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!

Filters & Sorting

Giovanni Sordo Barolo 'Parussi' 2021
ID 92+

Giovanni Sordo Barolo ‘Parussi’ 2021

Nebbiolo | Piedmont, Barolo

Dark horse. Brooding, it looks a little mean at the moment. It will definitely fall into line and become a generous and juicy wine. A gravity and immediate presence to it. A load of complexity here a little coffee and tea and bit more Serralunga. Long firm tannins. ID 92+ Points
$173
$166ea in any 3+
$159ea in any 6+
A relatively high-toned and more elegant nose features notes of red currant, cherry, raspberry and a hint of lavender. The super-sleek, indeed almost lacy middle weight flavors display more minerality if less density before terminating in a lingering finish that tightens up noticeably on the dusty and mildly austere finale.Allen Meadows
$174
$167ea in any 3+
$160ea in any 6+
Giovanni Sordo Barolo 'Ravera' 2015
The Playful!

Giovanni Sordo Barolo ‘Ravera’ 2015

Nebbiolo | Piedmont, Barolo

Ravera = generosity with crunchy fruit and playful front mid-palate tannin, that Sordo élévage, so much fun! ‘Ravishing red’ as usual, a wave of roses and red cherry. Quite lush, but holds its shape as all that red rolls to the pinpoint, tingling finish. It’s no wonder Ravera has risen so much in people’s estimation over recent years. Serious Barolo of a distinct style.
$175
$168ea in any 3+
$161ea in any 6+
Giovanni Sordo Barolo 'Monvigliero' 2015
The Playful!
Opening with juby cherry fruit that resolved beautifully in the glass, a slight lift in the structural tannins compared with the Ravera, remaining plush & playful! The star cru of an otherwise workmanlike comune, this is exactly why Monvigliero is so widely appreciated. It has the range of generous Barolo things; cherry and strawberry notes now, probably in youthful mode, but with the usual cherry-skin, raisin and smoky elements just apparent. Overall such an ambassador for Barolo, just this sid
$175
$168ea in any 3+
$161ea in any 6+
Giovanni Sordo Barolo 'Parussi' 2015
The Bold!

Giovanni Sordo Barolo ‘Parussi’ 2015

Nebbiolo | Piedmont, Barolo

Showing tannins of Castiglione Falletto, even and long. Darker and brooding. This is going to a cracker in time. Was immense after a day in the glass! This is the darkest of the 4 Castiglione cru, with its dark red fruits of cherry and cranberry. It usually shows more immediate plummy ripeness and overt generosity, but this time it’s more tightly wound. Plenty of texture and flavour, but needs time. A beauty.
$175
$170ea in any 3+
$165ea in any 6+
Giovanni Sordo Barolo 'Perno' 2015
The Bold!

Giovanni Sordo Barolo ‘Perno’ 2015

Nebbiolo | Piedmont, Barolo

Took the second longest to reveal more of itself. Like the other wines in the bracket it demands time in the bottle. Perfume combined with secondary complexity the name of the game here! This is all Monforte, with giveaway blue fruits, violet, cherry liqueur and some mint. Firm, taut and fleshy, this is typical of this part of Perno, the Cerretta parcel, immediately adjoining Conterno-Fantino’s, with which it shares a similar darker ‘blue’ style. Tannins seem very ripe this year…but they
$175
$170ea in any 3+
$165ea in any 6+

David Duband Nuits-Saint-Georges 2018

Pinot Noir | Nuits-Saint-Georges, France

‘(from La Charmotte, Aux Saints-Juliens and Les Plateaux). A pungent nose is comprised at present by notes of reduction and wood toast. Otherwise there is excellent volume and mid-palate density to the powerful and muscular medium-bodied flavors that deliver outstanding depth and persistence on the robust and rustic finale. This outstanding if quite serious villages level wine is very Nuits in basic character. Drink 2028+.’Burghound.com January 2020.
$175
$168ea in any 3+
$161ea in any 6+

Cascina Fontana Barolo 2016

Nebbiolo | Piedmont, Barolo

Undoubtedly the best Fontana Barolo Classico I’ve had! Brooding yet open - perhaps explained by the mix of Castiglione Falletto (brooding) and La Morra (open) fruit.Undoubtedly the best Fontana Barolo Classico I’ve had. A little sappy, resinous (in a nice way)  layer of tannin combines with ripe even line of nutty tannin, fruit comes, building through the mid palate and lingers. This just needs time. It has that Castiglione Falleto youthful brooding nature to it. Give it a couple of yea
$175
$168ea in any 3+
$161ea in any 6+

Marcarini Barolo ‘La Serra’ 2016

Nebbiolo | Piedmont, Barolo

'La Morra is most often a horror zone for me when it comes to Barolo, fine light wines, beefed up with way too much oak. Marcarini is one of the beautiful exceptions to that. So fine, and finely etched. Red fruits, roses, mint, almond, subtle five spice perfume. It’s medium-bodied, fresh and precise, fine brick dust and peppery tannin, quiet succulence of strawberry and other red fruits, spice and liquorice root, long cool finish. So lovely. Energy and charm. Love this wine. And there’s more
$175
$168ea in any 3+
$161ea in any 6+

Barale Barolo ‘Castellero’ 2018

Nebbiolo | Italy, Barolo

A Divine Expression! This builds nicely in the glass, as a young wine, and has a presence and length about it. A full mid-palate carries through with excellent persistence. The energy of 2018 is present with fine acid and a complex set of intriguing flavours, a background resinous note over savoury, truffled fruit that has been beautifully developed draws you in. There’s some clever thinking in the making here. 
$175
$168ea in any 3+
$161ea in any 6+

Barale Barolo ‘Castellero’ 2019

Nebbiolo | Italy, Barolo

An excellent stepwise jump in quality commensurate with the price. Building in depth and length with a matched build in seriously good grape tannins. Again the flow and shape. Long, even, divine. Such a beautiful wine. Incredible complexity and harmony make for a seamless wine that you can’t separate the individual aromas and flavours.Wonderful fruit, savoury notes, baking spice, woody herbs tea. Every sniff reveals another perfume. This is very very good enveloping you in pleasure even at
$175
$168ea in any 3+
$161ea in any 6+

Barale Barolo ‘Bussia’ 2019

Nebbiolo | Piedmont, Barolo

Moving to Monforte at the top of Bussia we see the hallmarks of the top Bussia. The acid tannin complex is true to the form for the commune showing a playful grip. Bright red fruit with a certain delicacy combine with energetic acid.Again a beautiful perfume with a dark mineral slatey edge. Blood orange and a little phenol. Another great example of grape first Barolo showing its part of the commune of Monforte. Like the Monrobiolo a few more years in bottle will see this resolve, build and
$175
$168ea in any 3+
$161ea in any 6+