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

Known above all for the exceptional quality of the wines Giacosa has produced over the years, Valmaggiore still represents the peak of value in the current range. A wonderful vineyard site now popularised by a handful of producers including Giacosa, the Valmaggiore bottling displays a noticeable step up in nuance and structure to the ‘regular’ Nebbiolo d’Alba which comes from various sites in Roero.Nebbiolo’s typical red fruits and red rose are abundant in the Nebbiolo Valmaggiore, w
$183
$176ea in any 3+
$169ea in any 6+

Oddero Barbaresco ‘Gallina’ 2016

Nebbiolo | Piedmont, Barbaresco

After 3 days open this came into its own and really shone. The tannins have softened a little, harmonising with the fruit. The wine has resolved to reveal a balance, beauty and perfume that sat shy on first opening! Some serious quality here. Vibrant and energetic Slatey mineral chalky nature. Excellent mouth-coating tannins that are fine with great line and length. Juicy acid ramps up some juicy fruit. Excellent elevage.  The lasting note is fruit, red and fun. That little splash of perfume sp
$185
$180ea in any 3+
$175ea in any 6+
Four years after its release, Bouchard's 1er Teurons is drinking beautifully. It's in a lovely space. Fully resolved, a wonderful array of complex aromas lift from the glass, leaning toward the earthy, fine shroom, savoury, darker fruited side of the spectrum. A very subtle layer of oak complementing the fruit beautifully. It's both intriguing and enticing. A soft, plush mouthfeel with delicate tannins and modest acidity offers generosity and comfort. Lot's of fun and great value for the coin.
$185
$180ea in any 3+
$175ea in any 6+
One of Terre Nere's 3 Grand Cru's, the Pre-phylloxera vineyard sits within this one! It's a bold, delicious interpretation of Nerello. One of Terre Nere's 3 Grand Cru's, the Pre-phylloxera vineyard sits within this one! It's a bolder, delicious interpretation of Nerello Mascalese.When these landed I had to rip the lid off a 2021 Calderara Sottana & hook in!It's been a while since I've had a Contrade from Terre Nere. Straight out of the gate this is divine, a complete wine. Yet th
$185
$178ea in any 3+
$171ea in any 6+
One of Terre Nere's 3 Grand Cru's, the Pre-phylloxera vineyard sits within this one! It's a bold, delicious interpretation of Nerello. One of Terre Nere's 3 Grand Cru's, the Pre-phylloxera vineyard sits within this one! It's a bolder, delicious interpretation of Nerello Mascalese.The 2022 Etna Rosso Calderara Sottana is intense and spicy in the glass. Crushed ashen stones and grilled herbs give way to dried black cherries and spiced orange peels. Luxuriously smooth up front, this finds a l
$185
$178ea in any 3+
$171ea in any 6+

Wendouree Malbec 2023

Malbec | South Australia, Australia

AP Birks Wendouree Cellars produce some of the very few wines I’ll buy without tasting! The wines are something special. A celebration of an incredible old vineyard with plantings from the late 1800s. Tony & Lita are custodians of something truly special!Central vineyard planted in 1898.The Malbec is the best I've ever had from Australia. Malbec is a fickle variety that is a case of feast or famine. When flowering is poor so little fruit is realised that you can barely make a wine
One of the many highlights in this range, the Barbaresco Riserva Montestefano is superb. A big enrobing wine, the Montestefano wraps around the palate with stunning depth. Today, the Montestefano is utterly embryonic, and yet it exudes depth, resonance and pure class. The Montestefano is one of the more complete wines in the range because of the way it deftly balances fruit intensity and structure. Readers will have to be patient, though.Galloni
$186
$179ea in any 3+
$172ea in any 6+
The 2021 El Bardallo is produced with the grapes from the same plot as in previous years in the zone of San Vicente that names the wine; they believe this plot produces the wines in their cellar that have more finesse. Like the rest of the reds, it fermented with indigenous yeasts and part whole clusters and matured in 500- and 600-liter barrels in their underground cellar. This is serious and elegant, with ripe berry fruit and spice from the élevage, a full palate with pungent flavors, power a
$186
$179ea in any 3+
$172ea in any 6+

Podere Brizio Brunello di Montalcino 2016

Sangiovese | Tuscany, Italy

Power & elegance from an unbeatable vintage! Another phenomenal vintage gives us an elegant and powerful Brunello with the promise of more to come; it's tense, brooding, waiting to explode. All of the elements but time are in place and ready to perform. Even after a short moment in the glass it starts to reveal where it is going as the fruit pokes its head out to play. What appears to be the hallmarks of Podere Brizio - freshness, beautifully weighted fruit and long, linear, layered tannins - ar
$188
$183ea in any 3+
$178ea in any 6+
The lowest of Passopisciaro's contrada. Chiappemacine is typically fuller and richer by comparison Made from Nerello Mascelese, some call it the Barolo of the South, others a cross between Pinot & Nebbiolo. I prefer to say it is itself & delicious. The vineyards of Etna have undergone a major renaissance in the last couple of decades. Passipisciaro has been one of the wineries at the forefront. I was blown away the first time I tasted this wine.The Chippemacine and Sciaranuovo tend t
$188
$178ea in any 3+
$168ea in any 6+
Lower elevation builds more generosity into Porcaria. Such wonderful texture! Made from Nerello Mascelese, some call it the Barolo of the South, others a cross between Pinot & Nebbiolo. I prefer to say it is itself & delicious. The vineyards of Etna have undergone a major renaissance in the last couple of decades. Passipisciaro has been one of the wineries at the forefront. I was blown away the first time I tasted this wine.NOTE: The two reviews below were made almost 12 months apart
$188
$178ea in any 3+
$168ea in any 6+
The Highest Elevation Contrada owned by Passopisciaro making delicious Ethereal wines! Made from Nerello Mascelese, some call it the Barolo of the South, others a cross between Pinot & Nebbiolo. I prefer to say it is itself & delicious. The vineyards of Etna have undergone a major renaissance in the last couple of decades. Passipisciaro has been one of the wineries at the forefront. I was blown away the first time I tasted this wine.A little rule of thumb 👍🏻for you, wines of hi
$188
$178ea in any 3+
$168ea in any 6+