I like it because it captures the frangipane fragrance of ripe Barossa frontignac, because it’s not as confected and lolly sweet as most, and most of all because it’s downright cheap, as all moscatos should be (but few are). Chill it to sub-zero and roll out the summer fruit cart! $9.50 at Gray’s online.

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Not often you’ll find a Coonawarra Cabernet not labelled as such, nor one as exact as this under $20. It’s pretty and perfumed, with high notes of musk over a core of red- and blackcurrants. Excellent tannin texture and lingering fruit persistence suggest a confident future. $18 at Boccaccio and Wine List Australia.

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This is the best sub-$20 chardonnay of the year. There you have it! I almost fell off my (arm) chair when the inaugural 2009 vintage hit the streets earlier this year, and the proof has just landed that Armchair Critic is no one-hit-wonder. Quite the contrary. I like the new vintage more. A lot more. […]

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The cool 2011 season has created an altogether savoury and food-friendly rosé of bone-dry precision and soft, supple, textural mouthfeel. Its tomato and dried herb notes will align perfectly with an antipasto platter or cold meats for Christmas lunch. $19 at WineStar.

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All the crunchy green fruits, tangy citrus and cut grass that we love of Margaret River’s racy SSBs, but with a texture, complexity and structure that come from eight weeks in French oak barrels. The oak folds seamlessly into the folds of the fruit – quite an achievement for a wine so young, giving it […]

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Rutherglen muscat is the only wine with the stature to withstand the sweet frenzy of Christmas pudding, Christmas cake and fruit mince pies. Chill it down to fridge temperature to prepare its honey, apricot jam and marmalade flavours for the onslaught. $16 at Dan’s, $17 at WineStar.

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Alex MacKenzie trumped The Great Australian Red with his new Quelltaler blend and here’s proof it was no fluke, because its brand new stablemate is about to storm the sparkling shiraz world. With an average age of more than five years and a deep, brooding palate complexity, it looks and feels like it should be […]

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The Burgundy rule is to buy the grand crus in the (more affordable) lesser vintages and the lower-tier wines in the great vintages. 2009 was certainly the latter, producing the best Marchand & Burch Bourgogne yet. It accurately reflects the earthy, ferrous notes of its Marsannay and Pommard origins, with fine, dried herb complexity over […]

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There is a distinguished elegance to Luke Lambert’s 2010 nebbiolo, accenting nuances of dried rose petal, red cherry, raspberry, dried herbs, vanilla and anise. A very finely poised tannin backbone gives it an appealing approachability, making this a nebbiolo not afraid to be uncorked right away.

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2005 CC has been a benchmark Clare riesling from day one, and I have spent the past five years puzzling over why it didn’t sell out overnight. It’s now one of the finest mature wines to unscrew for the summer of riesling, having built layers of butterscotch and roast cashew nuts while maintaining a lively […]

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