Pentridge Cellars in Coburg, Victoria, Australia | Wine/spirits

Pentridge Cellars

Locality: Coburg, Victoria, Australia

Phone: +61 419 204 341

Address: 4 Wardens Walk 3058 Coburg, VIC, Australia

Website: https://www.pentridgecellars.com

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25.01.2022 We are sooooo ready for a road trip.... #weekend by Pat Whelen from Pexels

24.01.2022 Your wine collection is an investment, so security is paramount. On top of 24-hour CCTV coverage throughout the premises, the solid bluestone walls and thick steel-and-wood cellar doors fitted with secure SALTO digital locks keep your wines safe-and-sound to mature in peace. Click the link to learn more:

23.01.2022 Theres something to be said for a wine cellar in a lock-up. Good wine should never be consumed out of boredom, and lockdown is the time to be tempted. Lock it up in your private Pentridge Cellar. Away from temptation, your precious wines can mature to their full potential (and value). With full climate control and walls half a metre thick, the hints, nuances, and flavours that only time can imbue will never escape. Click the link to learn more: https://bit.ly/pentridgecellars

22.01.2022 Welcome to the week

22.01.2022 The exotic, highly perfumed, rich, structured and complex single vineyard Clarendon Hills Astralis is a perfect addition to any serious wine collection if you can get your hands on a bottle. Clarendon Hills Premier Grand Cru Astralis Syrah is a timeless wine of unbridled power and purity. The Grand Vin attracts global attention as the ultimate expression of Clarendon Hills greatest vineyard. It hails from primordial old bush vines established in ancient rocky ironstone ...in 1920. Today Astralis is recognised alongside the worlds most iconic wines and rated amongst the top 100 wines of the century. A review of the 2015 vintage notes: "Remarkably precise, complex and pristine aromas of anise, pepper, mint and blueberries lead the way. Theyre followed by a full-bodied yet impeccably ripe palate thats dense and concentrated yet supple, leading into a velvety, nearly endless finish. Wow." Tasted: Sept 2018; Drink: 2022-2040; Rating: 100 Points; Joe Czerwinski; Robert Parkers The Wine Advocate.

22.01.2022 Friday night in lockdown Good wine & good company enjoying the simple things in life. Video credit: Cottonbro/Pexels

20.01.2022 2016 Tenuta Delle Terre Nere Prephylloxera Calderara Sottana Etna Rosso: With only 6,000 bottles produced, this is Tenuta delle Terre Nere's top-shelf expression of Etna D.O.C. red. Just outside their cellar in Calderara Sottana, two parcels of Nerello Mascalese and Nerello Cappuccio sit solitary amongst a larger vineyard. What makes them special is that they are the only two parcels that still sit on their pre-phylloxera, original 130-year-old rootstock. These parcels yielde...d a wine of such unearthly finesse that, although the wine from the neighboring old vines was a real beauty, these seemed to feed from heavenly pastures: the quintessence of Calderara. A collector's dream, perfect for aging in your Pentridge Cellar. "This seamless red effortlessly layers silky, sculpted tannins and lightly mouthwatering acidity with an array of ripe black cherry, graphite, ground cardamom, dried fig and sweet, lightly floral almond blossom notes. Long and lingering, with a racy hint of spicy mineral echoing on the finish. Drink now through 2030. 600 cases made." -- 95 points Alison Napjus, Wine Spectator

20.01.2022 Cellar Secrets: Its common knowledge that wines benefit greatly from careful climate control while they are ageing, but the real secret lies in stability. The ideal temperature range for cellaring is between 12-15 degrees celsius, but its vital that your cellar is kept a consistent temperature throughout the ageing process - a single short-lived stint of above-ideal climate can wreak havoc on your treasured collection. If you have to choose between coolness or consistency, choose the latter. Your tastebuds will thank you come uncorking time. Learn more about owning the perfect climate controlled cellar: https://bit.ly/pentridgecellars

19.01.2022 Full-bodied and fascinatingly complex, the Radici Taurasi is an elegant, balanced wine showcasing the very best of Italys Campania region. Its constituent Aglianico grapes were fostered from the brink of extinction by the prodigious Mastroberardino family, and each stage in the vinification process seems set to squeeze every last hint of flavour out of the battle-hardened varietal. From their late-in-season harvest to their lengthy maturation -- first in oak and then in-bottle -- this deep ruby wine will only grow increasingly precious with age (held safely, of course, in your Pentridge Cellar )

