Wineries List: A Wines

Prepare for a wine that’s as seductive as a damsel in a red dress doing the tango, full of curves and layered with intrigue. It’s a good analogy for this spicy South American that hails from Argentina. Aged in French oak to lend complexity, this wine is all about vital berries and spice with a good dose of tannin. Perfectly matched with a selection of charred Argentinian meats.

Ashbrook Estate typify the modern Margaret River winery that quietly over-achieve by making wines that are regional, varietal and critically acclaimed. Indeed, wine Critic James Halliday has described Ashbrook as making wines that are “elegant, understated and underpriced.” Proving Shiraz from the Margaret River is elegant this wine shows a soft, silky texture imbued with the essence of raspberries to produce an attractive, easy drinking red that’s food-friendly and moreish.

From the Hilltops region of NSW, this big and bold blend has lovely, powerful fruit, a firm structure and brilliant length. Drink it now for pleasure or give it five years in the cellar to see its best.

We don’t see an enormous amount of America wine on these shores but this special Pinot Noir from Oregon has an Australian connection, as Australian winemaker Brian Croser is one of the masterminds behind the operation. This is quite a robust style with dark fruit aromas as well as cherry and spice, it got a rich, earthy palate with notes of baked plum and cherry jam. It’s a lovely style of wine that would go well with lighter meat dishes including duck and turkey.

RIch! So rich it's like tapping into a vein of liquified red berry chocolate cake.That's the appeal of a wine like this - it's an unquestionably full bodied, full flavoured sparkling red with lots of flavour and sweetness. The only challenge with a wine like this is that it's a biggun' with little in the way of delicacy. Come instead for the power, the richness and the absolute intensity.

Oregon is one of the world’s top sites for producing expressive Pinot Noir and this drop from Argyle quite clearly displays why. It’s called the Spirithouse after the property next door to the tasting room is said to have been haunted since the 19th century. You’ll be haunted not by a spirit but by the taste. Bright and pretty on the nose it displays cherry, earth, hints of leather and mint as well as black pepper. It’s ripe on the palate with spicy and floral characters combining before delivering a soft and exciting mouthfeel. Definitely a dinner party wine, that will cause the conversation to flow.

Black Label, like black diamond ski runs, clearly means better and more hardcore in the scheme of things, which is hence why this sits a the pointy end of the Aramis heirachy - because it is quite hardcore. Hardcore rich, hardcore full bodied, hardcore delicious. Perhaps the only non hardcore bit is the soft edges thanks to a little extra bottle age.

Alluring is the best way to describe the wines from Alex Retief - they just make you want to take sip after sip. This unusual blend is savoury and restrained with some sour cherry fruit lifted by some plum and spice finishing with structure and finesse. The thinking person's wine - I like it a hell of a lot.

Burgundy, Central Otago and Mornington Peninsula, all have one thing in common, they all craft amazing examples of Pinot Noir. Well you can now add one more to the list, Oregon. Yes it’s rare we see many American wines on these shores but we are glad we found this one, as it’s one of the best wines to come out of the Argyle Vineyards. This is the pinnacle of Pinot, with ripe cherry notes and enticing aromas of baking spices. It tastes of earth and forest berries while spicy oak and silky tannins add texture and interest. It’s persistent and elegant and will last well in the cellar but we can’t keep our hands off it.

McLaren Vale, if you haven't been there before, is a rather beautiful part of the wine world, a region known for it's famous nude beach and it's Shiraz. Don't tell Aramis that though, as they're deliberately pushing the McLaren Vale Cabernet Sauvignon wagon. This is a smart example too - a big and beefy Cabernet with loads of flavour and great, cellar-me-now structure and power.

There’s no doubting that Pinot Noir from Central Otago has established itself on the world stage with some convincing credentials. If you like your Pinot a bit more concentrated and intense then this is for you, it’s quite a cerebral interpretation of the variety with an elegant fragrance of black fruit and spice. Structurally it will win you over with its seamless shape and rounded tannins. If you are going down to Chinatown take this in tow for some serious duck action.

