Hay Shed Hill Block 8 2023 Cabernet Franc

 

Cabernet franc must be one of most under-rated grape varieties around. Often used as a minor element in Bordeaux blends, the variety also produces medium-bodied red wines with immediate appeal. This one found favour with my tasting group for its soft, easy style. A wine for sipping and savouring, preferably paired with dishes showcasing chicken or quail. The Hay Shed Hill Block Series wines are made from small parcels of fruit from individual blocks on the vineyard at Wilyabrup in Margaret River. This is soft and lifted with a fascinating blend of complexity and elegance. $45. https://hayshedhill.com.au/

Wynns 2024 Black Label Messenger Chardonnay

This a very impressive addition to the Wynnsday collection of wines released earlier this week by winemaker Sue Hodder and her team at Wynns Coonawarra Estate. It is a composed, very varietal cooler-climate chardonnay that also offers formidable value. The Messenger Vineyard has 32-year-old chardonnay vines, which produced stellar fruit in 2024. This is a very classy wine with plenty of flavour and a brisk acid finish. Hand-picking, whole-bunch pressing, barrel aging, and malolactic fermentation all play their role in a release that is complete and very varietal with stone fruit flavours, youthful enthusiasm and waves of texture producing a very smooth customer indeed. $45. https://www.wynns.com.au/

Lyons Will Estate 2024 Gamay

 

What a ripper! One of the best gamays in Australia, and an example of why we should see more versions of wines using the Beaujolais grape made here. This is wonderfully juicy and fresh, gloriously gluggable and ideal for serving after a short chill should that be your preference. Wild fermented and matured in older oak barrels for nine months, this has emerged as such a fun drink with dark cherry flavours to the fore. The juice had four weeks on skins to give it some vibrancy. 60% whole berry, 40% semi carbonic maceration, 100% pleasure. Unfined, unfiltered, and Vegan-friendly, this might already be in short supply given only 380 cases were made. 93 points, if points are your thing. $49. https://www.lyonswillestate.com.au/        

Henschke 2022 Keyneton Euphonium

 

Henschke makes some of Australia's most sought-after wines, including the $1000-a-bottle Hill of Grace, regarded as the best single-vineyard wine in the country. But the Henschke family - six generations in - also offers a range of far more affordable wines; like this red blend that would grace any dinner party table. A blend of shiraz and cabernet sauvignon, along with small amounts of cabernet franc and merlot, it is a very stylish amalgam of fruit from the Barossa and the cooler Eden Valley. The name pays tribute to an instrument used by the former Henschke Family Brass Band. This is a very sophisticated drop that be enjoyed now, or cellared for decades. Bright and beautifully balanced with oak playing a role in creating impressive structure. $67. https://www.henschke.com.au/ 

Angullong 2022 Cossing Reserve Harriet

 

This is a pretty spectacular reserve release from a small producer in the NSW Central West. The vineyard is in the foothills of Mount Canobolas outside Orange. The property has been in the Crossing family since 1950 and was a sheep and cattle station before grape growing and winemaking started in 1998. The wines are made by the talented Canadian Jeff Byrne and this is a smooth but assertive blend of Italian varieties sangiovese, montepulciano and sagrantino that is named in honour of the family matriarch. It is a lovely, food-friendly release that is drinking very well right now; fruit and oak are in impressive harmony. Decidedly moreish. 94 points from me. $50. www.angullong.com.au.

Hesketh 2024 Rules of Engagement Pinot Grigio

 

I'm not sure how they produce a wine this good at such a low price, but lovers of fresh, vibrant young white wines are definite winners here. Made from fruit grown on the Limestone Coast, this has citrus and fruit salad notes to the fore alongside zingy natural acidity on the finish. This is a wine for enjoying in its youth, chilled, whenever you feel like it. Refreshment with a capital R given the freshness and varietal character. Check out this range: the line-priced Los Weekend Chardonnay and the Midday Somewhere Shiraz are also very impressive. Pair this with anything from ham and pineapple pizza to fish cakes, or a veggie omelette. $16. https://heskethwinecompany.com.au/

Wynns 2022 Childs Single Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon

 

The annual Wynnsday releases from Wynns Coonawarra Estate are always among the the highlights of the wine year - and this year's single vineyard selection is an absolute ripper: a classic Coonawarra cabernet that is brilliantly balanced and offers serious value, even at $80 a bottle. It is definitely one of the stars of the year so far. Planted in 1969, grapes from the Childs vineyard have consistently been a component of top releases from Sue Hodder and her winemaking team. There's plenty of length here, classic cool-climate cabernet flavours (dark berries, hints of cedar and spice) and impressively supple tannins. Enjoy now or cellar for up to 20 years. Super impressive. Pair with a veal schnitzel. $80.