What to drink this summer

A brilliant cool climate Shiraz from the By Farr team in 2019. Bright and fresh with sappy berries alongside some riper black fruit. There’s some black pepper and earthiness and a silky texture.

This Grenache is produced by Marco Cirillo from two 100+ year old vineyards from the renowned Barossa Valley. Full of rich fruit and spice, the palate is generous with intense and classically Grenache characteristics. It’s smooth, rounded, and generous with fantastic texture from 12 months maturing in old foudres. A true bargain, this is a wine that can be enjoyed now, or well into the future.

Ben Glaetzer balances bright freshness with powerful ripe black fruit in this Shiraz and Cabernet blend from the northern end of the Barossa Valley. It has a lovely herbal lift on the nose, with vanilla and chocolate complexity giving richness to this serious generous wine.

This comes from an historic, low-yielding 16-hectare site. The Mount Edelstone vineyard is home to dry-grown, ungrafted centenarian vines which sit on ancient soils at 400 metres above sea level. The wine is matured in 80% French and 20% American hogsheads (19% new, 81% seasoned) for 18 months prior to blending and bottling, after which the wine ages for a further three years before release. The 2016 is astonishing in its purity and complexity. There’s such remarkable length here, with a savoury, saline finish that lasts for minutes. A tour de force. Bravo.