Wine Guide
Under $20
Domaine du Vieux Lazaret Ventoux 2013 $12
Score 89 Value Outstanding
It's amazing to think this lovely little imported red is selling for such a paltry price. A clean, bright, cherry and spice wine with some elegance and Rhoney typicity. Ample ripe tannins; lovely drinking now. (13.5 per cent alcohol; screw cap.)
Ageing? Up to eight years.
Food idea Lamb's fry with onions.
Stockist grayswine.com.au.
Under $20
McPherson Wines Princess Butterfly Marsanne, Victoria 2014 $19
Score 88 Value Very good
The colour is light yellow and this wine is fresh and youthful, clean and bright all round, with peppermint and confectionery-like aromas. It's an attractive, straightforward dry white for everyday drinking. (12.5 per cent alcohol; screw cap.)
Ageing? Best within four years.
Food idea An antipasto platter.
Stockists Gordon's the Cellar Door, Elsternwick (Vic); mcphersonwines.com.au.
$20-$35
Helm Classic Dry Riesling, Canberra District 2015 $35
Score 95 Value Excellent
The high quality of Helm riesling continues with this pale-coloured youngster and its bouquet of floral fruit with cream, nut and straw-like details. It's youthfully restrained and full of charm, the palate softly textured with a delicious harmony of spice, herb and floral nuances. (11.8 per cent alcohol; screw cap.)
Ageing? 10 years.
Food idea Baked whole snapper.
Stockists Annandale Cellars and Wine Culture (NSW); Rathdowne Cellars Carlton North (Vic).
$20-$35
Reschke Bull Trader Cabernet Merlot, Coonawarra 2008 $23
Score 91 Value Excellent
With seven years of age under its belt, this is a bargain, showing some brick-red tints and a bouquet which has built some matured complexity. It's a leaner, more elegant style with measured tannins and mellow red-fruit flavours. (14.1 per cent alcohol; screw cap.)
Ageing? Up to eight years
Food idea Aged hard cheeses, such as Comte.
Stockists Dan Murphy's.
Indulge yourself
Wynns John Riddoch Cabernet Sauvignon, Coonawarra 2012 $150
Score 97 Value Fair
A top Riddoch, bursting with ripe blackberry and violet aromas, the glowing purple colour showing youth and vitality. It's concentrated and powerful, rippling with tannin – not a blockbuster but elegant and balanced with lots of very long tannins. Built for the long haul. (13.5 per cent alcohol; screw cap.)
Ageing? Cellar for four to 37 years.
Food idea Rare roast beef and baked vegetables.
Stockists Coogee Bay Hotel (NSW); Boccaccio Cellars (Vic).
Indulge yourself
Gatt Cabernet Sauvignon, Eden Valley 2009 $55
Score 95 Value Good
A stylish Barossa cabernet with the beginnings of bottle age showing, and some roasting-pan aromas emerging. The bouquet is led by raspberry and mint while the tannin structure is tight and sinewy, with very good line and length. Already showing attractive complexity. (13.8 per cent alcohol; screw cap.)
Ageing? Drink for 16 years.
Food idea Try it with moussaka.
Stockists Five Way Cellars, Paddington (NSW); Harry & Frankie, Port Melbourne (Vic).
Wine of the week
Annie's Lane Quelltaler Watervale Riesling, Clare Valley 2014 $27
Score 95 Value Excellent
With its mid-yellow colour and chalky, talcy, dry-straw aromas, this is a youthfully restrained, backward style of riesling. It also has richness and concentration, generous flavour, and is full and softly structured, finishing with lip-smacking dryness. (12.5 per cent alcohol; screw cap.)
Ageing? Drink for at least nine years.
Food idea Pan-fried King George whiting.
Cellar door 08 8843 2320; annieslane.com.au.
Something else
Grosset 45 Riesling eau-de-vie, Clare Valley $119/500ml
This is what Alsatians would term an eau-de-vie, although Grosset doesn't use any such term. It's a colourless, delicate, gently floral spirit with a powerful high-alcohol aroma and flavour, undoubted riesling character, pungent and yet soft. It's not heady or taily, but heart-of-the-run stuff. The mixologists will love it. (45 per cent alcohol; screw cap.)
Ageing? Not required, but it will live indefinitely.
Food idea It could be sipped as a digestif, perhaps with a little water, tonic or other mixers.
Stockists City Wine Shop (Vic); Castlecrag Cellars (NSW).
