The stylish Margaret River accord of Cabernet and Merlot, with a timely inclusion of the rakish Petit Verdot. The Swings & Roundabouts team purposely leave the fruit to ripen on the vine for the longest time allowed by nature, encouraging the development of fully developed tannins and sugars alongside heightened varietal characters. They then have to fight with the kangaroos over possession of these deeply flavoured grapes. A vigorous red wine to match aged cheddars, stronger cuts of meat or well prepared game.

$2299each $275DOZEN EACH DOZEN Swings & Roundabouts is based at Yallingup where it crafts pure Margaret River wines and smart West Australian blends. Widely acknowledged as one of the region's leading winemakers, Mark Lane found his way home in rather a roundabout way. For a while he made cheese in Melbourne and completed apprenticeships in the Yarra Valley with the likes of Tarrawarra and Eyton-on-Yarra before making the trek west to take up position of chief winemaker with Deep Woods and Flying Fish Cove. Parcels of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon are harvested at optimum maturity, each parcel is separately handled and fermented, followed by a term of maturation in French oak.

Deep purple red with a dark core. Ripe plums with cherry and mocha notes over fine vanillin French oak. Dark fruits with classical Margaret River Cabernet varietal, choc mint characters lifting the nose. The cherry characters carry through to the palate, dark berry fruits are present, Rich and layered palate with generous flavours of plum and spice leading to a fine mouthfilling middle palate exhibiting fine grained tannins to finish.

Outstanding Langtons Classification. From one of the most famous vineyards in the world, a half hectare of ungrafted, prephylloxera plantings, amongst the oldest productive Shiraz vines to be found anywhere. Internationally renowned for its eloquence as well as its historic significance, 1860 Vines Shiraz is treated to an old world vinification in a collection of hundred years old, oak fermentation vats. 1860 is crafted to remain true to its ancient heritage, the smells and flavours of an old fashioned wine, within a structure of enduring elegance and timeless refinement.

$29999each $3599DOZEN EACH DOZEN

Bright, deep scarlet. Violets, blackberries and spice, a background of savoury herbaceousness, espresso and chocolate oak. A remarkably elegant palate structure, lithe, fragrant and clean, its gravelly tannins and biscuit carob oak in support of savoury fruit flavours, mulberries and anise plum, exquisitely evolved at five years of age, an immeasurably long finish.

Crafted from the best of vintage Cabernet Sauvignon, the choicest parcels collated from across the wonderful endowment of Tahbilk vineyards. It was the serendipitous discovery of a very old bottle Cabernet, unearthed just after WWII, from within the ageing Tahbilk wineworks, that inspired Eric Purbrick to re establish opearations after a long period of neglect. Tahbilk remain home to the eldest and most distinguished Cabernet vines. Eric Stevens Purbrick is dressed to impress, intensely flavoured with opaque berry flavours, sheathed in a veneer of graceful oak.

$6499each $779DOZEN EACH DOZEN

Dark plum red. Brooding bramble bouquet, ribena and acssis, background cedar oak. Richly laden palate, dark currants and blackberry, dark cherries, mulberries and plum, garnished with fragrantly varietal mint notes and seasoned by a sprinkle of dried herbs. The exquisite weight and length of palate is supported by integrated French American oak characters and fine, robust tannins.

A profuse and intricate, old vines Shiraz, articulating the complex personality and extraordinary depth of character achieved through the legacy of historic estate plantings. The majority of fruit is picked off a precious endowment of vines planted 1933, treated to an old world style of vinification which has changed little since 1860. Stunningly perfumed before a penetrating palate, polished showroom tannins and velvet textures, a truly remarkable Shiraz to match with fragrant red wine braises and seared aged meats.

$6499each $779DOZEN EACH DOZEN

Deep garnet colour. Savoury black olive aromas, brambleberries and mixed spice, nutmeg, cinnamon and star anise. A palate that's redolent with blackberry and dark cherry flavours, plum fruit characters, reductions and char, seasoned by pepper and allspice, all supported by a carriage of refined, robust tannins, resolving on a lengthy, mouthcoating finish.

Victorian accords of Grenache, Shiraz and Mourvedre are sufficiently rare, ideally, an estate must have a heritage which dates back to early settlement before they can consider crafting such a wine. The first nascent plantings at Tahbilk were sown with cuttings from Valley Rhone. Shiraz, Grenache and Mourvedre have taken to the local surrounds and today yield the finest harvests in Victoria. A deeply charismatic wine of provocative sweet and savoury fruit characters, exquisitely balanced over a length of elegant, tensile tannins.

