2020 2021 Best Wines Under $50
- Alberto Bartali Chianti DOCG 2021$40.00A blend of Sangiovese with a portion of Canaiolo Nero, this is classic, medium bodied, aromatic and complex Chianti, finished with fine, sandy tannins. There’s bay leaf and sage, sour cherries, tobacco, minerality and savoury aspects here. A joy to drink by itself or with pizza or substantial, meaty dishes. Learn More
- Allegiance Wines Single Vineyard McLaren Vale Graciano 2020$30.00Herbs, blue fruits and spice on the nose. Mulberries, blueberries, spice, dried herbs and black pepper on the palate. This is drink by itself friendly, food friendly and just generally friendly, but in a serious kinda way. Because there’s no mistaking this wine is both classy and very well put together. Learn More
- Brickfielder Small Batch Barossa Valley Shiraz 2020Special Price $35.00 Regular Price $45.00There’s big, and there’s this – a huge Barossa Shiraz loaded with black fruits, vanilla and plenty of cedary oak. The fruits are blues and black and we also found dark chocolate, black pepper, spice and more. This is a helluva mouthful and worth cracking with something red and meaty. Learn More
- Brickfielder Small Batch McLaren Vale Shiraz 2020Special Price $35.00 Regular Price $45.00A beautifully sweetly fruited McLaren Vale Shiraz designed for drinking any time over the next decade. We found rich black fruits, liquorice, spice and a little dark chocolate. This is an engaging and relatively easy to drink wine, with a powerful core of fruit, a long finish and fine tannins. Learn More
- Carlos Serres Crianza Rioja 2020$50.00
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 - Claymore Dark Side of the Moon Shiraz 2021Special Price $23.00 Regular Price $30.00We have long been fans of Claymore. The Dark Side of the Moon is their best and most underpriced wine, offering spice, dark fruits, raspberries, concentration, and plenty of fine tannins. As always, there is a smoothness and polish to this wine which belies its sub $30 price point. Learn More
- Curtis Heritage Grenache 2021Special Price $22.00 Regular Price $35.00A beautifully fragrant Grenache packed to the gunnels with bright and delicious red fruits, spice and lip tingling acidity. Awesome with a range of savoury dishes, especially crispy pork. Learn More
- Dandelion Enchanted Garden of the Eden Valley Riesling 2021Special Price $25.00 Regular Price $27.50A beautifully balanced and elegant Riesling replete with brooding limes, lemon sherbet and good length. Lovely now and will continue to develop well for years. Learn More
- Dell’uva Albariño 2021Special Price $22.00 Regular Price $25.00Albariño hails from Galicia in northwestern Spain and Portugal. This Albariño has a texture not unlike Chardonnay but a palate packed with peach, lemons, green apples, spice and salinity. It is wonderful by itself and even better with seafood. Learn More
- Dune The Empty Quarter Red Blend 2021$28.00You can have 2 out of 3. Power, fragrance and balance. Actually, this wine manages all 3, a fresh, red fruit and floral aromatics lead to a palate which is both crunchy yet smooth and laden with mulberry, cherries, marzipan, vanilla, cured meats and white pepper. A stunner! Learn More
- Elite Red Baker's DozenRegular Price $1,252.00 $360.004 bottles each of Angas King’s magnificent, $75 a bottle, 2017 reserve Shiraz. We tried this twice on the tasting panel and loved it both times- it looked even better a day after opening and has a bright future ahead of it. Ken Gargett said, ‘still very young … powerful with a long and exciting future. Seamless, with bright acidity and silky tannins plus a very long finish which maintains the intensity. Drink now and for 10 to 20 years.’ You’ll also get 4 bottles of Martin’s 97 point $150 a bottle McLaren Vale Shiraz, and 4 of Karl Scepter’s 93-point, succulent and chocolatey Barossa Cab. Finally a $200 a bottle, 96 point Barossa Cab Shiraz from Yaldara! Learn More
- Farmers Leap Pillar Box Red 2021$22.00This is a gorgeously vibrant blend of Shiraz and Cab from the Limestone Coast. It has heady perfume of red fruits, blue fruits and florals leading to a palate bursting with cranberry, blackcurrants, mint, cedar and a hint of eucalypt Learn More