Diverse dozen to match the greats

Here are 12 of the best from the Sydney Cellar Door weekend – some well known, some less so.

IT'S MY AIM TO MAKE MY MIXED-dozen picks of the producers at the Sydney Cellar Door (February 22-24) as interesting and diverse as possible. I have included some wineries you may not have encountered. Some are new discoveries, some not. It almost goes without saying that the great wineries such as Tyrrell's and Brokenwood continue to excel, and their exclusion doesn't mean they've slipped. Indeed, Tyrrell's should not be missed in 2013 because it has gone straight for the top, bringing only its greatest wines: Vat 1 and Stevens Vineyard Semillons, Vat 9 Shiraz and Vat 47 Chardonnay.

ANGULLONG – Orange
2012 Sauvignon Blanc and 2012 Pinot Grigio (both $17)
The Crossing family of Angullong were pastoralists first, with a 2000-hectare property. Today, more than 215 hectares are planted to vines, making them one of the region's biggest grape growers. The long-term consultant winemaker is Jon Reynolds, who has been making fine wine for more than 30 years. As of 2012's harvest, the wines are vinified at Monarch in the Hunter by Greg Silkman's team. The Angullong sauvignon blanc is not only one of the best of its kind in Australia, it's amazing value. And the pinot grigio is showing signs of being just as remarkable for quality and value.

A. RETIEF – Canberra & Tumbarumba
2011 A. Retief Sauvignon Blanc Semillon ($28)
Alex Retief is a bright new star in the NSW firmament, concentrating on cool-climate Tumbarumba and Canberra region wines, as well as reds from his family's vineyard at Gundagai. The 2011 A. Retief Sauvignon Blanc Semillon is a blinder: concentrated and powerful, barrel-fermented and showing a well-judged patina of oak. I've liked his shiraz (Gundagai) and chardonnay (Tumbarumba), and expect both latest issues, from 2010 and 2011, respectively, will be worth tasting.

BRANGAYNE OF ORANGE – Orange
2011 Isolde Chardonnay ($30)
The Hoskins family are Wagner buffs, and name their wines after characters in the maestro's operas – Brangayne himself was a Wagner character. Tristan is the name of their cabernet sauvignon shiraz merlot blend, and Isolde is their reserve-style chardonnay. Both are regular performers in my tastings, while the 2010 pinot noir is also good in a fuller-bodied, more highly structured style. The Brangayne whites come from a high-altitude vineyard in the Pinnacle Lane area, while the reds are grown on a vineyard on a warmer and slightly lower-altitude site on the Forbes Road. The winemaker is Simon Gilbert.

CHERRY TREE HILL – Southern Highlands
2006 Riesling ($30)
The 2006 Riesling from this Southern Highlands vineyard is very good indeed, and is showing the benefit of several years in the bottle. The Diana Reserve chardonnay has impressed in the past, the 2009 being a notable award winner. The latest vintage, 2011, will be one worth tasting. Cherry Tree Hill is a substantial (for this region) 15-hectare vineyard that has been established and run by the Lorentz family on the Hume Highway at Sutton Forest, on the western end of the southern highlands. The contract winemaker is Anton Balog.

DE BORTOLI – Riverina
2008 Deen de Bortoli Botrytis Semillon ($17)
This wine beat much more expensive opponents – including De Bortoli's flagship botrytis semillon, Noble One, to win the trophy for the best sweet white at 2012's NSW Wine Awards. To sell such a wine for $17 a half-bottle retail is almost an act of charity. The petit verdot under the same label is a regular charmer and great value. These two wines under the Deen label are Riverina-grown; others are blended from other regions and are also great value. De Bortoli Hunter white wines under the DBHV label are well worth looking for. The 2011 verdelho of this range can be tasted.

