Varietal

Red Wine

There’s 1,000’s of red grape varieties grown around the world making a diverse range of wines.

Exploring the red wine world will take you from lighter more elegant wines to brash, bold wines.

There are infinite combinations of different colours, aromas, flavours, and, textures making for a lifelong pleasure fest for your senses.

A dozen varieties make up the majority of the red wines produced. Think Pinot Noir, Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, and, Merlot.

Are travels to Italy, Spain, and, France have seen more Nebbiolo, Barbera, Dolcetto, Sangiovese, Nerello Mascelese, Grenache, Carignan, and, Tempranillo red wines being poured into our glasses.

The wine world is producing better wines than ever before. In regions where laws permit broad experimentation with growing and making red wines is resulting in rapid evolution and refinement of styles.

In countries like Australia, cooler climate reds are really making a name for themselves.

Gobally, there’s been a welcome shift away for cumbersome, overripe, high alcohol, oaky wines, to red wines made with more restraint and freshness.

Our tip, celebrate the different personalities of each!

Showing of wines

Shiraz/Syrah from Hawke's Bay, North Island

Bilancia Syrah 2020

This comes from 20 yo vines from property next door with some La Collina pressings.Subtle, the flow here is more even long & supple than the 2019. Mid-weight with excellent red dark and spiced fruit, sophisticated and elegant. Musk, perfume, flow. Fresh elegant, sophisticated. Energetic and fresh and thirst quenching. Beautifully weighted. Fine long even. Lovely build in tannin. Subtle sophisticated spice and a little licorice. Very bloody good!Tasting the 2020 with Warren and L

Vintage 2020
$46
$43ea in any 3+
$40ea in any 6+

Shiraz/Syrah from Frankland River, West Australia

Swinney Syrah 2021

Beautifully refined with vibrant fresh fruit. Excellent élévage and exceptional mouthfeel. Plush and delicately spiced with a satisfying generosity and balanced twist of whole bunch."The 2021 Syrah is a haunting, glowing crimson in the glass. I love the tannins here—they're so good that they compel me to look beyond the fruit and to the structure, which is a rare occurrence. There are notes of pink peppercorns and Sichuan peppercorn, and the fruit has purity, clarity and a supple flo

Vintage 2021
$48
$45ea in any 6+
$42ea in any 12+

Grenache from Frankland River, West Australia

Swinney Grenache 2021

Vibrant and elegant with fine, long tannins. Flint and slate marry perfume and violets. Gently flowing complex red fruits, with balanced harmonised acid. Layered savoury, earthy, saline. A success with loads of energy!The Swinney Grenache is grown on bush vines, on a northeast-facing slope in the gravels of Frankland River. It is so different from the wines produced in South Australia (McLaren Vale, Barossa, etc). I love the clarity and the bloodiness of the wine in this vintage. The tan

Vintage 2021
$48
$45ea in any 3+
$42ea in any 6+

Mourvèrdre from Frankland River, West Australia

Swinney Mourvèdre 2021

Mouvèdre is more often seen as a blending component offering a superb perfume of violets and flowers, structured tannins yet not necessarily the overt fruit making it a perfect fit in a Grenache Shiraz Mouvèdre. Although I didn't get to try this wine the 2021 Swinney Mouvèdre demonstrated why a stand-alone version from this Frankland River version works. Australian wine often has opulent sweet fruit that needs taming, in this instance the fruit gives their Mouvèdre the missing link to making

Vintage 2021
$48
$45ea in any 3+
$42ea in any 6+

Dolcetto from Castiglione Falletto, Barolo

Oddero Dolcetto d’Alba 2022

Oddero have balanced the development of their Dolcetto beautifully. An excellent rendition of Dolcetto - complex with crunch and refined tannins. A little darkness, perfume spice and beyond. The texture and work to get through this through puberty is clear. Complete and delicious.I explored the reductive and raw nature of lesser Dolcetto wines with Pietro in our discussion below.

Vintage 2022
$48
$45ea in any 3+
$42ea in any 6+

Gamay Noir from Fleurie, Beaujolais

Domaine des Marrans Fleurie ‘Les Marrans’ 2023

Perfumed, delicate, transparent, thirst quenching, mid to light weight. Delicious easy to devour. Nice flavour profile with a bit more earthiness coming through. Well developed and balanced. Excellent value.

