Grosset 2011 Piccadilly

Jeffrey Grosset is probably best known as Australia's pre-eminent producer of rieslings. For three decades now his Polish Hill and Springvale rieslings from the Clare Valley have been the industry benchmarks. This wine, made from chardonnay fruit grown in the cool Piccadilly region of the Adelaide Hills is less known (although it has been made for 20 years) but no less commendable. Only 600 cases were produced of this and it delicate and pristine with floral notes leading on to a crisp, linear palate with white peach and grapefruit zest. There's length, depth, great structure and bracing acid on the finish. A stunning new wave Australian chardonnay. $55. www.grosset.com.au.

Ferngrove 2013 Frankland River Limited Release Off-Dry Riesling

My personal preference is for young rieslings that are bone dry, but there is certainly a place on the Australian wine landscape for wine like this; sweeter, certainly, than the mainstream but low in alcohol and deliciously zesty in a homage to some of the off-dry rieslings of Germany, although this tastes closer to medium-sweet. It  has lashings of residual sugar, just 10.5% alcohol and zingy natural acidity, along with a faint spritz. Lovely floral aromas lead onto key lime pie and zingy lemon citrus notes on the palate with enough zest to make this a lovely wine for pairing with spicy Sichuan dishes or maybe just for sipping chilled on a warm summer day. Very enjoyable. $20.  www.ferngrove.com.au

Peter Lehmann Lot # 2 Stonewell Road Shiraz

The late Peter Lehmann would be very proud of the wines his team, under the leadership of veteran Andrew Wigan, continue to produce across all price points. This limited-release shiraz is a triumph, particularly given it is a product of the troublesome 2011 vintage. Lot 2 Stonewell Road is the home address of one of the Lehmann winemaking team, Ian Hongell, and his family, and the fruit used in this powerful, intense and impressively structured wine has been hand-tended by the Hongels. It's a dark, rich wine, atypical of the vintage, with impressive tannin structure. It's lovely now with a steak, but will probably cellar well for a decade. $30. www.peterlehmannwines.com.

Kooyong 2011 Estate Pinot Noir

It's pretty hard to go wrong with any of the wines under the Kooyong label. The 2010s were outstanding and the 2011 estate chardonnay is just as impressive as this wine - another cracker from winemaker Sandro Mosele. This spent 10 months in French oak (15% new) and then a further 10 months in large wooden foudres to add structure and complexity. The end result is a wine of immaculate balance with bright fruit and savoury characters in delightful two-part harmony. It's an elegant offering from a cool vintage, and while it may be a tad lighter than in its 2010 incarnation it is an absolutely lovely drink in every way with good tannin structure and plenty of life ahead of it. $53. www.kooyongwines.com.au. 

Sanguine Estate 2012 Progeny Shiraz

It is no secret that many winemakers see Heathcote as the source of some of the best shiraz fruit in the country. This is an absolutely cracking cool-climate shiraz that's made with obvious care and attention. The fruit is hand-picked, the juice gravity fed and fermented with indigenous yeasts in small open-topped tanks and matured in mainly old French barriques for 14 months before release. This won the trophy for best shiraz at the recent Heathcote Wine Show, which wouldn't mean a jot to me if it wasn't for the fact the judging panel has unearthed a real gem. This tastes like a luxury wine, bold but elegant with ballsy dark fruit, pepper and spice and beautifully balanced toasty oak. It's a ripper and is available direct from the winery for $22.95. www.sanguinewines.com.au.  

Terra Sancta 2012 Mysterious Diggings Pinot Gris

Sometimes the world of wine throws up some delightful surprises. The Tasmanian distributor of Terra  Sancta wines from Bannockburn in Central Otago dropped off some samples for me - of which I opened a pair of rieslings and this pinot gris first. I had no idea of the price bracket for the trio but estimated that, given its quality, the pinot gris would have to sell for around $35+. It's an absolutely delicious and complex white wine; floral and with delicious pear intensity on the palate, that finishes dry, has hints of subtle ginger spice and is particularly food friendly. Checking the interweb, I found that it can often be found for under $25 retail. Which makes it a spectacular bargain. Drink young. Enjoy. www.terrasancta.co.nz

By Jingo 2010 Nero Rosso

A gourmet pizza went down very well accompanied by this cheerful dark and spicy cherry velvet bomb. It's a blend of montepulciano and zinfandel from the Adelaide Hills and grenache from a vineyard above a nudists' beach in McLaren Vale, so could have ended up anything from a disaster to triumph. Judging by my empty bottle, it ended up very much on the right side of the ledger with ripeness and richness from dark berry and currant flavours (chocolate notes also develop when its been open for a while). This is a wine with flourish and dash - I like it a lot. $30. www.byjingowines.com.