19.01.2022 Marques de Murrieta: Castillo d’Ygay Gran Reserva Especial Marques de Murrieta was established in 1852 and is one of Rioja's oldest Bodegas. Only made in exceptional years, Castillo d’Ygay is aged in American oak barrels for 24 months, then perfected in the bottle for 5 years. This sought-after wine is made from 70% Tempranillo, 12 percent Garnacha, 13 percent Mazuelo and 5 percent Graciano. The wine is loaded with depth, complexity and liveliness it is splendidly rich, earthy and layered with vanilla, cocoa, truffle, oak and black cherry. In the mouth, it is a deep, fresh and refined wine; with a long finish and velvety tannins. The 2010 vintage scored 100 points (Falstaff, Germany) and has been described as "unforgettable"!

18.01.2022 Noon Winery Reserve Shiraz 2006: Sourced from the low-yield 20 Rows block within the Borrett familys Langhorne Creek vineyard and vinified in small, open vats, Noon Winerys 2006 Reserve Shiraz exemplifies a deep love for classic Australian full-bodied shiraz. Grown in the McLaren Vale, pressed using a traditional basket press by the Noon family and aged for 18 months in American and French oak barrels, it is an unashamedly full-bodied, generously-flavoured wine, with annu...al production between 750 and 850 dozen. "Opaque purple/black in color, it gives up a lavish perfume of smoke, mineral, game, bacon, and blueberry that leaps from the glass. Thick, opulent, and intense, it coats the mouth with savory fruit, spices, and a hint of chocolate. Seamless on the palate, it nevertheless conceals enough structure to evolve for a decade for those able to resist its immediate come-on. It should be at its best from 2012 to 2030." -- 99 Robert Parker

18.01.2022 Wine cellars should be as unique as their collectors. Our designers work closely with you to personalise your cellar, fitting your cellar with ambient lighting and tailor-made racks for up to 2,000 bottles. Customise your space further with custom-built shelving for glasses and other accessories. We can install premium refrigeration solutions to cater for white wine or Champagne, taking your cellar to the next level. We are proud to partner with Australias own Cellarack Win...e Racks, an industry leader in innovative cellar design and sustainable manufacturing. This family-owned business has more than 40 years of experience, specialising in wine storage for homes, hotels, wine merchants and restaurants. Cellarack provides a range of quality French-manufactured WineMaster cellar cooling systems to meet the specific cooling considerations of your individual cellar. All cooling systems are installed by refrigeration specialists in association with Cellarack for a trouble-free installation. Learn more: https://bit.ly/pentridgecellars See more

17.01.2022 World Class Cellars | Hotel Chedi, Andermatt, Switzlerand: Spend a relaxing evening after a day on the slopes in this stunning wine cellar in the luxury 5 star ski Hotel Chedi. With dramatic mood lighting, dark wood, floor to ceiling wine racks and fridges, this would be lovely space to enjoy a post-skiing glass of wine (or 2) or full wine tasting session. And while our own Pentridge Cellar might not be close to the ski slopes, we can still enjoy a glass of wine with a select group friends surrounded by cellars and history that are certainly great conversation starters (after the wine talk of course!).

17.01.2022 Counting down the days until we can show you around our Cellars! Stay tuned for some exciting events coming soon...

16.01.2022 Savouring the memories... #weekend

16.01.2022 Rioja, Spain: Split into three distinctly characterful sub-regions, Spain's highest-profile Denominación de Origen Calificada Rioja has a reputation as a world-class exporter of full-bodied Spanish reds. Tempranillo dominates the region, and there is a deep history of long-term barrel aging - the region has the largest number of barrels of any wine region in the world at 1.3 million! Rioja is also home to arguably the world's most famous winery hotel, Marqués de Riscal, designed by Frank Gehry and with a restuarant run by Spain's first Michelin-hatted chef Francis Paniego. The three sub-regions Rioja Alta, Rioja Alavesa and Rioja Baja each have their own character, with about 85% of the overall wine production consisting of reds like Tempranillo, Grenache and Graciano. : DOCa Rioja

