Phil's $250 Baker's Dozen

The Martins has maintained the exceptionally high standard it set with the 2018 vintage. Fruits are blacks and blues, with blueberries, blackberries, olive tapenade, dark chocolate, plentiful cedar and vanilla populating a powerful and long palate. The tannins are polished, waxy and plentiful. The best Martin's yet!

Opulent and sense-flooding. Aromas of gunsmoke, cedar, dark chocolate, coffee, meat stock and spice weave through rich waves of blueberry, black pepper and liquorice. It’s brooding, heady and powerful—Barossa at full throttle.

It might hail from the Adelaide Hills, but McLaren Vale is just down the driveway—and it shows. The Manser family draws on both regions to craft reds packed with powerful black fruits, nuance, and spice.

Backstory: The vineyard was once owned by Tim James—former Hardys senior winemaker, Wirra Wirra MD, wine show judge and all-round industry legend. The Mansers have since poured in time, money, and care to bring it to its full potential.

Frankland River is one of the most remote wine regions on earth and produces glorious Riesling and Shiraz. We tasted this exceptional 21 and bought as much as we could get our hands on. There's blue fruits and spice, The fruit is medium bodied yet powerful, the finish spiced and coated with plenty of lovely, fine, trailing tannins.

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.