Vintage 2023
$49
$46ea in any 6+
$43ea in any 12+
Add to cart
TeMata Estate Awatea Cabernet Merlot 2018
Refined Perfumed Goodness!

Red Blend from Hawke's Bay, North Island

TeMata Estate Awatea Cabernet Merlot 2018

The Awatea is a fantastic introduction to the Te Mata Estate wines. You get the supreme craftsmanship of a family owned winery with over a century of experience making wines in this region, some of the best fruit in NZ and so much history.Little sister to the Coleraine, this also a Bordeaux blend - the 2018 is made up of 48% cabernet sauvignon, 37% merlot, 15% cabernet franc. The wine gives ripe blackberry and blackcurrant aromatics with elements of vanilla creme and sandalwood. On the palat

Vintage 2018
$50
$47ea in any 3+
$44ea in any 6+
Add to cart

Nebbiolo from Roero, Piedmont

Gioso Langhe Nebbiolo 2021

A Baby Neb from the Family that Brought us the 8 Cru's, Sordo! This is your New House Neb! Along with Benevelli’s & Boasso Langhe Neb the GIOSO Nebbiolo d'Alba is Australia’s new house Neb!Grown on the sunny, steep, sandy vineyards of the Roero region in between the left bank of the Tanaro river and the nearby Langhe region. It sees 9 months in large old oak before a short spell in tank and some bottle time.The Roero is making excellent Nebbiolo. Many of you will know Sandro

Vintage 2021
$51
$48ea in any 3+
$45ea in any 6+

Freisa from Colli Tortonesi, Piedmont

Claudio Mariotto ‘Braghé’ Freisa 2021

Mariotto's description of this wine 'Fresh and bringer of frestive cheer' is apt! A light, dry red that can be served just slightly chilled it makes for great summer drinking. The work done to offer us a fine dusting of long even tannins balanced to the fruit weight shows great touch. The fruit development along with the varietal characteristics yielding savoury, earthy notes with the little bit of rose and musk from Mariotto's tasting notes. A refreshing playful drink with plenty of intrigue.

Vintage 2021
$51
$48ea in any 6+
$45ea in any 12+

Sangiovese from Montalcino, Tuscany

Talenti Rosso di Montalcino 2022

A staple on the Wine Decoded list! Another ripping Rosso from Talenti. Superb balance and texture. Plush with beautiful supple tannins, luscious fruit, juicy acid, and plenty of intrigue.Just like Talenti's Brunello this has to be one of the best value Rosso's year in year out. It too has great harmony and is delicious straight out of the gate.  It's like Dr Evil's Mini Me! All that red fruit, earthiness, baking spices, woody herbs, great energy and much, much more. 

Vintage 2022
$51
$48ea in any 3+
$45ea in any 6+
Francesco Versio Dolcetto di Dogliani 2019
Superb! Bravi Francesco!🍷

Dolcetto from Italy

Francesco Versio Dolcetto di Dogliani 2019

The 'Side Project' of ex-Bruno Giacosa's winemaker Francesco Versio this is a stunner! Given Francesco used to make wine at Bruno Giacosa it is hardly surprising that he knocks out a solid Dolcetto. Giacosa being known as arguably the best maker of the variety. Co-incidentally the last Dolcetto I had, a few days before this, was a Bruno Giacosa made by Francesco, and, it was one of the best Dolcetto I've had the pleasure of devouring.The Dogliani DOCG covers some broad territory. Often of mu

Vintage 2019
$52
$49ea in any 3+
$46ea in any 6+
Cavallotto Dolcetto d'Alba Vigna Scot 2021
Bring Me the Truffles!

Dolcetto from Castiglione Falletto, Barolo

Cavallotto Dolcetto d’Alba Vigna Scot 2021

Dolcetto translates roughly to sweetish. Many Dolcettos are raw fruit bombs, this by contrast is some seriously well made wine! Excellent élévage wonderful freshness and development delicious, layered, & earthy. Beautifully weighted. Stunning wine. Lovely acid. Savoury with dark and red fresh fruit ~ mulberry.If you want to know how serious Cavallotto is about Dolcetto, they planted it on the hillside between Bricco Boschis and Monprivato/Codana. That, my friends, is a site with pe

Vintage 2021
$53
$50ea in any 3+
$47ea in any 6+

No wines match your filters

Try removing a filter or broadening your selection.

We couldn't load the wines just now.

Loading more wines...

You've seen all wines

wines