15.01.2022 The #weekend has been waiting...

15.01.2022 Here's to warm weather and fine wine shared with friends #weekend

15.01.2022 It is rare to see an Australian winery able to boast a history of wine-making over 150-years-strong, and even rarer for that winery to claim the accolade of owning the largest underground cellar in the Southern Hemisphere. Seppeltsfields heritage-listed labyrinth of underground cellars began its life in 1868 and was excavated over 60 years through Barossa Valleys hard bluestone. Sprawling over 3 kilometres with a staggering 3 million bottle capacity, the cellars unique, fo...rward-thinking design has proven invaluable since 1878, when Benno Seppelt - son of founder Joseph - selected a barrel of that years Tawny Port to remain maturing for a century. The aptly-titled Centennial Cellar has been the home of an unbroken chain of every vintage from 1878 to the current day - a true living museum of Australian winemaking. Those passionate about oenological history may be particularly intrigued by the chance to taste a Para Vintage Tawny direct from the barrel of their birth year : Seppeltsfield

13.01.2022 Digging in for a stay at home weekend.

12.01.2022 With a history 130-years-strong, Freemark Abbeys 24 acres of vines planted on Napa Valleys Rutherford Bench produce a Cabernet Sauvignon a step above its peers - and it is already among esteemed company. Of their two vineyards set against the backdrop of the Mayacamas Range, the Sycamore is dry-farmed with stringent biodynamic protocols. This natural, sustainable ecosystem produces mountain fruit berries that are very small and yield intense depth of colour and black curran...t flavour, and the terroirs famous Rutherford dust is present in every bottle from the winery. The 2015 vintage - a blend of 88.2% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4.4% Petit Verdot, 4.2% Cabernet Franc and 3.2% Merlot - was magnified in intensity by a historically dry winter, making the finished product a wine perfect for ageing. "[T]he deep garnet-purple colored 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Sycamore Vineyards comes skipping out of the glass with a spring in its step and singing notes of crushed blackcurrants, fresh blackberries and red and black plums with touches of underbrush, fungi, wild sage, chocolate mint and cigar boxes. Full-bodied and built like a brick house, it has a rock-solid frame of firm, grainy tannins and seamless freshness supporting the generous, crunchy fruit, finishing long with a touch of minerality. Drink 2021-2052." 97 Robert Parker, Jr.s Wine Advocate.

12.01.2022 Viognier has had quite a storied past. A genetic relative of Shiraz, Viognier teetered on the edge of extinction in the 1960s with just 14 ha planted in its mountainous French home in the Condrieu and Cte-Rtie appellations in the Rhne Valley. Its endangered status was partly due to its susceptibility to fungal infection as well as its capricious and unpredictable nature on the vine - the window for ripening is quite small, and if picked too soon or too late it loses most o...f its signature characteristics. It has since been nursed back to glory by a number of wineries in the Rhne Valley and overseas, with vineyards in California and Australia leading the march. On its own, Viognier has a distinctive heady aroma of ripe stone fruits, honeysuckle and apricot and is creamy and full-bodied on the palate, but the grape is often blended with Shiraz to confer its enticing aromatic sheen - they are related, after all. : Domaine du Chne, Condrieu.

12.01.2022 1988 Krug Vintage Brut: The House of Krug near Reims was one of the first of Champagnes wine houses to adopt the approach of blending a given vintages wine output with reserve vintages from previous years in order to create the "most generous expression of Champagne [...] regardless of annual variations in climate." Every year they set out to produce two Champagnes: one with this Non-Vintage (NV) approach, and the other with opposite aim - to best exemplify that year...s unique climatic character. Every Vintage is a snapshot of the Champagne region in that year, enhanced by a stay of over ten years in their cellars. The 1988 is a beautiful Champagne of extreme elegance and refinement with perfect roundness and length, and would be a prized possession of any Champagne fan and collector. On the nose, the 1988 vintage consists of "white fruits, truffle, spices, honey, slightly browned apples and a hint of high-toned flowers, with a gentle nuttiness in the background. With a long, fresh and elegant palate, it is full of sensations: orange blossom, dried figs, ripe quince, mild spices such as cinnamon and ginger."

12.01.2022 Ah, if only bottles were bottomless IRL...

11.01.2022 Getting cozy for a nice #weekend at home : Pexels/Taryn Elliott

10.01.2022 Mendoza, Argentina: Argentinas principal wine region, Mendoza is both picturesque and prolific: nearly two-thirds of the countrys wine is produced here in the shadow of the distinguished Mt. Aconcagua. Almost 80% of wine out of Mendoza comes from the regions reputable Malbec. Imported from France in 1868 and soon taking over Mendozas vineyards, the high-altitude, arid terroir suits the grape perfectly, though the region also produces Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Syrah, Tempranillo, Chenin and various other grapes. Many wineries in the region offer tastings by booking or drop-in. : Wines of Argentina

