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Alegre & Valganon Rioja Tinto 2020
$53.00Jeremy’s score 91/100A classical, restrained, medium to full-bodied blend of tempranillo and grenache that delivers charming Old World savoury style. A musky perfume of rose petals, dark cherries, redcurrants and fiery eastern spice precedes a spotlessly clean, firmish and fine-grained palate whose moderately rich core of fruit culminates in a savoury finish of spice and red licorice.
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Altera Terra Corda Pinot Noir Shiraz 2023
$33.00Jeremy’s score 92/100There’s glorious drinkability and value within this remarkable blend of two varieties and two regions that has an uncanny village Beaujolais-like style and quality. Its heady fragrance of rose petals, morello and maraschino cherries and raspberries reveals notes of exotic spice and bubblegum. Long and vivacious, steeped in flavour but just medium in weight, it moves down a fine, powsery spine towards a tingling finish of refreshing acidity, finishing savoury and persistent. Astonishing.
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Altera Terra Fidelis Shiraz 2022
$75.00Jeremy’s score 96/100Blended across three regions, this is a classic Doug Neal red of fragrance, texture and balance, in this case reminiscent of Crozes-Hermitage. Lifted by heady scents of potpourri and eastern spice, its fragrance of redcurrants, blackberries and blood plums is both densely packed and floral. Supported by a drying, gravelly spine, its luscious core of plump, translucently bright black and red fruits knits tightly with cedary oak, extending long and measured towards an artfully balanced and savoury finish.
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Altera Terra Sanctus Shiraz 2019
$65.00Jeremy’s score 96/100Faintly smoky, penetrative and perfumed aromas of cassis, raspberries, blueberries, dark plums and chocolate oak overlie nuances of charcuterie meats, cola and citrus zest. Medium to fullish in weight, this long, measured and translucently clear wine supports its sour-edged expression of vivacious dark fruits with a gentle, dusty spine of firmish tannins that builds strength down the palate. ItÕs mouthfilling and unctuously smooth, finishing with delightful drive and balance.
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Altera Terra Shiraz 2022
$35.00Jeremy’s score 91/100Let this wine open a little and marvel at what $30 can still buy you. Heady and musky, with a fiery bouquet of red berries, plums and redcurrants backed by suggestions of cedar, graphite and eastern spice, it’s medium in weight but delivers surprising intensity and texture. Underpinned by a slatey spine, its generous dark fruit drives long and persistent, while the finish is stylish and savoury. What a package!
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Altera Terra Wood’s Paddock Shiraz 2021
$95.00Jeremy’s score 97/100A truly superior medium-bodied and savoury Rhône-inspired shiraz which gradually unfolds a heady, dark and smoky bouquet of blackberries, cassis and dark plums backed by notes of gravel and mineral but lifted by exotic scents of eastern spices. Almost a case of shiraz meeting pinot, it’s long and deeply layered, with a dewy core of black and red fruits framed by pliant but genuinely firm and bony tannins, building flesh and roundness as it finishes with an emphatic flourish of pristine flavour and balance.
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Anderson Methode Traditionelle Shiraz 2018
$42.00Jeremy’s score 94/100Classic sparkling Rutherglen shiraz whose fiery, spicy bouquet of dark berries and plums, reveals undertones of dark chocolates, licorice and an emerging meatiness. It’s long, smooth and very complete, unfolding a rich, chewy palate whose dark fruits and earthy undertones are enhanced by emerging suggestions of polished leather and ferrous notes. With a fine, crackly bead and a tight-knit backbone, it’s wonderful drinking now and should age superbly.
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Balgownie Estate Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2018
$48.00Jeremy’s score 94/100A properly firm and textural cabernet with a rich core of dark berries and plums that moves down a crunchy spine of gravelly tannins before being punctuated with refreshing acidity. Lifted by floral scents and notes of leather and dried herbs, it’s tightly knit with cedry oak. Well worthy of cellaring, this wine is only now just beginning to reveal its depth of fruit and unleash some very stylish and restrained power.
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Bico Amarelo Esporao Alvarinho Blend 2021
$33.00Jeremy’s score 91/100From Vinho Verde in Portugal comes this delicious blend of loureiro and alvarinho whose vivacious aromas of peach and melon are backed by dusty, faintly herbal scents of white flowers, rosemary. It’s brightly lit, long and shapely, with mouthfilling flavour extending down a pithy, chalky palate towards a frisky finish of lemony acidity.
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Borgogno Langhe Freisa 2019
$50.00Jeremy’s score 94/100Made from freisa, a wild and rustic relative of nebbiolo, it quickly breathes to reveal heady aromas of red rose petals, eastern spice and perfectly ripened red cherries, raspberries and redcurrants with a whiff of blood plums and earthy, leathery nuances. It’s long and luscious, plush and generous, with a
flawless drive of vibrant fruit underpinned by a firmish spines of silky tannin. Against the odds, almost, it finishes soft and savoury, with a gentle acidity. Likely to build over the next 3-5 years. Truly exceptional value. -
Borgogno Langhe Nebbiolo 2021
$60.00Jeremy’s score 95/100A stellar, sumptuous nebbiolo that steadily unfolds layers of perfume, flavour and texture. A heady scent of rose petals, redcurrants and dark cherries is lifted by notes of cinnamon and Moroccan spice. Medium to fullish in weight and supported by a spine of drying tannins that become more assertive and gravelly with aeration, it moves with richness and smoothness towards a savoury finish of exceptional length and refreshing acidity. If you’ve never understood what proper nebbiolo can deliver and don’t wish to pay the earth, it’s a fine place to start.
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Cannibal Creek Sauvignon Blanc 2022
$40.00Jeremy’s score 94/100Few drinkers of serious Australian wine are even aware of this very Loire-inspired expression from Gippsland in Victoria. Scented with floral notes of lychees, gooseberries and passion fruit backed by meaty, waxy and nougat-like aromas, it’s luscious and layered, long and gentle. Underpinned by minerals and marzipan, it finishes long and savoury with lingering notes of cured citrus and a bright acidity.