Bodega Alion caused quite a stir when it was inaugurally released. Aficionados of the mother winery Vega Sicilia's established style rejected the more modern, newly oaked, wider Ribera Del Duero delineation of Alion. It has since become a regional classic.

$62999each $7559DOZEN EACH DOZEN Bodega Alion lies at the heart of the Ribera de Duero Denominacion de Origen. Tempranillo is sourced off blocks adjacent to the wineworks, eighty five hectares in total, and a further fifty hectares dedicted to Alion within the historic mother company Vega Sicilia's properties at Valbuena. Vines are planted to chalk dominated, minerals rich topsoils over water retaining schist bedrocks, the same structures found under the finest Port vineyards further down the Duero. Fruit is treated to a traditional vinification and malolactic in steel vats. The following January, Alion is transfered to a selection of new French Nevers oak barrels for a year's maturation and a further twelve months ageing in bottle under the estate cellars.

A bright deep red colour with streaks of violet. Full and elegant nose, a wide range of aromas, vanilla, ripe fruits, syrup and compotes. The palate is opulent and elegant with harmonious tannins providing a subtle backbone. Great aromatic persistence in the mouth, the tannins will support at least ten years ageing.

Crafted at the Finca Constancia wineworks near Otero in the province of Toledo, a Media crianza pure varietal wine that's well suited to the Australian palate. Gourmet Traveler has distinguished Altozano with a string of rave reviews and a huge 94 point rating in a blind line up of Spanish and Aussie Tempranillos. A silky smooth table red with a taste of chocolate and dark cherries, a touch of spice. Friendly to food and highly approachable. Perfect balance is achieved after a spell of oak barrel, which has served to tame the lascivious fruit.

$1999each $239DOZEN EACH DOZEN Finca Constancia retains two hundred acres of vineyard in the best winegrowing regions of Spain. Designed by architect Gonzalo Tello, the Bodegas is of ultra modern design, oriented to produce quality wines through the most cutting edge technologies, fully integrated into the landscape where it is located. The wide variety of soils to be found within the vineyards enable a range of nuances to be assembled into a Tempranillo of extraordinary complexity and richness. Following the harvest, grapes are treated to several days of cold soak, inoculated for primary and malolatic ferments, followed by a short term of maturation in a combination of of 225 and 500 litre French and American oaks.

$2599each $311DOZEN EACH DOZEN

A mix of Temparanillo, Grenache and Mazuelo, from Rioja D.O.C. along Ebro River. Bodegas Age was established in 1881 from the legacy of three ancient family cellars with a long tradition of winemaking. Their distinguished origins are there to be seen in the ancient wineworks of Don Felix de Azpilicueta and in the bodega's paradise, where bottles of the earliest wines are still cellared. The estate remains family owned and operated, the traditional winemaking has ensured Siglo endures as an international ambassador of Bodegas Age.

$2999each $359DOZEN EACH DOZEN Rioja Alta is the one place on earth where the Tempranillo grape grows to its full potentials of aroma and taste sensations. Bodega Age is situated right at the heart of Rioja Alta, 500 hectares of closely husbanded mature vines. Batches of Temparanillo, Grenache and Mazuelo are destemmed and crushed, followed by one week's fermentation at temperatures between 25C and 28C. During this time, macerations and continuous pumpovers help to extract the maximum colour, flavour and tannins. Racked after fermentation to remove sedimentery lees at the bottom of vats, transferred into 225 litres American oak casks for a year, bottled and aged for a further term under the bodega cellars for several months.

Bright, garnet red with purple hues. Fruity nose, cherries and bay leaf characters, complexed by notes of toasty vanilla oak, cocoa and spice after a year under oak. The palate is structured, elegant and persistent, elegant and velvety smooth, full of dark bramble and savoury olive flavours, supported by delicate tannins. A match to succulent roasted meats, gourmandise game recipes or fine, ripe cheese.

A pure Tinto Fino (Tempranillo) wine from vineyards adjacent the Bodega Alion wineworks and from mother company Vega Sicilia's own estate properties at Valbuena. Alion is crafted in the modern Bordeaux cru classe style, using up to date equipment and lots of new French oak.

$26999each $3239DOZEN EACH DOZEN Bodega Alion caused quite a stir when it was inaugurally released. Aficionados of the mother winery Vega Sicilia's established style rejected the more modern, newly oaked, wider Ribera Del Duero delineation of Alion. It has since become a regional classic. Vines are planted to chalk dominated, minerals rich topsoils over water retaining schist bedrocks, the same structures found under the finest Port vineyards further down the Duero. Fruit is treated to a traditional vinification and malolactic in steel vats. The following January, Alion is transfered to a selection of new French Nevers oak barrels for a year's maturation and a further twelve months ageing in bottle under the estate cellars.

Bright deep red colour with streaks of violet. Full and elegant nose, a wide range of aromas, vanilla, ripe fruits, syrup and compotes. Good intensity of spicy, gamey fruit, showing chocolate, red and black berries plus a note of soy sauce. The palate is opulent and elegant with harmonious tannins providing a subtle backbone. Great aromatic persistence in the mouth, the tannins will support at least ten years ageing.