$2399each $287DOZEN EACH DOZEN

Bright scarlet colour. Cherry smoke nose, apricots and char, chocolate box aromas over a background of spiced oak. Opulent, elegant palate, fleshy, nutty and luscious with layers of red berries, viscous with fruit, seamless, the cherry spice of Grenache, the bramble plum juiciness of Shiraz and savoury tannic grip of Mourvedre, finishing long, velvety and fine.

Established circa 1860, amongst the scenic Nagambie Lakes, Tahbilk is one of Australia's most historic wineries, with a long and proud history of producing Victoria's most reliable Cabernet Sauvignon. Following his return from service after World War II, Eric Purbrick discovered a cache of wine hidden in 1876 under the Tahbilk cellars. Though pale in colour, it was sound and drinkable after 71 years. The promise of long lived red wine inspired Purbrick to establish new plantings in 1949, today they are some of Victoria's oldest productive Cabernet vines.

$2999each $359DOZEN EACH DOZEN Tahbilk has some 28 hectares of Cabernet which have consistantly yielded wines of considerable richness and character. Younger vines which are the progeny of this older rootstock form the backbone of fruit. Grapes are crushed in the Tahbilk winery's Pit, the must is pumped into the original open oak vats where cultivated yeasts are introduced. Carbon dioxide, which is formed during fermentation, forces skins, the cap, to rise to the top. Twice daily the juice from the bottom is pumped over the top of the cap which serves to extract colour, flavour and tannins. The final wine is treated to maturation for up to eighteen months in a selection of 100 year old French oak barrels.

Deep red colour. Aromas of warm red currants, plums and black cherries with hints of mint and Mediterranean herbs. Very crisp and full bodied on the palate, minty, capsicum notes with bright and intense berry fruits, a generous amount of juicy fruit underpinned by a supportive web of fine grained, chewy tannins before a long lasting finish. Well worth pouring alongside bacon wrapped quail or your favourite recipe of slow braised rissole.

Tahbilk are a bulwark of Victorian Shiraz, the original plantings are some of Australia's eldest productive vines. Traditional vinification techniques, as practised by Tahbilk's winemakers in the 1860s, are still employed, the original Chais of the wineworks remain to this day a most integral part of the operation. Wine & Spirits Magazine selected Tahbilk's original 1860 Vines Shiraz Vineyard as one of the great twenty five vineyards in the world, along with such illustrious icons as Romanee Conti La Tache and Chateau Lafite, Vega Sicilia and Chateau Y'Quem.

$2999each $359DOZEN EACH DOZEN Tahbilk does the Rhone varietals so very well and enjoys an international reputation for its protected and ancient pre-phyloxera stock. Located in the heart of Nagambie Lakes region, the property comprises over a thousand hectares of rich river flats with a frontage of eleven kilometres on the Goulburn River and eight kilometres of permanent backwaters and creeks. A measure of the expertise and alchemy that go into Tahbilk's distinguished limited release, flagship wines are applied to the vintage Shiraz. Vinified in the original estate open oak vats, over 150 years old, twice racked into clean casks, leaving the lees behind, followed by maturation in fine French oak barrels for up to eighteen months.

A deep red/ magenta colour in the glass. Aromas of plum and spice with background peppery hints leading to a solidly constructed palate of blackberry, plum and anise fruits with firm but not overly intrusive tannins on the finish. A rock solid wine that will please the faithful as well as leading new converts to the Tahbilk Shiraz altar.

Tahbilk have the magic touch with old vines, custodians of a priceless prephylloxera block established in 1860 and productive to this day. Sourced from parcels averaging thirty to forty years of age, Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz are treated to a traditional old world style of open ferments in an ancient collection of 150 year old oak vats, followed by extended maturation in a mix of the finest French and American oak. The perfect accompaniement to seared rib, kipflers and red wine jus.

$4499each $539DOZEN EACH DOZEN

Bright crimson colour. Mélange of ripe dark berry fruit bouquets, brambles and multilayered spice, nutmeg and star anise. Blackcurrant and plum fruit flavours, a weight of blackberry on the robust and expansive, generously flavoured palate, complex and intricate over a superb length of remarkably fine grained tannins.