If there’s one wine style of wine we would go on a ‘Long Trek’ for it would have to be Pinot Noir. We have done the long trek to Central Otago for you and are pleased to offer you a taste of this stunning wine from one of the boutique operations in the region. Vibrancy is the buzzword here, with a rich core of cherry, spice and earth. Like all good Pinots it’s medium bodied, supple and surprisingly soft. Drinking well now but will keep in the short term and offer much sensory satisfaction.

The Argentines make full-bodied reds that go well with the nations obsession for Steak. This is the Reserve Malbec from Argento showing much more concentration of flavour and intensity of fruit. It’s dark and broody in colour with immense aromas of plums and blackcherries. These are reflected on the palate as well as an oak complexity that adds flavours of chocolate and vanilla while supple tannins round it out nicely.

The people behind the Arrivo label are a little nutty when it comes to Nebbiolo. So much so, it’s the only variety they make. That’s the problem with this Italian varietal, the people that love it, get a little obsessive in their pursuit of making the perfect replica. Even in this pink incarnation it stays true to its varietal roots and shows the true essence of the Nebbiolo grape. It’s perfumed with rose, a hint of raspberry and subtle spice. For a Rosé the palate actually shows some real grip and tannin, it’s drying but ultimately mouth-watering and pairs well with fish as well as spicy foods.

He's a smart winemaker is Alex Retief, epitomising the sort of switched on 'let's think outside the square' style winemaking that so many clever young Australian producers are currently adopting. Fitting that Alex went for a variety that is entirely uncommon in the Hilltops - Mataro, and crafting it in a sort of dark and savoury, anything-but-flashy, mysterious, moist undergrowth and cool meaty notes style that is not going to please everyone but provides a welcome relief for anyone tired of big sweet reds. It's almost an intellectual wine even, or at least just a clever one. Tasty stuff in a rather young, firm and masculine brooding form.

The blending of Cabernet and Merlot has long been practiced in Bordeaux,but in Australian terms it could be the trump card of the Margaret River. This fine red from Amelia Park Shows how to get the blend in perfect harmony; Cabernet for structure, Merlot for generosity. It’s laden with black fruits and lifted violets before a soft and assured palate of cherry and plum, some spice and nicely integrated tannins.

The Margaret River is on a roll with Chardonnay and Amelia Park are on a roll in terms of quality making the 2012 James Halliday wine guide as a winery to watch. We can see why when we try this exemplary example of Chardonnay. As well as vibrant pear and fig there’s some great complexity at work from the oak that lends shards of vanilla and roasted nut complexity. The palate is well-structured with grapefruit and citrus and persists nicely on the finish. The only thing to enhance a dish like this is to pair it with roast chicken.

We have a little crystal ball prediction about Pinot Gris from Orange. There’s something about the high altitude and cool climate that suits this variety and the resultant wines all seem to be laden with texture as well as having good acids. The Fossil Hill range from Angullong features outstanding quality fruit from superb vineyard sites that are focussed and balanced, with nuances of the region shining through. It’s a nicely varietal wine with pear and honey aromas and a touch of spice. The palate is mouth-filling and textured showing stonefruit, citrus and clean acids on the finish.

The clever thing about the Armchair Critic Wines is that they match varieties to regions ensuring the marriage is always a happy one. The King Valley and Pinot Gris bonded instantaneously to create the best conditions to grow this version of the white grape made famous in Alsace. This shows a lifted perfume of florals, pear and apples before a refreshing palate of spicy fruit and a classic Gris texture. A good wine for the warmer weather, with some rich seafood dishes or even pork.

In some ways this wine saddens us. Saddens us as so few know how good it is, how generous and tasty and plain fabulous this Margaret River Chardonnay is. Conversely it also makes us happy that no-one knows about this wine, for it keeps the price at a more than manageable level. As a result of this confilct we have to stop talking about this wine now. I think you'll understand...