10.01.2022 2018 Coriole Willunga 1920 Shiraz: The result of almost a full century of careful vine custodianship, this refined McLaren Vale Shiraz offers a uniquely tantalising taste of Australian old vine complexity. Grown in a two acre vineyard planted in 1920 in the foothills of Willunga, and produced in the the deep, gravelly loam of the area give this wine a suppleness that differentiates it from other McLaren Vale Shiraz. The exceptional 2018 vintage saw Coriole elevating this wine... to its Reserve range, a testament to the wine's quality in the eyes of its creators. "Deep and dark purple colour in the glass. Cherry Ripe aromatics of dark chocolate and ripe berry fruit. Oak is toasty. Graphite and licorice add earthy charm. Gently round when sipped, an initial burst of mulberry fruit channels quickly into lovely, lifted red cherry acidity. Modern and lively. Loads of length. Kudos. 96 points" -- Nick Butler, The Real Review

09.01.2022 In order to extract the maximum flavour and richness from your wine, its vital that it is stored in a climate-controlled environment. Poorly stored wines may not retain their original freshness and will most likely develop faster and less predictably than bottles that have enjoyed a constant, steady maturation process in a temperature-controlled cellar. Every Pentridge Cellar is equipped with cutting-edge climate control technology to ensure the optimal environment for your wines both young and old so you can focus more on enjoying them. Learn more: https://bit.ly/pentridgecellars

09.01.2022 World Class Cellars: Wander through Calistoga in the Napa Valley in search of wine and you just might stumble across an anachronism of epic proportions. Taking over 15 years to build, the Castello di Amorosa is a grandiose, 13th-century-Tuscany-inspired castle-cum-winery designed by Dario Sattui. Sprawling over 121,000 square feet with five defensive towers, 1,000-pound hand-hewn doors from Italy, eight levels, and 107 rooms (95 of which are devoted to winemaking), the Castello also boasts a church, drawbridge, courtyard, watchtower, torture chamber, and secret passageways. 15 types of wine are produced here, and visitors can choose from a number of different visiting packages including a VIP $20,000 per-couple tour that offers a private chef, photographer, a barrel of Cabernet Sauvignon, limo transport, and a key to the castle.

08.01.2022 #weekend by Olya Kobruseva from Pexels

08.01.2022 World Class Cellars: The Victory Hotel, SA. Stop by this historic McLaren Vale pub nestled among the vineyards for a classic fish-and-chips or chicken parmy lunch, but be sure to reserve a table in the Hotels wine cellar if you fancy something a little more Bacchanalian for dinner. Boasting over 8000 bottles from the best of local and overseas wineries (including the revered Penfolds Grange), this uniquely equipped cellar will have you wining and dining among the very bottles youll be choosing from. Fans of Clare Valleys very own Wendouree winery will be particularly excited by the Hotels 1000-bottle-strong dedicated collection of Wendouree reds, including some of their rarest. Another destination to add to our post-lockdown road trip

08.01.2022 dArenberg The Dead Arm Shiraz (McLaren Vale): The name for this wine is often joked about. Some thought the wine to be so big and heavy that your arm hardly worked after consuming a reasonable amount. The truth, however, is a little more prosaic: Dead Arm is a vine disease caused by the fungus Eutypa Lata that randomly affects vineyards all over the world. One half, or an arm of the vine slowly becomes reduced to dead wood. Often, vines affected are severely pruned or re...planted, but while one side may be lifeless and brittle, the grapes on the other side display amazing intensity. "Very deep red colour, still with purple tints and no brick-red. Starting to mellow nicely, but still quite youthful with earth, olive, mint leaf aromas contributing to a great fragrance. Multi-faceted! Superbly fleshy intensity and length. This has elegance as well as grunt!" - Huon Hooke

08.01.2022 Thinking of downsizing? Worried about where youre going to put your prized wine collection? With a private Pentridge Cellar your collection is safely housed in the perfect environment - with 24/7 secure access. Plus, if you dont want to leave the comfort of your new apartment, our concierge delivers to your door. We promise you wont miss the climb down to your basement one bit. DM us to learn more. Learn more: https://bit.ly/pentridgecellars

07.01.2022 Cellar Secrets: While we will be the first to rave about the value of good quality cellaring, there is a time and a place for everything. Some of our favourite drinking experiences have come out of careful, decades-long cellaring, but not all wine is born to spend so much time inside. Cellaring imparts an unmatched depth of character on wines that are produced to benefit from it, however wines made to be opened young offer an equally exciting and engaging flavour profile. Food pairings and reasons for opening also come into the equation, so make sure youre not neglecting the youthful wines in your collection - ready to enjoy at any time, without having to wait 20 years.

