine. Handpicking and sorting to select the best fruit have paid off in a big way in a white that offers a lot of drinking pleasure for a very modest price. The quality fruit is the star of the show here despite the use of more new and newish French oak barriques. This is a wine with impressive structure thanks to barrel fermentation with partial solids and lees aging, but it also offers immediate food-friendly drinkability. Add roast pork and crackling and you have a cracking weekend feast. Cooks Lot is a name worth looking at. $35. https://www.cookslot.com.au/

Clonkilla 2026 Riesling

 

The Canberra wine region produces some of Australia's best rieslings - and this new release from the the the Kirk family and the Clonakilla team at Murrumbateman is a case in point. Despite coming from a difficult year - think frost, hail and a heatwave - this is an excellent wine. It leaps out of the glass with vibrant youthful enthusiasm. Aromatics, tropical lime juice notes, green apple flavours and brisk acid combine on a plate that demands to be paired with fresh oysters, pan-fried fish or a Thai chicken curry, Serve chilled. Drink now. Order another bottle. $40. https://clonakilla.com.au  

Wirra Wirra 2025 The Absconder Grenache

McLaren Vale grenache is noted for its juicy fruit generosity and immediate appeal, but this new release from Wirra Wirra also offers depth and complexity along with that joyous spirit. Think dark berry flavours, concentration and suppleness on the palate from a warm and successful vintage. Open fermenters, a portion of whole-bunch material, basket pressing and time in older oak puncheons have added to the artwork. Much of the fruit comes from bush vines planted in 1960. The wine is named after Wirra Wirra’s founder Robert Wigley, a notorious bon vivant who was involved in the ‘acquisition’ of the famous Adelaide pie cart in days gone by. The bad news: this will not be released until September 3. I'd pre-order if I were you. $80. https://wirrawirra.com/

Ross Hill 2025 Pinnacle Series Chardonnay

This is one of a range of impressive new releases from respected Orange wine producer Ross Hill under its Pinnacle Series label, made by winemaker Chris Jessop. It is a very classy cool-climate chardonnay that delivers excellent bang for your buck. Jessop reports the 2025 vintage was extremely favourable, allowing fruit to achieve excellent balance and concentration with minimal intervention. Family-owned Ross Hill is located just outside Orange and has been certified Carbon Neutral for a decade. The quality fruit from 20+ year-old vines grown at altitude is the hero here with oak in the background. Available nationally via Domaine Wine Shippers. This would pair well with dishes ranging from roast chicken with savoury stuffing to a scallop pie. $40. rosshillwines.com.au

Lyons Will Estate 2025 Gamay

 

Gamay is a delightful grape variety that is sadly under-used in Australia. Best known for Beaujolais and some Loire Valley reds, it offers lighter style drinking and can be enjoyed lightly chilled. Thank goodness for producers like Lyons Will Estate in the Macedon Ranges of Victoria, where Renata Morello makes two different expressions of gamay. This is a vibrant drink now style, with 40% whole bunch, wild ferment, semi carbonic maceration and three weeks on skins adding some palate oomph. Unfined, unfiltered and Vegan-friendly, this an excellent Australian iteration full of youthful vinous joy: crisp with nicely balanced acid across the palate. Pair with anything from a mushroom tart to French onion soup. $50. lyonswillestate.com.au    

Windowrie Sakura Ruby Sparkling

Let's be honest; an awful lot of alcohol-free wines are over-priced lolly water. In many cases I'd rather have a glass of cordial. This is an exception, however, a cool drink that I'd happily have two or three glasses of. From family-owned organic producer Windowrie in the Central Ranges of NSW, it is lightly sparkling with no added sugar and has plenty of vibrancy on the palate, where crisp cherry and plum flavours are to the fore. Lively and fun, with or without food, this is also promoted as a good base for mocktails. Distributed by Single Vineyard Sellers. $20. https://www.windowrie.com.au/ 

Xanadu 2023 Cabernet Sauvignon

 

Regular readers will be aware we have a policy of not covering wine show awards. But when a sub-$50 wine from a consistently excellent producer is awarded the Prime Minister’s Trophy for Champion Wine of Show at the 2026 National Wine Show of Australia and also named Red Wine of Show then I was very keen to see it. Winemaker Glenn Goodall and his Margaret River winemaking team have hit this one out of the park. To my palate it is seriously under priced. It is a classic cabernet with all the elements in place. Cassis/dark choc flavours, well integrated oak and superb balance and length. Ready to enjoy right now with a winter casserole. 97 points from me. $45. www.xanaduwines.com

Bishop by Ben Glaetzer 2023

Ben Glaetzer makes several top-notch red wines that reward long-term cellaring, including the Amon-Ra and Anaperenna. This is similarly well crafted shiraz but offers more immediate drinking pleasure with its classic Barossa combo of power and elegance. From a dry, sunny but late vintage, this offers a lot of length and style for a very fair price. It spent 16 months in mainly older French hogshead barrels for structure but finishes beguilingly soft on the palate. The wine is named in honour of Ben's mother Judith [Bishop] - who has the unique distinction of having two wines named after her by her sons. The other is the Glaetzer-Dixon La Judith. This one offers very good buying for $40. www.glaetzer.com. 

