Solaris Bird in Hand Cantine Vitevis Showblock Barristers Block Hastwell & Lightfoot Dowie Doole Lienert Vineyards 2023 Best Wine Deals

If alternative whites are your jam, butter up! Here's a selection of 6 slippery suckers with nary a Chardonnay or a Sauvvy Blanc in sight. All tasted and retasted by our panel and all given the thumbs up. Langmeil’s gold medal winning blend of Rhone varietals Viognier, Marsanne and Roussanne. A couple of superb Fianos from McLaren Vale. A magic Sem from the Hunter and a couple of gorgeous PGs- one from the Clare and the other from the Adelaide Hills. All drinking beautifully, right now!

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.

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!

We wanted to build the best pack we’ve never made before...

And after tossing around a few ideas, inspiration struck:

What if every wine in the pack had someone say,

"That’s one of the best wines I’ve ever had"?

So here it is — a lineup of 4 incredible Shiraz, all with serious pedigree, rave reviews, and a stack of repeat customers.

Yaldara Grand Shiraz – RRP $250

A powerhouse Barossa red — bold, black and luxe

Two Sisters Shiraz – Barossa Valley

From a family that’s been growing grapes since the first vines were planted in the region. Pure, classic, intense Barossa.

Lone Palm Hillside Shiraz – Barossa Valley

Compared to Grange more than once. Silky power, serious structure.

Showblock Shiraz – McLaren Vale

At Last – A stupidly good premium red dozen you can actually get your hands on

This one’s different. It’s a super-premium Barossa red dozen at a genuinely stupid-good price — and for once, we should be able to keep it in stock long enough for you to grab a case, fall in love with it, and come back for more.

We’re talking $1,064 of wine for just $295 – six top-tier Barossa reds, two bottles of each, including:

Three exceptional Shiraz – including a $250 flagship bottle.

One stunning single vineyard Grenache

Two masterful GSM blends from cult producers

Every bottle here is the real deal. No fillers. No cheap ring-ins. Just beautifully made, cellar-worthy reds from one of the world’s greatest wine regions.

These are all genuinely excellent, get into 'em!

Here’s a dozen that sorts you out when you are looking for something fresh and good to go right now- a vibrant mix of lifted, juicy reds that are expressive, and eminently drinkable. From the fragrant and silky Briar Ridge Block 6 Pinot and Yarra grown Hirsch Hill Pinot, to the lithe and spicy Ca Vegar Bardolino, this pack is all about energy and perfume. There’s serious class in the 96pt Heirloom Alcala Grenache, and a welcome hit of exotic depth from the inky, fruit-laden and trophy winning Heirloom Touriga. Yes, there is one Shiraz – the superb Houghton Frankland River Premium – a cool-climate gem with black fruits and spice in perfect balance. A $606 collection for just $295 – your palate (and wallet) will thank you.

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.

We love McLaren Vale here at winedirect.com.au. These reds have soul – rich, fruit-driven and generous – drinking beautifully from the first glass to the last.

They’re relaxed enough to lift a pizza after mid-week sport, but easily classy enough to eyeball a fillet steak on Friday night.

This pack brings together six absolute beauties, including Oliver’s Taranga Shiraz 2022 – from a Halliday 5 Red Star winery and Grange grower, this is pure McLaren power with polish to spare. There's Pasha Shiraz 2021 – A 97-point, $100-a-bottle stunner that balances opulence and finesse in one hell of a package. From Dowie Doole, their flagship Architect Cabernet Sauvignon, a 96-pointer and, in our view, one of the best Cabs coming out of the Vale right now. Dandelion Vineyards 'Treasure Trove' Grenache 2019 – vibrant, silken, and wildly aromatic. Staff orders are full of this stuff – and for good reason. And if that's not quite enough, and to be fair 'cos there are 12 slots in the box, Showblock's ‘Rosie’ Red 2019 – A bold, full-throttle blend that’s rich, ripe, and ready to go. Big wine, big flavour, big fun.