Cost of living’s up. Your wine bill doesn’t have to be.
Here’s our attempt at rebalancing the equation:
12 seriously good reds for just $12 a bottle — and not a quaffer in sight
Highlights? Glad you asked:
Griffin’s 93pt Adelaide Hills Shiraz – Black fruit, spice, and a graceful balance that puts pricier wines to shame. A tasting panel favourite.
Red Deer 95pt Langhorne Creek Shiraz – One of our top sellers. Big fruit, warming spice, incredible value.
Norfolk Rise Cab from the Limestone Coast – 93pts, medium-bodied and varietally spot-on with fine tannins and a cedar lift.
Leasingham Bin 61 Shiraz A legend. Over 50 vintages of history in this bottle. Rich, powerful and beautifully drinkable right now (or lay it down if you’re patient).
All up, $144 for the dozen
.
That’s $12 a bottle for reds that easily drink well above their price point.
Only 200 packs available – once they’re gone, that’s it.
An exceptional, brightly, and intensely fruited medium-bodied Shiraz sourced from 50-year-old Langhorne Creek vines. Bold red and black fruits are bolstered by good acidity. The wine is finished with vanilla, spindles of oak, and fine tannins.
A cracking vintage and an expansive wine which is also light on its feet. Delicious red and black fruits here, along with spice and cedar. Drink now or cellar for 10 years.
92pts Wine Pilot, 92pts Ken Gargett, 92pts Sam Kim
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.
Unmistakably Cabernet on opening, this nonetheless grows in stature, fruit intensity and generosity as it breathes. Black tea, carob, cacao, blackcurrants, and violets emerge on the palate, and those aromatics become wonderfully complex, offering florals, and red and black fruits. So, no danger in cracking and enjoying a glass straight up, but you'll get even better results if you decant.