Hoddles Creek 2025 Pinot Noir

For several years this was consistently Australia's best sub-$25 pinot noir. But times have changed, the price has gone up and it is now Australia's best sub-$26 pinot noir. Extremely gulpable, but good enough to pair with fine cuisine, we have another winner from the d'Anna family's Upper Yarra Valley property. From an early and warm vintage the winemaking team has managed to still make a very pretty wine. Red berries and dark cherry aromas lead the nose, and there are firm but supple tannins on the palate. This spent time in 30% new, 30% one year old and the balance in two and three year old oak and spent 11 months in barrel before being bottled without filtration or fining. A serious bargain this one. Pair with poultry or mushroom dishes. $26. https://www.hoddlescreekestate.com.au/

Nericon 2025 Vineyard Reserve Chardonnay

 

Looking for a new wine label to try? The Nericon wines from Dee Vine Estate in the New South Wales Riverina deliver a lot of drinking pleasure at a very fair price right across the range. The Nericon vineyard, outside Beelgbangera, has produced wine grapes since the 1950s. This is a good choice for those who like their chardonnays medium bodied with just a hint of oak and lots of food-friendly attributes. Think white peach and nectarine notes on the palate. Fresh fruit plays the lead role across a seasoned palate with French oak in subtle support. You can't go wrong at $16. Pair with poultry dishes. https://www.deevineestate.com/nericon

Burton McMahon 2024 D'Aloisio Vineyard Chardonnay

 

When long-time mates Matt Burton and Dylan McMahon are not making wines for a living they combine to make wines for fun. The Gundog Estate winemaker and his former Seville Estate friend combine to make small-batch chardonnays and pinot noirs from the Yarra Valley. This new release is pretty, precise and persistent, made from grapes grown in Seville in the cool Upper Yarra. It is a very composed wine with plenty to say. Nutty oak plays a support role to the expressive citrus and white peach notes and there is some brisk, food-friendly acidity. We paired with lightly seared tuna. Only 320 dozen were made. 94 points. $60. www.gundgogestate.com.au

Angullong 2023 Fossil Hill Tempranillo

 

Angullong is a family-owned wine producer in the cool-climate region of Orange in the Central West of New South Wales - a location producing increasingly impressive wines across the board. Here we have a Spanish grape variety - most famous for its key role in the great wines of Rioja - crafted in Australia by a Canadian winemaker, Jeff Byrne. Bright and immediately engaging, this offers a nice balance between savoury fruit notes and quality oak. We paired it with chilli con carne and rice, and it proved a most amiable pairing. Outstanding value at $30.  https://www.angullong.com.au/

Ask The Elephant 2025 Pinot Grigio

 

A tenner? You don't get much wine for a tenner nowadays, do you? Well this new brand release from Fourth Wave Wines delivers good everyday drinking across the five wines in the range - with this one my favourite. Ask the Elephant is an offshoot from thes crowd-pleasing Elephant in the Room label - using keywords to make buying easier for novice wine buyers. Friendly is the word in question here and this is certainly a white with wide appeal. Red apple and pear flavours lead the charge with fruit sweetness and nutty hints in support. It sits midway between gris and grigio in style and there are plenty of $25 wines that this puts to shame. The sauvignon blanc in the same range is also pretty cool. Coming to Dan Murphy's and BWS stores soon. $9.99.

Cullen 2024 Diana Madeline

What style of wizardry is this? Tasted blind you could easily mistake this for one of the stellar left bank cabernet-driven red blends of Bordeaux - wines that fetch stratospheric prices. This isn't cheap, but it is bargain compared to other Australian flagships now pushing over $1000 a bottle. This benchmark comes from the earliest, driest, and hottest vintage on record in Margaret River, but the biodynamic, dry-grown vines sailed through the test. Still aromatic, still powerful, still balanced, still elegant. Dark with cassis flavours to the fore, along with nutty/vanilla characters, impressive tannin structure and stupendous length. The blend comprises 90% cabernet sauvignon, 5% cabernet franc, 3% malbec, and 2% merlot. Pair with a lamb roast for maximum pleasure. Released this week. I think this is my favourite wine of the year so far. 98 points. $160. https://cullenwines.com.au/

https://cullenwines.com.au/

Vasse Felix 2025 Filius Sauvignon Blanc

A quarter of a century ago, sauvignon blanc was all the rage. It is less fashionable nowadays but that means it represents terrific value for those who like the style. This release from a pioneering Margaret River producer is a case in point - a very well-made dry white for under $30. This is less overt than its Kiwi cousins, food friendly and savoury without too much herbaceousness. A portion of skin fermented juice adds interest, as does some fermentation in quality French oak. A very pretty, brisk, aromatic drink with fresh pear flavours to the fore and with a bitey acid finish. Lovely everyday thirst quenching here. Pair with poultry dishes, or maybe some salt and pepper squid. $28. https://www.vassefelix.com.au/