An exclusively Tempranillo wine, Bodega Alion caused a great stir amongst the industry press after their inaugural release. Fruit is collated from the most splendid vineyards along Ribera Del Duero, treated to a traditional, old world vinification, followed by a term of extravagant new oak maturation and a year or more in the stillness of the bottle before release. A refined Spaniard of the most opulent and intense character, a complex and well fleshed wine, distinguished by its elegance, seamlessness and remarkable structure.

$18999each $2279DOZEN EACH DOZEN Parcels of Tinto Fino (Tempranillo) are picked off vines twenty five to thirty years of age. Fruit is sourced from vineyards adjacent the Bodega Alion wineworks and from mother company Vega Sicilia's own estate properties at Valbuena. Hand picked grapes are placed into wooden crates and poured over a sorting table. Alion is crafted in the modern Bordeaux cru classe style, employing modern facilities and lots of new oak. Grapes are treated to a traditional vinification and malolactic in open vats. During the January following vintage, Alion is transfered to a selection of new French Bordeaux coopered oak barrels for a year's maturation, bottling and a further year of age under the estate cellars.

Ruby red, violet hues. Clean, fruit and floral bouquet, a wine in pure condition. Powerful entrance, full palate, exhibiting outstanding balance between acid and fruit, tannins and oak, the presence of Tempranillo varietal character remains prominent. The essential elegance of the Alion style dominates the long, persistent finish.

$2799each $335DOZEN EACH DOZEN

From hand picked parcels of Tempranillo grapes, grown to traditionally managed Vaso vineyards on the ancient viticultural precincts of El Pego and Villanueva de Campean within the province of Zamora. An elegant nose of fresh fruit bouquets, berries and varietal leaf, minarets of turkish coffee and exotic roasted spice. Rich and muscular palate of blueberry and dark fruits confiture, offering racy graphite and espresso notes, supported by piquant licorice tannins and a thinly veiled hint of oak, before a ripe finish of chocolate and freshly milled spice.

$2799each $335DOZEN EACH DOZEN

Dedication to the revival and husbandry of wayward old vineyards are essential to the wines of Bodegas Tridente. There are some forty evocative and inspiring parcels of Tempranillo throughout Castilla y León which contribute fruit, all are superior, Rejón is the oldest and most distinguished, 130 years of age near the hamlet of El Pego. The precious grapes are all hand sorted and hand picked, the best bunches are fermented in small traditional vats and filled to the finest French oak barriques for an extended term of twenty months maturation.

$7699each $923DOZEN EACH DOZEN

Garnet cherry red. Intensely complex nose, black fruits, dark currants and plum, savoury elements, old spice and mineral notes. A textural, creamy palate of refinement and graceful fruit characters, ripe sweet currants and fleshy, black pommes flavours, fleshy, layered and evolving, its elegant structure and taught framework of oak tannins in support of a poerful, long and lingering finish.

Juan Gil Familiares are a company of small independent estates, specializing in vintages of artisanally crafted, limited release wines. Membership is by invitation only, a bespoke club of vignerons, committed to the restoration of precious old sites which may otherwise be unviable. From limited harvests of old and very old vines Tempranillo, some over a century of age, grown to the Zamora precincts of El Pego and Villanueva de Campeán, a powerful wine of intense savoury complexity, layers of bramble fruit flavours, judicious tannins and charming old world oak.

$3999each $479DOZEN EACH DOZEN

Viscous purple red. Darkly aromatic nose of black fruits and toasty oak, the savouryness of balsamic and graphite, incense and pot pourri. Intense palate of brambleberry, bay leaves and moist black olive, mullberries and cola oak, supported by ripe, chamois tannins, before a finish of burst grape acidity and sweet, dulcetly aromatic vanilla oak. Drinks beautifully with all good fare.

It's a bit of an enduring truism along the banks of Bremer River, that you need double letters in your name to qualify as a Langhorne Creek winemaker. Viz the Willson sisters, the Messrs Potts and Blass. Outstanding quality fruit and excellence in the art of vinification are essential too. The Willson family had been selling their grapes to the nation's most conspicuous brands, before they took the plunge to retain the best of harvest for their own label. Graciano is oft blended with suave and stylish Tempranillo, to fashion the most engaging and topical wines in Rioja.

$2399each $287DOZEN EACH DOZEN Bremerton take their oak program very seriously, employing the best coopered 220 litre barriques to ensure a subtle and complementary influence of oak. The Willsons have been grapegrowers in Langhorne Creek for some considerable time but it wasn't until young Rebecca grabbed the reins to process and label her own fruit that the family name became synonymous with superlative Langhorne Creek wines. Following vinification in small batch open top fermenters and a judicious maturation in a selection of the finest oak barriques, components are assembled to define the brave synergy between Graciano and Tempranillo, without masking the distinctive character of Langhorne Creek.

$2499each $299DOZEN EACH DOZEN