DE IULIIS – Hunter Valley
2011 LDR Vineyard Shiraz ($40), and 2011 DeIuliis Shiraz ($25)
Mike de Iuliis may not have the easiest surname to write or pronounce, but it makes for a distinctive brand. How boring if you named your wine Glen Park or John Smith's. De Iuliis is a family company with its winery on Broke Road, Pokolbin. Mike de Iuliis graduated in molecular microbiology from Macquarie University before doing a degree in wine at Adelaide University. His wife is also a microbiologist, who works in cancer research. ''She's saving the world and I'm just making people happy,'' he once said. Seems to me they're both doing important work.

EDEN ROAD – Canberra & Tumbarumba
2011 Long Road Shiraz ($24)
The Long Road is Eden Road's regular $24 label, and the shiraz (Canberra-Hilltops) and chardonnay (Tumbarumba) under this brand have impressed in the past. I would not pass up the opportunity to try the new vintages of these, which are 2011 and 2012, respectively. The more expensive Canberra Shiraz 2011 ($50) is also one for tasting. Nick Spencer is afine winemaker, and the company recently took the bold step of moving out of the former Hardy's winery in Canberra's northern suburbs and buying the former Doonkuna property at Murrumbateman, slap-bang in the middle of Canberra's premium locale.

FIRST CREEK – Hunter Valley
2011 First Creek Winemaker's Reserve Shiraz ($40)
The excitement here is the Winemaker's Reserve label, which comprises a shiraz and a semillon, both 2011. The 2010 vintages of both were outstanding, and I would expect nothing less from 2011. Winemakers are the talented team of Liz Silkman (nee Jackson) and Damien Stevens. The First Creek wines are exclusively Hunter Valley, although the winery – Monarch Winemaking Services – acts as a contract winemaking service
for more than 25 clients, some of them in other NSW regions. First Creek is the company's own label, and increasingly stands for superb wines.

HUNGERFORD HILL – Hunter Valley and Tumbarumba
2008 Dalliance Sparkling Chardonnay Pinot Noir ($30)
This venerable wine company, owned since 2002 by James Kirby and family, is based in the Hunter Valley at its impressive winery, restaurant and cellar door sales complex at One Broke Road. However, its most exciting wines are from Tumbarumba, including this superb sparkling wine, and also a still chardonnay. The 2010 Tumbarumba Chardonnay shows the purity of fruit, fresh acidity and vivacity that typefies the white wines of this exciting region.

OAKVALE – Hunter Valley
2011 Reserve Single Vineyard Shiraz ($45) and 2011 Reserve Chardonnay ($40)
Oakvale is a well-known Hunter name, established in the 1890s, with its winery on Broke Road, Pokolbin. Since 2010, it's been owned by the Becker family and while one of the family was installed as winemaker, Hunter Valley stalwart Patrick Auld (formerly of Lindemans, Southcorp and Poole's Rock) was hired to oversee the process. The Beckers have about 30 hectares of vineyards, including the famous old Stevens vineyard. These two recent releases have impressed me, especially the elegant, medium-bodied, traditional Hunter burgundy-style shiraz.

PRINTHIE – Orange
2010 MCC Chardonnay ($35)
Printhie's outstanding range of wines is the Mount Canobolas Collection (MCC), of which the 2010 chardonnay is a star attraction, although the 2010 MCC Shiraz is a wine of similar class. These are made by winemaker Drew Tuckwell from the cream of the Swift family's substantial 33-hectare vineyard at Molong, north-west of Orange. The big news at Printhie is a new range of sparkling wines under the Swift name. They're showing the non-vintage Swift Sparkling Cuvee, which marks a promising start for the fizz program.Sparkling wine is part of an ambitious expansion program for the Swift family, which will add lustre to the Orange wine scene.

ROBERT STEIN – Mudgee
2012 Riesling ($40)
The talented Jacob Stein, grandson of founder Bob Stein, was named the young winemaker of the year in 2012. His father Andrew is chief executive. Their earliest ancestor in Australia was brought out from Germany by the Macarthur family to work in the Camden Park vineyard. So it's very much a family wine business. The 19-hectare vineyard at Mudgee was established in 1976, so it contains mature vines. It all helps explain why Stein's is riding high at present. All Stein wines I've tasted were good, and none better than the riesling, which is of consistent gold-medal quality.