07.01.2022 1976 Penfolds Grange: In 1976, Tooth & Co - a Sydney brewer who owned and operated the Kent Brewery (now Irving Street Brewery) on Broadway - ended 3 generations of family control when it took over Penfolds winery. That years flagship Grange Hermitage was the first to be overseen by Don Ditter, who took the reins from Max Schubert. The resulting wine is both powerful in taste as well as symbolism: it represents the turn of a new era in Penfolds history and is a coveted collectable. "Rich, dark hue. Sweet, leathery, meaty, honey and plum bouquet. A monumental wine, grippingly tannic, dense and concentrated. Very long term. One of the biggest post-Schubert wines, needing food." -- Huon Hooke, 1993

06.01.2022 Achaval Ferrer Finca Mirador Malbec 2011: 700 metres above sea level in Maips Medrano district lies Finca Mirador: a 6 ha parcel of 99-year-old, ungrafted Malbec under the exacting care of Achaval Ferrer. Except when struck by natural disaster - the winery refuses to implement hail nets as it interferes with the grapes maturation - the soon-to-be-centenarian vines produce an international paragon of Mendoza Malbec, well deserving of a loving cellar to develop even further. "The wine shows amazingly plush cherries and plums, tangy cassis richness and a streak of graphite minerality running through it. Age has added some rarified tobacco and espresso character, making for complex and opulent drinking." -- Vinomofo. 96 Wine Spectator; 93 James Suckling; 92 Wine Advocate.

05.01.2022 Napa Valley, California: The Napa Valley is a viticultural hotspot for legendary American wines. Best known for its Cabernet - making up 40 percent of the regions annual harvest by volume and 60 percent by value - the diverse microclimates within its semi-mediterranean terroir allow Chardonnay, Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir, and Zinfandel (among others) to excel. It is also a literal hotspot - tectonic and volcanic activity over millions of years bestowed the area with... extremely rich and varied soil, and various marine incursions (when rising seas brought oceans inland) have deposited layers of clays and sediment across the valley. To top it all off, the valley has its very own Wine Train: a guided tour by track through the base of valley, making stops at many of the regions most famous wineries, all while serving wines whose vines lie right outside the window. : napavalley.com See more

05.01.2022 McLaren Vale: Situated between the rolling Mount Lofty Ranges and Gulf St Vincent beaches, McLaren Vale offers a smorgasbord of fine wine, food, art and nature. Boasting some of the worlds oldest grape vines, McLaren Vale is best known for its Shiraz but also excels in the production of ultra-premium Grenache and Cabernet. The regions famous dArenberg Cube offers more than just an architecturally interesting cellar door: browse its Museum of Alternate Realities, an art gallery, virtual fermenter and tasting room. Photo: dArenberg

05.01.2022 2018 Alasia Moscato dAsti DOCG: Belonging to the 230-grower-strong wine co-operative Araldica, Alasia wines are the top cuves, chosen from some of the best vineyards around the Asti area of Piedmont. Their Moscato dAsti DOCG is one of the finest examples of the sweet sparkling white, with aromas of honey, flowers and fresh grapes on the nose and flavours of grapes and citrus on the palate. "Low in alcohol, impossibly heady and delicious drinking, the Alasia is the essence of pure, authentic Moscato dAsti with its crisp, slightly off-dry palate and intense aromatics profile." -- Grays Online

04.01.2022 World Class Cellars: The Cave, Palmaz Vineyards, California. Its not iron bars that keep the wine in Palmaz Vineyards high-tech cellar secure - instead, the 10,000m, 18-storey cavern is protected by the rocky walls of Napa Valleys Mount George. Sporting sophisticated fermentation monitoring technology (the data from which is projected onto the roof, spy-movie style) and natural climate control, The Cave is a meticulously designed maze that houses wine at all stages of vinification. Talk about evil wine lair! You can own your own world class cellar too! Learn more here: https://bit.ly/pentridgecellars

