Kilikanoon Fox in the Henhouse Evans & Tate Solaris Dune Farmer’s Leap Barristers Block 2023 Dry Best Wine Deals

A meditation on all things red that aren't Shiraz or Cab. We've got Touriga, Grenache, Tempranillo, Mataro, Montepulciano, Negroamaro and Aglianico happening here, and a smidge of Shiraz in the Kilikanoon GSM and the Purple Hands GSM. All things alt red, all offering a very different pathway to pleasure than straight Shiraz and Cabernet. Not that there's anything wrong with that!

This baker’s dozen brings together some of the best Grenache and GSM in the country — plus a drop of French happiness from the highly regarded and tiny Gadagne sub-region of the Rhône Valley. You’ll find old vines, 96-point winners, single vineyard treasures, and wines crafted by former Penfolds grape growers.

There’s Kim Brebach’s top-rated Grenache of the past year, a fascinating multi-clonal Barossa expression, and a French GSM from the Southern Rhône to round things off. That’s 13 bottles of spice, plushness, and regional character — all drinking beautifully right now.

A premium alternatives pack which we think is a bit of a no-brainer. We kick off with the following four Aussie alternatives. After Five's 5 trophy winning Barossa Montepulciano, which is as good a Monte we have ever seen. From Kilikanoon, their stunning, $96, 96 point, flagship Grenache. Artis brings us a magnificently perfumed Nero and Songlines, an old vine, 100% whole bunch Barossa Grenache. Then we have a Riserva Chianti from the low yielding and fabulous 2020 vintage, and a densely powerful Rioja, made by one of just 2 producers who are more than a century old. These are all excellent and we've no doubt you'll have as much fun with them as we do..

Lots of goodness here starting with Forester's multiple Trophy winning Shiraz. This is 86% Margaret River Shiraz blended with Fer. Fer is an ancient varietal, likely of Basque country origin which is widely planted in Southwest France, and generally makes up 100% of reds coming out of the Marcilliac region. It is prized for its impenetrable black coloring and density of fruit. Flavours sit in the blackberry, cherry and black tea spectrums, and the variety also typically offers a pleasing smokiness. Next up, the Angas King Reserve Clare Shiraz, which is black, rich and smooth. Dowie Doole's Architect might be the best Shiraz in the pack - it offers incredible density of fruit and great length. Finally, Kilikanoon's Meyman's Shiraz is a stone cold stunner. Packed with intense fruit, it also offers fragrance, savoury notes and subtle complexities. The whites are all Riesling, Lone Palm's Old Vine Eden, packed with steely citrus and offering excellent persistence and Kilikanoon's linear Clare lovely. Oh, we've rounded out the pack with a bonus bottle of Yaldara's $250 RRP Grand Cuvée Shiraz!

Stunning 7 clone Barossa Shiraz, made by the Lienert Brothers, who used to sell fruit to St Henri, before deciding to keep the good stuff for their own bottlings. Multiple trophy winning Shiraz from Forester Margaret River, Claymore's consistently slurpable Dark Side of the Moon Clare Shiraz. Gold winning SB from Barristers Block and trophy winning SBS from Willowbridge. All this makes this a great value pack, but just in case you needed convincing, we added in a $250 a bottle Barossa Shiraz to help you over the line!

6 magical Chardies here. Evan's and Tate Redbrook, which picked up gold at the Adelaide Show, is creamy and complexed with stunning French oak. The Hirsch Hill is this Yarra winery's Flagship Chardy - with powerful fruit and assertive acidity, it will cellar well. The Picardy is one of the best Chardonnays made in Oz. Made entirely from clones imported from Burgundy, it offers complexity, depth and class. We can comfortable recommend all of these for your consideration!

We used to mostly just drink Shiraz here in Oz. Or Cab. Then Pinot started to get a bit of a following — and pretty quickly, it blew up.

Fifteen years ago, Grenache was still dead in the water.

"I don't like Grenache."

"I haven’t tried a Grenache."

"It’s alright in a GSM blend, I guess..."

Then came The Grenachening.

Halliday started championing a few standout straight Grenache from McLaren Vale and the Barossa. Why? Because Australia does straight Grenache better than pretty much anywhere else in the world.

Sales climbed. Growers started paying much closer attention to their vines. Grenache is finnicky — the picking window is much shorter than for most other varieties.

Then the availability of straight Grenache as a gold and trophy winning standard took off, and it seems there is no one who hasn't had Grenache and very few who don't love it. It's expensive too - fruit is 2x times the price of Shiraz fruit these days.

So, here’s $720 worth of just magical Grenache and GSM, all superb — yours for just $295.

The Wines

4 bottles – Heirloom Alcala McLaren Vale Grenache

96 points from Halliday. Dense, lifted, powerful, magnificent.

4 bottles – Lienert Brothers Eight Clone Barossa Grenache 2022

Aromatic and vibrant. Red fruits, spice, drive, and serious structure.

4 bottles – Kilikanoon Meymans GSM 2023

Clare Valley elegance. 96 points from Kim Brebach, who called it his GSM of the Year.

This is a classic red dozen, built entirely from well-known, widely-acclaimed names.

Turkey Flat own the oldest Shiraz vines on earth and are rated 5 Red Stars by James Halliday.

Leconfield relaunched the Coonawarra in the 1980s and are rated 5 stars by Halliday. Their Cab, which features in this pack, is magnificent.

Kilikanoon have the same 5 star rating, have been awarded best Australian winery more than once and on one occasion won 85% of the available trophies at the Clare Wine Show. Their GSM, which adorns this pack is rated 96 points by Kim Brebach, who rates it the best GSM he's seen this year!

Mitchell (Peppertree) make one of Australia's most loved Shiraz and are also rated, you guessed it, 5 stars by James Halliday.

Leasingham's Bin 61 Shiraz also has legendary status and has been made every vintage for more than the last 50 years.

Zonte's Footstep have been a mainstay for the last 25 years and are loved for producing consistently gold medal winning Shiraz.

Neldner Road isn't so well known, but also has a 5 star rating from Halliday, and have made perhaps the only red, other than 1953 Penfolds Grange, to be rated 100 points by Jeremy Oliver. Neldner Road is the main project of Torbreck founder Dave Powell, and their 'The Silesian' Barossa Shiraz is a $150 a bottle stunner, and the 13th bottle in this incredible baker's dozen!

This is one of our most impressive red packs of the year — $1,500 worth of top-tier Shiraz from some of South Australia's most respected producers, all for just

Inside? 12 serious bottles. Big structure. Smooth fruit, no rough edges

You’ll get two $250 wines - and 2 bottles of both of them!

Yaldara Grand Shiraz flagship Barossa luxury - oozing black fruits, Average customer rating? 5 Stars!

Lone Palm Vineyards Selection Shiraz 2023 – 97 points. a magnificent Grange-like stunner.

Plus 8 more standout bottles, 2 each of the following

Kilikanoon Meyman's Shiraz - an incredible release of this wine. 4.7 stars is the average rating from winedirect.com.au customers

Lone Palm Old Vine Shiraz - delicious, medium to full bodied and spicy

Sieben Klon Shiraz - 7 clones, complex yet sooo easy to drink, Average customer rating? 5 Stars!

Dowie Architect Shiraz - 4.8 star average reviews from our customers - just emerging from its shell, this wine has so much upside from here!

These are rich, textural wines packed with dark fruit, spice, fine tannin and cellar potential. A mix of A-grade Barossa, McLaren Vale, and Clare Shiraz with reviews to back them up and our promise that they are all awesome.