Scorchin' 'Strayan Summer Selection incl. a 97 point Cabernet

Pertaringa 'Tipsy Hill' Cabernet Sauvignon 2016
97pts James Halliday, 96pts Patrick Eckel, 95pts Huon Hooke
The Tipsy Hill Cabernet Sauvignon is from Bec Hardy’s low yielding, ‘handkerchief-sized’ vineyard in the Blewitt Springs sub-region of McLaren Vale. This is the first release and offers the classic Cab characters of cassis, cedar, violets, tobacco and dark chocolate. A stunning wine you can drink now or at any time over the next 30 years.

Dandelion 'Firehawk Farm' McLaren Vale Shiraz 2018
2 Gold Medals and surely more to follow
There is mammoth concentration of fruit here and perfect integration of oak and acid. Closed on opening, this morphs into an absolute stunner as it breathes and opens over several days. Sweet fruit, searing acidity, savoury complexities, chocolate, graphite and blue fruits are all on show along with earthiness, cedar and plenty of tannin. This might just be the McLaren Vale’s best Shiraz.

Serafino Grenache Shiraz Mataro 2019
Trophy, Gold Medal, 96pts James Halliday, 95pts Wine Pilot
Young and super tight, this GSM has a long future ahead of it. Drop it in a decanter or vroom it through a vinturi if you are going to drink it now. The good stuff as follows... blue fruits, black tea, cherries, plums, spice, musk, focused acidity and silky tannins. In the bad stuff column... nuttin!

Allegiance Wines 'The Artisan' Reserve Barossa Valley Shiraz 2018
7 Gold Medals, 96pts Wine Matrix, 94pts Huon Hooke, 94pts Sam Kim
Such a great perfume on the nose with violets and blue and black fruits all evident. The palate is rich, big and smooth, with pepper, plum, cranberry, chocolate, vanilla and cedar all making an appearance with plush, silken tannins on the finish. This is one of those perfectly balanced wines which is an absolute joy to drink now but will improve over the decades like a great friendship.

Martins Vineyard Limited McLaren Vale Shiraz 2016
97pts Sam Kim, 95pts James Halliday, 94pts Patrick Eckel, 94pts Tony Love
Medium to full bodied, this offers exceptional clarity of blue and black fruits... drink any time over the next 10 years.

Jeanneret Cabernet Shiraz 2017
95pts Kim Brebach, 94pts Sam Kim
This is an exceptionally complex, rich, deep, and dark red wine. The Cabernet dominates both in terms of the aromas and flavours. We see blackcurrant, plum, cedar, powdered dark chocolate and a lovely underpinning herbal characteristic that screams Caaaberneeet! There are some big, chalky tannins to finish but they sit well as a backstop to the beautifully intense, dark fruits. You could drink this now or anytime over the next decade, perhaps even 20 years.

Through the Tasting Glass 'The Mad Hatter' GMS 2017
95pts Kim Brebach
A truly beautiful and fruit driven blend of Grenache, Mataro and Shiraz. The Grenache brings spice, confected notes, raspberries, rhubarb and sour cherry. The Mataro proffers chocolate, brooding brambles and other slightly angry things sourced from dungeons deep. The Shiraz brings blue and black fruits, chocolate and fine, fine tannins. It’s a mad mélange this, one we’ll tip our hat to, whilst asking for it to be filled.

Pertaringa 'Undercover' Shiraz 2018
Gold Medal, 93pts Sam Kim, 90pt James Halliday
As always, an excellent and stupidly good value for money McLaren Vale Shiraz. There’s plum, black pepper and mulberries happening on the nose and more plums adding to spice and other dense black fruits on the palate. It’s rich, smooth and long, a perfect pairing with protein, especially the red meat kind.

Richard Hamilton Little Road Shiraz 2018
2 Gold Medals, 95pts James Halliday
Pitch perfect. Medium bodied and juicy red and black fruits, chocolate and savoury notes. Plenty of length and intensity.

Riposte 'The Foil' Sauvignon Blanc 2020
Gold Medal, Top Gold and The Arkaba Cellars Trophy for Best Sauvignon Blanc in Show – 2020 Royal Adelaide Wine Show, 94pts Kim Brebach
Winemaking legends Tim and Nick Knappstein are responsible for this trophy winning Sauvignon Blanc. Aromas of snow pea, green bean, talcum powder and grapefruit dominate the nose with the palate offering a lovely texture, minerality and balanced acidity. It might be the perfect accompaniment to oysters!

Jeanneret 'Big Fine Girl' Riesling 2019
92pts James Halliday
More textural than your usual Clare Valley Riesling, this 2019 release is bright and floral on the nose and the palate shows citrus flavours of lemon and lime joined by lychee and apple. It is powerfully packed with fruit, finishing with refreshing acid and a hint of Bickford’s Brown Lime.

Yarra Burn 'Yarra Social' Sparkling Wine NV
Made by Ed Carr, who also makes Arras sparklings, this is a lovely, everyday drinking sparkler, which is relatively rich and flavoursome, offering green apples, sherbet, yeast and creaminess. Aperitif, mid meal or afterwards, this one is versatile!