Clare Valley, SA Dry Best Wines Under $50

Offering mouthfuls of dark plum, juicy blackberries and a touch of dark cherry pie, this is a seductive classic Clare Shiraz. Delve into aromas of spiced plums, dark chocolate, and smooth oak. This powerful yet elegant drop is sure to please with smooth, fine tannins. Given some time in the glass, it will really open up. Grab a bottle, pour a glass (or two!), and warm your bones beside the fire of this Shiraz/Dark Side of the Moon. Enjoy! Learn More

More textural than your usual Clare Valley Riesling, this 2023 release is bright and limey on the nose and the palate shows citrus flavours of lemon and lime joined by Bickford brown lime, apple and nectarine. It is powerfully packed with fruit and finishes with refreshing acidity. Learn More

When Riesling is this good it reminds us that Clare Riesling is truly world class. This has just picked up 96 points from Sam Kim who describes it beautifully, with the following words, 'This is precise and brilliantly detailed, showing lime sorbet, fresh fig and delicate floral notes on the nose, followed by a superbly concentrated palate offering excellent fruit purity and finesse. It’s wonderfully supported by elegant texture and lively acidity with a sustained, structured finish.' Learn More

From an exceptional high altitude (440m) vineyard, this is magnificent. Apple, talcum powder, and honeydew melon on both the nose and a palate which offers a perfect balance between acid drive and texture. Length is exceptional. Learn More

A glorious Riesling from the 2022 vintage, widely considered the equal of the great 2002 and 2021 vintages. Stephen Pannel commented that, “2022 (Clare) Rieslings are particularly strong, the stylish nature of these wines and the purity of their varietal character show the strength of the beautiful Clare Valley as a Riesling stronghold." So here's the Kilikanoon Meyman's, more linear and higher in acid than the 2021 but still built around lemons and limes, offering minerality and brilliant length and intensity. Can be cellared for a decade or more. Learn More

A varietally fragrant, medium-bodied, and intensely fruited Cabernet from the Kilikanoon stable. Violets, black cherries, and blackcurrants announce themselves on the nose and then invite themselves in to lie on a plush bed of tannin fluffed atop a selection of gorgeous cedar. A superb Cab from perhaps the Clare Valley's finest producer. Learn More

Kilikanoon grow or buy a vast quantity of Clare Grenache - no surprise then that they produce some of the finest Grenache in the Valley. They also arguably produce the region's best Shiraz, 'hello Kilikanoon Revelation and Attunga'. Their GSMs also fare well - the current $40 a bottle Baudinet having picked up multiple trophies. So, we're very excited to introduce the first ever Kilikanoon Meymans GSM, a mid-weight, complex and textural beast which offers comforting blue and black fruit, spice and whisper fine tannins. We love it. Learn More

Whilst 2020 was a challenging growing season and yields were very low, fruit quality and concentration were excellent, even exemplary. There is concentrated black and blue fruit here, along with cedar and spice. The acid is fantastic, playing the perfect underscore to the fruit and giving this wine excellent lift and length. Tannins are fine and firm. Superb to drink now and for the next decade. Learn More

Always a standout from the Kilikanoon stable, with pretty much every vintage rated at somewhere between 95 and 97 points. The 2020 is the most concentrated yet- perhaps owing to the vintage being significantly smaller than normal. Bucketloads of black fruit, violets, blackcurrant pastilles, black tea, acidity and a truckload of fine tannins here. Get it in a decanter and serve with a rare T-Bone. Should improve for 15 years, maybe more if cellared correctly. Learn More

Winner of Gold and Top Gold at the Adelaide Show and subsequently awarded the Trophy for best Grenache in show. An exceptional, medium bodied, old vine offering matured for 15 month in old oak, offering wonderful aromatics. Soft fruit is made mouthwatering thanks to excellent acidity.

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Leasingham wines have been around since the 1890s and have been steered by a series of legendary winemakers over the years. It wasn’t until the early 70s that the Bin series kicked off, with a Bin 61 Shiraz and a Bin 56 Cab Malbec. These were both highly prized for their exceptional quality and regular ability to out-perform wines selling at 2-3 times their asking price. A few of us from WD were lucky enough to attend a vertical tasting with Tim Knappstein (one of the aforementioned and legendary Leasingham alumni) a decade or so ago and came away incredibly impressed with the quality and consistency of the wines. We looked at over 20 vintages, and everything we tasted was still showing fruit, the best of them were exceptional. So it’s a little sad that the '21 may be the last vintage of the Bin 61 Shiraz. Lots of good stuff here, black tea, chocolate, coffee grounds, mint, plum, charcuterie, and blackberries. The overall impression is of mid-weight fruit, an even balance between softness, fine tannin and good length. Cracking value for money. Drink now through 2030. Learn More

Superb small batch single vineyard PG from Keeda Zilm. Fruit is sourced entirely from Glen Kelly's vineyard in Sevenhill. Pears, spice, crisp green apple and an underlay of lime zest. Plenty of acid here to provide drive and a lovely mouthwatering aspect. The palate is just beginning to show the texture which develops so appealingly as PG ages. Learn More