Leconfield Kilikanoon Fox in the Henhouse Evans & Tate Solaris Barristers Block Bird in Hand Picardy Dandelion 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!

Big Reds & Pizza? Not Always a Match…

But that doesn’t mean you have to drink plonk either.

We’ve rounded up mid-weight reds that punch well above their weight in aromatics and flavour — wines that play nicely with a slice (or three). Think:

Old vine Barossa Grenache

Adelaide Hills Nero d’Avola

Turkey Flat GSM — a stunner

And more

The kind of bottles that cuddle up to a Margherita or that prosciutto/rocket/buffalo mozz combo like they were made for it.

Plus, in place of slinging you a garlic bread, we'll send...

A bottle of Dandelion’s flagship Grenache —

Smart, delicious, pizza-friendly reds — and one absolute baller bottle for good measure.

Ready to order?

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.