For such a small, hands on winemaking operation, Tait have won conspicuous praise from the most respected international reviewers. The attention to detail and strong relationships with the Barossa's best growers gives Bruno Tait access to high quality fruit which he fashions into a wine that reflects his own personality, generous and affable. A traditionally crafted, small batch wine, assembled from parcels of Barossa fruit that have been earmarked on the basis of opulence, exuberant tannins and refreshing acids, treated to the most adroit vinification techniques.

$2599each $311DOZEN EACH DOZEN All fruit is picked at complete physiological ripeness, to obtain optimal balance of natural sugar and flavour development. Grapes are destemmed into open fermenters, pH is adjusted and vinification takes place over the course of a week at 24C. The ferments are treated to hand plunging thrice daily until completion and basket pressed by hand in the old world style, a component is transferred to seasoned oak barrels for malolactic and maturation. A mostly Shiraz wine with inclusions of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, all parts are racked and returned to barrel two or three times throughout a term of twelve months, achieving a clarified wine that does not need any fining or filtration prior to bottling.

Deep red colour. Lifted aromas of ripe plums and spice, violets, vanillan and cardamon coffee grounds, cigarbox and creamy oak. An intense palate of dark fruit flavours, red currants and black bramble characters are supported by the most gripping tannins. A full bodied wine to accompany char grilled ribeye or ripe, pungent hard cheese.

The old fashioned practice of treating ferments to a manually operated basket press, preserves the elemental rectitude and textural integrity of good wine. Bruno Tait sources a unique parcel of Shiraz from a single vineyard at Rowland Flat which yields a meagre tonne and a half per acre. The precious old vines are seventy years of age, they are consulted by Bruno twice a week at vintage time to determine the perfect day for picking. The vinification is wholly natural and very old world in style, an extremely limited 240 dozen are produced.

$4799each $575DOZEN EACH DOZEN The time of vintage is crucial for such a generously high alcohol wine, Shiraz is picked only when fully physiologically ripe, as natural fruit sugars and juicy esters are at their peak. Grapes are de stemmed into open vessels, pH is adjusted and the musts are vinified at 24C over the course of ten days. Ferments are treated to a regimen of plunging and pumpovers three times daily for optimal extraction of colour, flavour and tannin. Upon completion, juices are given passage through an old fashioned basket press into a selection of seasoned American oak barrels for malolactic and maturation, rack and returned over a term of eighteen months to achieve a natural filtration. Alcohol 16.0%

Deep black purple. Intense aromas of blackcurrant, stewed plums and cherry, chocolate, allsorts and carob. Full bodied, berry filled palate layered with black bramble characters, drenched with cherry liqueur and compote reduction, its ripe substantive tannins and elegant oak frame a carriage of warming plum suet fruit flavours, before a long, sweetly everlasting finish.

$2599each $311DOZEN EACH DOZEN

Giovanni Tait was a cooper who migrated to Barossa Valley in 1957, he took up work with B. Seppelt and Sons, where he took a hand in the élevage and maturation of the most memorable vintages. Tasteful and judicious use of oak remains an essential component of the winemaking traditions at Tait, none more so than the topical Rhone styled blend of Grenache, Mourverdre and Shiraz. Tait source fruit for the Wild Ride from choice sites on the southern Finders ranges, treating each parcel to an individual regimen of oak, a mere thousand cases are produced.

$2599each $311DOZEN EACH DOZEN Parcels of Grenache, Shiraz and Mourvedre are picked off vineyards, planted to typically clay soils, only when completely physiologically ripe. All components are handled separately and are assembled into the finished wine just before bottling. Grapes are de stemmed into fermenters and pH is adjusted, for a week or more of vinification at 24C, plunged and pumped over, two or three times daily. Batches are passed through an old fashioned basket press for completion of ferments and a course of malolactic. A combination of seasoned and new American oak barrels are treated to rack and returns throughout a year's maturation, to achieve a natural clarification without the need of fining and filtration. Alcohol 15.5%

Garnet purple colour. Blackberries and cherry nose, charcoal and spiced plum notes. Juicy cherry ripe palate, darker characters of carob and bitter chocolate oak in support of boyeneberry and chewy gelatine jube flavours, its gentle framework of oak and malleable tannins around a core of ripe red berry flavours, resolving on a sweetly drying, savoury black olive finish.