Serafino 2009 Sharktooth Shiraz

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.

Mitolo 2012 Jester Vermentino

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.

Dandelion Vineyards Legacy of the Barossa 30-Year-Old Pedro Ximenez

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.

Domaine du Colombier 2010 Chablis

When we lived in France, back in 1996-2001, the Chablis and Petit Chablis from the Mothe family at Domaine du Colombier were among our regular house wines. The Mothes were delightful people with a friendly little cellar at Fontenay, and their wines offered excellent value for money. Now Marcus Gniel from Ce Soir Wine is importing the Chablis into Australia and I was delighted to discover it is still a really lovely, racy wine. It's pristine and flinty example with terrific acid and length. Match this with oysters, grilled seafood, or some snails in garlic, and you won't go wrong. $32. www.cesoirwine.com.

West Cape Howe 2012 Semillon Sauvignon Blanc

It had been a while since I had tasted any wines from West Cape Howe - but I've always thought of them as reliably good. Working my way through a recent batch of West Australian samples, the WCH 2012 Sauvignon Blanc was very decent, and the WCH 2012 Chardonnay excellent. And this wine blew my socks off - particularly after I looked at the recommended retail price. This is nothing more, nothing less than an excellent summer drink with semillon and sauvignon blanc playing a virtuoso quitar duel on your tongue. There's freshness, crispness and lots of drinkability. Ridiculous value for $17. www.westcapehousewines.com.au

Vignobles Paul Mas 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon

This is such a terrific bargain that I feel like keeping it to myself and going off on a big buying spree. So much of what you see in bottle shops for under $10 is complete rubbish, it comes as a real surprise to find a French import that's quite so good for such minimal outlay. This wine from the Languedoc has has blueberry juiciness and gentle cigar box notes; serious structure, impressive tannins and plenty of length. In short, it's a ripper - and it's under screw cap, as well. There's also a very impressive 2011 marsanne in the same range. Exclusive to Dan Murphy's, apparently. $6.99. [That's not a misprint].      

Mitchell Harris 2011 Mataro Grenache Shiraz

John Harris, formerly the winemaker at Domaine Chandon and Mount Avoca, is now devoting all his attention to his family label. And what a delightful wine from the cooler-climate Victorian Pyrenees this is. Forget all the doom and gloom about the 2011 vintage, there are a lot of excellent wines if you look in the right places - and this is a very good place. This mataro-dominant red blend is juicy, spunky, spicy and very slurpable. There are some bright red currant notes, earthiness, lashings of pepper and some appealing softness on the palate. Good stuff. $27. www.mitchellharris.com.au