Hoddles Creek 2025 Pinot Gris

 

A surprise package from the d'Anna family, who produce outstanding wines in the Yarra Valley. It is not a wine for everyone but will certainly be a hit with lovers of skin-contact wines. It is salmon coloured,  but not to be mistaken for a rosé. It is a blend of fruit from two blocks, one picked early for freshness, the other picked later for tannin ripeness from the skin contact. It is a wine of impressive vibrancy, with a savoury, dry finish. It is treated like a red wine in the winery and that gives it added tannin structure. Versatile, too. Pair with anything from a mushroom quiche to a tapas plate. $26. www.hoddlescreekestate.com.au

Moss Wood 2024 Amy's

Calling all lovers of Bordeaux-style red blends. This is cabernet-driven wine from one of Margaret River's best producers that offers an excellent each way bet: drink now or cellar for a decade or more. It is a blend of 72% cabernet with the remainder of the blend made up of merlot, malbec and petit verdot. A wine of impeccable balance with classic currant/berry/plum notes allied to violet, dark chocolate and cedary oak characters. There is impressive structure here, but also bright acid that aid immediate accessibility. Concentrated but beguiling. $40. www.mosswood.com.au 

Pizzini 2024 Verduzzo

 

Verduzzo eh? I can honestly say that I haven't drunk a lot of wine made from this white grape variety. This one comes from the Pizzini family in the King Valley, masters of many Italian varieties, and it turns out it is a very sharp wine - texturally interesting and very food friendly. Verduzzo can be traced back to the 1400s in north-east Italy, but is has always been a fringe grape despite its appealing chalkiness. With 50% fermented in stainless steel and 50% in oak, this has an impressive minerality/acidity balance and is drinking well at one year of age. The bad news: I got to this one late. THis vntage is sold out at the Pizzini cellars, but you might get lucky and find some in retail land. Pair with food as as you would a Chablis. $35. https://www.pizzini.com.au/         

Terre a Terre 2023 Crayeres Vineyard Cabernet Franc

 

It is a mystery why cabernet franc is not more popular in Australia given the grape variety is a perfect fit for our climate, lifestyle and food choices. The Crayères Vineyard Cabernet Franc 2023 is the ninth vintage of a cabernet franc-based release from Xiavier Bizot and Lucy Croser's Wrattonbully (Limestone Coast) vineyard. From a cool and wet vintage, this a very chic, food-friendly release that has seen 8% shiraz added to the final blend to lift the middle palate. A Bordeaux/Rhone marriage of convenience. The end result is bright, medium bodied and enticingly gluggable. Pair with old school roast chicken, or other poultry dishes. $35. https://terreaterre.com.au/

Vasse Felix 2025 Classic Dry White

Vasse Felix is a pioneering winery in Margaret River that produces some of our finest wines - but it also makes this budget "Classic" range that offers excellent value for summer quaffing. This is a classic regional blend of semillon and sauvignon blanc. It's dry, fruit-driven and very crisp - perfect for enjoying with a seafood platter or fish and chips. Vasse Felix has been making this blend for close to 30 years and this vintage is 2/3rds semillon and 1/3rd savvy, made from sustainably grown fruit. Think pithy lemon and Asian spice notes leading on to a palate that is crunchy, lively, super-refreshing and dangerously moreish. $20. https://www.vassefelix.com.au/

Coldstream Hills 2018 Pinot Chardonnay Sparkling

Coldstream Hills, founded 40 years ago by wine guru James Halliday, is renowned for its outstanding chardonnays and pinot noirs from the Yarra Valley. This aged sparkling was a surprise star of a recent Treasury portfolio tasting, with an impressive combination of lemony tang and lively mousse alongside brioche/crumble/toasty notes. It is a very stylish and sophisticated bubbly from winemaker Andrew Fleming and his team, fresh enough with its bright acid to be enjoyable as an aperitif, but complex enough to match with Christmas turkey, having spent six years on yeast lees prior to disgorging. Outstanding value for $35. https://www.coldstreamhills.com.au/     

 

Clonakilla 2024 Hilltops Shiraz

 
Classy, medium-bodied red wine that is ready to enjoy in its youth and is lip-smackingly food friendly? That's a big tick. When the wine comes from one of the country's best family producers and costs well under $40 then you are onto a good thing. While Clonakilla is based at Murrumbateman, outside Canberra, Tim Kirk and his team also source some excellent fruit from several vineyards in the Hilltops district around Young. Open fermented with regular pump overs, this spent 12 months in mainly older oak to add texture and palate structure. It has aromatics and impressively ripe - but not too ripe - dark fruit flavours and savoury notes. Drink now, or cellar. Your choice. Excellent buying for Christmas enjoyment. $35. https://clonakilla.com.au/