Basket Range 2017 Adelaide Hills Red Blend

Back in the 1980's Phil Broderick started planting  a humble selection of Bordeaux varieties nestled in the Adelaide Hills.  Though his sons took over in 2016 and started to create a series of fun, modern, and experimental wines, Phil still makes a small amount of his original line of elegant, classic, Bordeaux-inspired bottles and we get them for an incredible value. This blend is 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, and 5% Petit Verdot aged in neutral oak, and  at only 13% ABV this is no fruit-bomb. The palate is full and silky, sun-kissed  plums, black cherry, roasted pepper and herbs. It is meant to the perfect companion to a range of heartier fare, or keep this in your cellar for 5-10 years to  see how it evolves! Michelle DeWyngaert

Bella Ridge 2017 Western Australia Tempranillo/Grenache

Though Western Australia is known as one of the hottest regions in the country, the winemakers at Bella Ridge seem to defy the odds by making fresh, balanced wines like this Tempranillo-Grenache blend. By picking early, and using a light hand in the cellar, this wine manages to be perfectly ripe without being jammy. 60% Tempranillo from 60-year-old vines fermented and aged in used American oak for 18 months, then blended with 40% Grenache from 70-year-old vines aged in used French oak barrels for 18 months. It is unfined, very lightly filtered, and bottled with minimal SO2. Notes of ripe and roasted cherry, hibiscus, dried herbs, and crushed stone. This was perfect with just a slight chill, but not too cold! Michelle DeWyngaert

Clarendon Hills 1995 McLaren Vale Shiraz 'Astralis'

Good Intentions Wine Co. 2018 South Australia Mount Gambier, 'Gris Diddly Po

Good Intentions Wine Co. makes a  line of fun, expressive wines from their home vineyard, and three nearby leased plots to showcase the unique soil of Mount Gambier, an active volcano that lends them a layer of volcanic ash in their topsoil. The plots are all farmed organically and without plowing/tilling, instead letting their sheep do the mowing. This delightful pet-nat is a blend of 50%  carbonic macerated Pinot Gris, and 50% rosé of Pinot Noir. Since the vintage saw very low yields of the Pinot Gris they thought it would be a great match with their Pinot Noir. This pet-nat is for the cider and sour beer lovers; bright, earthy, and perfectly tart, frothy, but not explosively effervescent. Michelle DeWyngaert

Good Intentions Wine Co. Charmeleon Chardonnay 2018 South Australia Mount Gambier, Coola Vineyard

Good Intentions Wine Co. is led by Andrew and Louise who moved their family to Mt. Gambier to create minimal intervention, organically grown wines that represent the incredible volcanic terroir of this coastal mountain. While they have recently planted vines of their own, they also lease and help farm three other parcels. For this bottling the fruit comes from the Coola Vineyard which sits on a  combination of limestone limestone and flint, with the recent Gambier eruptions lending volcanic ash as well. The fruit is direct pressed, fermented in stainless steel, then aged in old French barriques for 15 months, followed by 4 months in bottle. The wine is left unfined and unfiltered to capture the most of the unique texture and minerality imparted from the vineyard. The nose is earthy and rustic, with ripe tangerine, cantelope, and dusty chalk, and the palate has a rich, creamy texture with a vein of bright acidity keeping the wine in balance, followed by a long stony finish. Michelle DeWyngaert

Penfolds 2008 South Australia Bin 389 (Cab + Shiraz) 1.5L