04.01.2022 Domaine Zind Humbrecht Heimbourg Selection de Grains Nobles 1994: A masterfully produced wine with an extremely limited bottling, the Domaine Zind Humbrechts Alsace Tokay-Pinot Gris is the pinnacle of collectable. Robert Parker says it best: "I tasted three 1994 Selection de Grains Nobles wines from Zind-Humbrecht. These wines are made in frightfully tiny quantities, and are so rich that they make Chateau dYquem look like an under-nourished wine. Truly the stuff of legends,... these SGN possess 15%-18% residual sugar. All three will age for 40-50 years, but will anyone wait that long? They are "off the charts" in terms of flavor extraction, balance, quality, and the lavish quantity of extract and intensity they possess. The 1994 Tokay-Pinot Gris Heimbourg SGN (99; $375.00) is one of the most remarkable, decadently sweet wines I have ever tasted. I will say no more since only a handful of bottles are available. All three wines possess remarkable acidity, which gives them blazingly clear definition - amazing in view of their out of this world extract levels." -- 99 Points Robert Parker (Robert Parker Wine Advocate) See more

03.01.2022 More wine than space? Forget the wine racks in different rooms of the house or quelle horreur in the attic! House your valuable wine collection on your own bespoke Pentridge Cellar safely stored within the cool bluestone walls and fitted with cutting-edge climate control technology. And because wine cellars should be as unique as their collectors, our designers work closely with you to personalise your plans, fitting your cellar with customised ambient lighting and tailor-made racks for up to 2,000 bottles making your cellar not just wine storage, but an experience. LEARN MORE: https://bit.ly/pentridgecellars

03.01.2022 In The Vines: A household name, Champagne has a reputation for being a premier producer of top-shelf sparkling white wine. But did you know that the region produces predominantly red grapes? Chardonnay vines make up less than 30% of Champagnes 34,000 ha of vineyards planted across the region, while Pinot Noir is planted on almost 40% of Champagnes wine-producing soil. The regions third main variety, comprising roughly a third of its production, is Pinot Meunier: a fruitier, earlier-maturing relative of Pinot Noir. Spring frosts and poor weather at flowering can result in widely varying outputs from Champagnes vineyards, and this - in addition to the strict rules around the method through which the wine is produced - is one of the reasons why Champagne is often a blend of many grapes and vintages. : VisitFrenchWine

02.01.2022 While Sicily has been producing wine since ancient times, it has emerged as an innovator in wine making especially using modernised organic and biodynamic practices. The results are some incredible wines, both white and red, grown at altitudes of nearly 11,000 feet in the black volcanic soil. Wines grown at the base of Mount Etna are gaining international acclaim drawing comparisons to Barolo, Barbaresco and Burgundy. The unique terroir or the sun, the volcanic soil, the hills and the sea breeze contribute to some of our favourite wines, with a steady collection building in our Pentridge Cellar.

01.01.2022 Piedmonte, Italy: Famous for its perennially age-worthy Barolo DOCG, Piedmonte has much more to offer than the cellar favourite. Situated in the north of Italy and bordered by the stunning Alps as well as the gentle slopes of Apennines, the unique climate of the region allows for some truly exceptional viticulture. Diurnal temperature fluctuations brought by the frigid Alps in the north and the temperate Mediterranean to the south give the area an immense variety in regional ...growing -- Piedmonte boasts a staggering 42 Denominazione di Origine Controllata (DOC) and 17 Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita (DOCG). Nebbiolo, Barbera and Dolcetto make up the majority of the regions red grapes, but Moscato, Cortese, Arneis and many others are also produced. : Monferrato in the Apennines with the Alps in the distance. Photo by Stefano Pertusati (iv Flickr CC)

01.01.2022 A true Australian heavyweight, the prestigious Clonakilla winery has risen to international renown in just a few short decades. Enduring a hailstorm early in the year, the winerys 2018 output of their flagship Shiraz Viognier presents a wine of battle-forged intensity and precision. A lower than average crop resulted in opulent aromas of roses, violets and layered spices, and perfectly formed tannins frame complex fruit flavours across the palate. "This 2018 may well be the best shiraz released in Australia this yearIts a superb release its the definition of seamless. We are looking at an ultra-long-term wine here, deserving of prime space in the best of cellars. Campbell Mattinson

01.01.2022 Nero d'Avola ("Black of Avola") lies at the heart of Sicily's claim to wine fame. The deep indigo grape shows itself across much of Sicily's famous vineyards and it thrives on Sicily's arid, Mediterranean heat and large diurnal swings. It iss responsible for many of the region's highest-profile exports, including its only DOCG, Cerasuolo di Vittoria. The higher-end wines made with the dark, robust varietal have the ability to gain rich complexity - especially those that have spent some time in oak - however most are at their best in their early years. Nero d’Avola has spread well beyond its Sicilian home and is currently produced in wine growing regions of California, Malta, and Turkey, and is grown in more than 55 vineyards across Australia, its affinity for warmer climates shining through. : Beviamo