Numbered from top to bottom, left to right.
1.SAVOURY ROSÉ
2017 E McDougall & Co Rosé, Margaret River, $35
Hong Kong-based “flying winemaker” Eddie McDougall worked with mates in Margaret River to produce this fabulously full-flavoured, textural dry rosé from tempranillo, nebbiolo and shiraz grapes.
2.SOUTHERN RIZZA
2017 Stargazer Riesling, Tasmania, $35
This is a wonderful, vibrant riesling with a moreish hint of grapey sweetness. I also like the 2017 Stargazer Rada (also $35) a bright, light red made from co-fermented pinot noir and pinot meunier.
3. FINE PINOT
2016 Onannon Red Hill Pinot Noir, Mornington Peninsula, $70
One of two fine single-site pinots from Onannon (the other is a gutsier wine from Gippsland), this has beautiful bright red perfumed fruit that builds in complexity as you swirl it in the glass.
4. SPICED RUM
Husk Distiller Spiced Bam Bam, Tumbulgum, $75
Lovely rich golden rum infused with deeply savoury wattleseed, fragrant native ginger, warm cinnamon and a lick of sea salt. Good in cocktails, great neat.
5. KIR, KIR
Marionette Dry Cassis, Melbourne, $45
First release from a new producer of Australian liqueurs is this brilliant deep purple cassis made from Tasmanian blackcurrants. Next up from Marionette: an orange curaçao and apricot brandy.
6. BARGAIN BORDEAUX
2014 Château Beychevelle Grand Bateau Blanc, Bordeaux, $36
When it’s good, barrel-matured sauvignon blanc from Bordeaux is one of the most delicious white wines with rich fish dishes, and this is a very good example at a very attractive price.
7. SPICY RED
2016 Dune Blewitt Springs Shiraz, McLaren Vale, $26
You often find spicy, perfumed characters in shiraz wines grown in the sandy soils of Blewitt Springs, and this is a terrific example: vivid, brambly and peppery.