Jeanneret Evans & Tate Bird in Hand Zonte's Footstep First Creek Carlos Serres Leasingham Medium Wine List

Carlos Serres is a bit of an OG - one of the few Rioja producers with a century of winemaking behind them. Carlos was actually named Charles, a French Winemaker who left Bordeaux, fed up with dealing with phylloxera riddled vineyards, landing in Spain. He founded the first winery in Rioja with export certification and applied French winemaking techniques to Rioja fruit. Pretty soon, there was a demand for Rioja in the rest of Europe and the US.

Carlos Serres Crianza is 100% Tempranillo and spends 14 months in a combo of French and American oak. Being 'Crianza', the wine has spent a year in barrel, and another on bottle prior to release. Typically aged in older oak, Crianza can have quite assertive tannins and fruit which is intense whilst retaining great freshness. This is a particularly good example, packed with red fruits, cherries, spice, oak and nervy acidity.

Learn More

Carlos Serres is a bit of an OG - one of the few Rioja producers with a century of winemaking behind them. Carlos, actually named Charles, was a French Winemaker who, fed up with dealing with phylloxera riddled vineyards, left Bordeaux and wound up in Spain. He founded the first winery in Rioja with export certification and applied French winemaking techniques to Rioja fruit. Pretty soon there was a demand for Rioja in the rest of Europe and the US.

Young and fresh but nonetheless intense, owing to the very low yields from the 2022 vintage. Fresh red and black fruits here, along with liquorice and a hint of vanilla. Zippy fruit and relatively high tannins make this a great match for protein.

Learn More

The best fruit from the Estate vineyard was handpicked and fermented as 90% whole bunches then treated to 9 months in older, large format French oak. It’s complex, offering mulberries, liquorice, olive, cassis, white pepper and plums before finishing with curlicues of cedary oak and a wave of fine tannins. A spectacular Shiraz. Sorry, this product is not available individually. Learn More

Delicate and complex and with a long life ahead of it, the 22 Redbrook Chard offers a tight citrus line underpinned by stonefruits, creamy lees and a hint of reductive smokiness and funk. Intense, fresh yet rich and with a beautiful texture.

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

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

A premium red From Zonte’s off their own vineyard in the Adelaide Hills. Stacks of spice, pepper, black and blue fruits here. The nose is remarkably expressive, the pallet long and deep. You could argue that this is their best wine.

Learn More

Zonte's Natures Crux is a superb, organic certified Shiraz harvested from their own vineyard. There is exceptional vitality of fruit here, with blackcurrant, black liquorice and plums all happening. Finishes with cocoa, spice and fine tannins. Lively and lip-smackingly delicious. Learn More

Oodles of cassis here, buckets of plum, heaps of cigar box aromas and bountiful blackcurrants, Slap in the middle of a very happy drinking place. Soft tannins to finish. Learn More

An incredible 3 way blend of superstar Italian varietals here.

Montepulciano - blackberry, plum, spice. earth, deep colour.

Sangiovese - cherry, spice, herbs, acid and tannin.

Lagrein - dark fruit, cocoa, spice, intensity and firm tannin.

Arguably the best Canto di Lago to date - intense, yet polished and lip-smacking. Plenty of fruit and structure but also mouthwateringly delicious. The second glass beckons.

Learn More