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Best Buy Wines (Aug/Sept 2008): $30 and under

2007 Limbic Wines Sauvignon Blanc, Pakenham Upper, A$25
Michael Pullar is a neurosurgeon, which explains why he named his vineyard after the part of the brain that bundles smell and taste with emotion. The small Limbic vineyard is tucked away on a hillside in the green south-eastern fringes of Melbourne suburbia, and has been run biodynamically since 2004. All the wines are elegant expressions of the fine loamy soils and cool climate, but my pick is the sav blanc. It’s really tight and refreshing, dry and chalky, with subtle yet complex flavours of flowers and nettles. MA

2006 Battle of Bosworth Shiraz, McLaren Vale, A$24
The label is named for the last conflict of the Wars of the Roses, though, ironically, the Bosworth’s Edgehill vineyard carries the name of the first battle of Charles I’s civil war. This mature vineyard was converted to organic viticulture in 1995. A portion of cane-cut, Amarone-style fruit gives complexity and a ripe prune note. There’s depth, richness and a concentration of brooding, brambly, blackberry pastille flavours as well as silky-smooth texture and ripe, approachable tannins. PF

2006 Shadowfax Chardonnay, Victoria, A$30
This chardonnay is no monster but a slick and stylish multi-regional blend with its heart in Geelong. It’s gracefully supported by grapefruit-flavoured grapes from the Macedon Ranges and given additional character from a splash of Beechworth and Cardinia Ranges fruit. It’s a chardonnay that walks a fine line between generosity and elegance, with lots of stone fruit and pink lady apple flavours and a delicious lemon curd character. Its bright acid finish would easily slice through the richness of a classic lobster thermidor. PB

2006 West Cape Howe Book Ends Cabernet Sauvignon, Great Southern, A$25
West Cape Howe is the brand of a contract winemaking business at Denmark in Western Australia’s Great Southern. This is a lovely cassisy, varietal West Australian cabernet for drinking today – fruit-driven, smooth and stylish. The flavours are ripe and clean, with blackberry and blackcurrant to the fore, and it’s fresh as a daisy. Rarely is young cabernet so soft and agreeable to the tongue yet so good. Drink it over the next five years or so. HH

2007 Saint Clair Pioneer Block 4 Sawcut Chardonnay, Marlborough, A$34/NZ$29.95
Saint Clair is best known for its range of luscious, full-flavoured sauvignons, but this innovative producer now makes six impressive chardonnays, including three single-vineyard wines. Sawcut Chardonnay is produced from grapes grown in the limestone-rich soils of the Ure Valley, south of Blenheim. It has an appealing aroma of grapefruit, stone fruit, minerals and a hint of florals. Soft-textured, complex chardonnay with plenty of weight, length and character. BC

2006 Seppelt Moyston Cabernet Sauvignon, South-eastern Australia, A$26
This stylish, full-flavoured and elegant cabernet reveals a perfume of violet, cassis, blackberry, dark plum and sweet cedar and vanilla oak backed by hints of dark chocolate. Underpinned by a firm powdery chassis of drying tannins, it’s long, bony and tightly balanced. Intense, sweet-fruited flavours unfold harmoniously with tightly knit creamy oak, finishing with a persistent core of fruit and lingering, slightly meaty, dark olive flavours. JO