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The new vintage Henschke Hill of Grace, Australia's best-known single-vineyard red wine will set you back close to $900 a bottle. It is a common misperception that all the wines in the Henschke range are too expensive for mere mortals. Not so. This rather impressive blend of shiraz and mataro from vineyards in the Barossa and Eden Valley comes in well under $35 - and you get a lot of quality for your cash. The ungrafted, biodynamically grown shiraz sings and the rustic mataro plays a support role with quality oak (95% older French and American vessels). The wine pays tribute to Paul Gotthard, the second-generation Henschke winemaker of the early Barossa Lutheran pioneers of South Australia. Deeply flavoured with dark fruits to the fore, this also has floral and spice elements that come together in a soft, smooth package with some earthy elements. Downright delicious. $33. www.henschke.com.au.
There is a fascinating topographical map label on this chardonnay from the Saturno brothers in the Adelaide Hills - and the wine is equally interesting. Longview is building a reputation for both the length and breadth of its range and this is terrific chardonnay for the price; beautifully balanced, impressively varietal with the poise of a ballerina and the coiled power of an MMA artist. The fruit was all hand-picked from low-yielding high-altitude vines. French oak adds interest. Thoroughly modern, thoroughly delicious. $40. www.longviewvineyard.com.au
There are wines that sing; and there are wines that rock. Bruce Springsteen would be proud of this one; a superb syrah from Tim Kirk and his team at Clonakilla in Murrumbateman outside Canberra. There is a crescendo of quality here; a symphony of style. While quality is high, volume is low. Just one fermenter each vintage is made from pure shiraz from an estate vineyard. The winemaking is kept simple; indigenous yeasts; a month on skins and 22 months in fine-grained bigger-format French oak. The 2017 had a wet winter and early spring followed by a dry summer. The result: a major hit. Silky, smooth, briary, delicious. $108. www.clonakilla.com.au.
The Art Series range represents Leeuwin’s most elegant and cellar-worthy wines from each vintage, and while I have no doubt this will cellar well, it will call for great willpower to not drink it right now because it is magnificent in its youth. With striking artwork from Kim Maple, entitled Influence, the wine lives up to to its billing as an Australian classic. It is a chardonnay of poise and precision, at once delicate and at the same time assertive it has the core strength of a ballerina. With layers of flavour including flintiness, nuts, Asian spices and bright, tight fruit on the grapefruit/ Packham pear side in of the spectrum this is downright delicious. This one merits 99/100. $104. https://leeuwinestate.com.au
Talented St Hallett winemaker Toby Barlow and his team specialise in shiraz at a range of different price points. The Barossa Valley winery's collection includes the $100-a-bottle Old Block, an Australian classic. In less rarified air is the reliably excellent Faith Shiraz, a popular everyday drinking red option since 1994. There's plenty of guts here, oodles of flavour, youthful vibrancy and a lot of enjoyment for not a lot of dollars. Pair this with a steak and mushroom sauce, or maybe a gourmet burger. Good drinking for $23, or less on special. www.sthallett.com.au.
This impressive red is the baby brother of the world-renowned Vasse Felix Cabernet Sauvignon and Vasse Felix Tom Cullity - and it proved a major hit with my tasting group. It's a delicious medium-bodied cabernet with plenty of complexity but it opens up more quickly than its more expensive siblings. There is a splash of malbec in the mix, too, along with softness and immediate appeal. A red where big is not best, but balance is key. From young vines from a very good vintage, this has excellent length and and palate interest. Excellent drinking.
$28. www.vassefelix.com.au.
There is terrific value to be found in this crisp and lively blanc de blancs style from Blue Pyrenees. Chardonnay fruit from the Pyrenees and Macedon Ranges in Victoria has produced a bubbly full of the joys of life with an impressive mousse, zingy palate and plenty of length. Grapes for this wine are picked at night to ensure maximum freshness. This is very stylish and refreshing with Granny Smith apple and kaffir lime juice notes. $36. www.bluepyrenees.com.au.
