Bernoota is an assault weapon in the bargain red stakes, blowing all else out of the water with explosive mint, plums, liquorice and dark choc oak. I tasted it the day I arrived home from Champagne and found it slick, polished and definitively Aussie. Careful where you point that thing! $19 at WineStar & Dan’s.

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Rob Mann has streamlined Marmaduke from the all-terrain blends of the past to a high-performance dragster. Powered by juicy black cherries and blackberries, kept on the road by firm, fine, peppery tannins, tuned by a brilliant vintage, this thing outdrives every Marmaduke to date. $15 at WineStar.

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On the bargain trawl? Buy the lesser labels of the greatest makers. Baby Langi is made like its senior siblings, open fermented and matured in small barrels. This low-yielding vintage has produced a juicy quaffer packed with mixed spice, pepper and rich plum and berry compote. $14 at Dan’s, $15 at WineStar.

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Here’s proof that this red wine specialist isn’t! This cool season has given birth to one of the finest and longest lived rieslings of Coonawarra, picked a touch earlier than usual, making it more steely and mineral than ever, packed with granny smith apples and lemon and lime zest.

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Say what you will about verdelho and sub-$15 wines but there’s a fresh purity to the honeydew bouquet and crunchy nashi pear palate of this little bargain. It’s dry, textural and just the thing to kick off proceedings with DIY Asian finger foods. $10 at www.winelistaustralia.com.au.

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An elegant, cool, spice-laden Clonakilla that I adore! Beautifully floral, swimming in violets, exotic spice sarsaparilla, tiny dark berries and white and green pepper. Taut and edgy with beautifully honed, fine-ground, granitic tannins. Sensational reflection of a cooler season. $85 at www.clonakilla.com.au, $95@Dan’s.

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We’ve all been waiting, with bated breath, for just what Rob Mann is capable of in Margaret River. Here it is, his third vintage, the season from the gods, every single berry individually selected, in slick new livery. A classical but low yielding year has produced gravelly, graphite-like tannins of Bordeaux classed-growth proportions, promising longevity […]

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Is Martinborough’s Ata Rangi New Zealand’s finest pinot or has that mantle transferred to Central Otago or Canterbury? I’ll happily continue the debate, glass in hand! Precision is the word here, with cherry kernel, pink pepper and rose petal underlined by silky tannins and gravelly Martinborough minerality. $60 at Dan’s, $66 at Kemeny’s.

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Le Mesnil sur Oger is the supernova of the blanc de blancs firmament and Bernard Launois lays claim to a generous chunk of it. His ultra-refreshing aperitif captures the minerality of the Côte des Blancs; restrained citrus and toast are supported by a balancing brush of delicate sweetness.

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The cool 2010 season places this among Clonakilla’s most sophisticated viogniers. It’s exactingly put together, contrasting moods of textural and silky, creamy and taut, linear and mouth-filling. Apricot kernel, brioche, pear, vanilla bean and custard apple unite in seamless harmony. $45 at WineStar and www.clonakilla.com.au.

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