The Adelaide Hills are raising their profile in the Sauvignon Blanc fashion sweepstakes each year, a sampling of the fresh crisp whites from this region tells why. Some of the most highly prized, award winning Sauv blancs are coming out of the Adelaide Hills, some very exciting, new local wineries are blitzing the competitions. We've discovered an early drinking cleanskin that offers clean and racy varietal fruit, is extremely well balanced with distinctive regionality and titillating acidity, while displaying fine length and a well rounded finish

$999each $11988/DOZ EACH DOZEN Originally destined to be labelled and branded by a notable Adelaide Hills estate. Sourced from good vineyards near Birdwood, the grapes were harvested at night to enhance flavour and minimise oxidation. The wine was fermented over a period of twenty days at a cool temperature (12-14°C) to assist development of the distinguishable Adelaide Hills characters. Ripe tropical fruits, which give the palate depth, are complemented by a persistent and lively texture by virtue of some stringent parcel selection prior to harvest. The individual parcels were trialled and tested, the final cuvée was determined, and the wines most worthy were assembled into the finished wine. Approx 12.5%

Bright straw with distinct green edges. Intense aromas, snow pea and green bean, tomatoey, a lively herbaceousness, ripe nuances of guava, citrus and sherbet. The clean and pure succulent fruit and vegetables continue onto the palate. There's an appley acidity, gooseberries and apple dominate the palate, there's a touch of minerality, thick and juicy, the wine develops as it rolls around, exhibiting complex herbal tones over a core of luscious thick fruit flavours. Seamless placement between the steely tang of it's citrus- like acidity and tightly knit fruit, good lineal structure, delivering on time and in full. This fresh and delightful wine has good texture and marvelous long flavours, steely yet herbal, tropical clean and pleasant

Crafted specifically to complement fine food, nature has played a big part in contributing to the flavour profile of this classically dry, decidedly fruit driven wine. Sourced from good growers in the Adelaide Hills, the focus being to create a wine with good varietal definition, a lingering palate and lovely clean finish. Minimally handled to retain and expose the vibrancy of fruit, components from the warmer slopes contributes generous flavours. The addition of parcels from slower ripening sites imparts balance and length to the finished wine

$799each $9588/DOZ EACH DOZEN The cooler climes of the Adelaide Hills are heaven sent for slowly ripening fruit and making distinctive wines. It is here that John Barton Hack produced his first vintage in 1843, a case of which found it's way to Queen Victoria. Wildly fluctuating terroirs and higher elevations are the key to the finesse and complex characters. A maze of valleys and sub-valleys offer slopes of every aspect, there is as much variation here as one can find anywhere. The soils are of low to moderate fertility, innately suited to viticulture. Seventy kilometres of choice winegrowing terrain produces some of the best whites in Australia, fresh and fragrant, crisp and food friendly with fine structure and distinctively quenching acidity

Pale straw in colour with fresh green hues. Lifted aromas of vegetal and nectarine are complexed by luscious perfumes of aromatic oils and dried floral. Well integrated flavours and great intensity. Apple and nashi are accompanied by the tell-tale tang of regional acidity. Minerality and good fruit, a feel that's creamy and yoghurt-like, lashings of citrus develop along with characters of pith and confection, marmalade and lemon preserve. The palate is soft and food friendly from start to finish, as it closes toward a clean, refreshing finish. Drinking well now, ripe and ready to enjoy, or put it away in a good cellar for a couple of years. Perfect with creamy chicken dishes and rich seafood such as crab or crayfish

A beauty of a wine in a style that suits the Barossa well. A third of Shiraz provides the framework but a solid backbone of Barossa Cabernet makes it outstanding. Already exhibiting the endowments of bottle age and development, showing the complexity achieved from maturation in a selection of French oak barrels, seasoned and new. A wonderfully long palate by virtue of the quality fruit from choice Barossa vineyards. The bouquet is rich, sweet and complex with a hint of vanilla oak, a palate that delivers, smooth, soft tannins that seem to go on forever

$1250each $150DOZEN EACH DOZEN No ordinary cleanskin. The winemaker spends his time rebuilding old vineyards, planting new ones and making good wine. He hand prunes and picks the fruit, ferments, presses and labels with his own hands. After years of maturation under the estate cellars, it’s showing real bottle age and is drinking beautifully. A rich Barossa wine, traditionally vinifed from small parcels of select, superior vineyard fruit, earmarked on the basis of the highest quality, to be fashioned into a stately Cabernet Shiraz. Crafted by an artisanal Barossa winemaker, treated to a no expenses spared vinification which includes painstaking traditional handling techniques to ensure that only the softest of tannins are extracted. Alcohol 14.5%

An intense, deep brick red colour with dark robes. Bouquet of rich blackberry with raspberry overtones balanced by spice, clove and smoky vanillin oak. Many splendid layers of concentrated and complex fruit, accentuated by sweetness and earthy qualities, are the wine's signature. The palate of this powerful Cabernet Shiraz is long and complex, tightly knit and persistent, with a finish of fine and seductive, lingering earthy tannins. The structure and concentration presage longevity, greatly rewarding those who appreciate cellared wine. This is an immensely satisfying drink today, but enthusiasts should avail themselves of quantity, as the structure and intensity indicates potential to develop beautifully

Coonawarra Cabernet has established itself as a true genre of Australian wines. The vibrant Terra rossa soils which lie under tiny Coonawarra's superlative vineyards, impart powerful flavours and magnificent richness to the finished wine. This unlabelled offering exudes the characteristic blackberry and currant highlights which distinguish the noble Cabernet, accompanied by the spicey vanillan expressions which are the hallmarks of good oak. Excellent value, which in less bountiful years would be branded with the winemaker's label

$999each $11988/DOZ EACH DOZEN Generations of devoted winegrowing families have tended the precious vineyards which yield the noble Coonawarra Cabernet. Through successive vintages, the winemaking techniques have developed into an art and a science, uniquely targeted at maintaining this bulwark of Australian red winestyles. Experience and skill has been successfully brought to bear on this cleanskin red, a full flavoured palate, finely balanced, framed by assertive tannins and well integrated oak. Ready for enjoyment now after a spell of bottle ageing, this flavoursome red is a hearty accompaniement to grilled steaks and robust cuisines. Treated to maturation under a combination of fine oak barriques

Dark red purple colour. Rich plum and blackcurrant bouquets with some peppery and licorice hints. Characters of bramble and tobacco leaf, mocha with chocolate, violet and mint. Berry fruit flavours persist on the palate, a firm yet pliant tannin backbone serves to support and embellish the fruit. There are further complexities of five spice and soft, pencilled cedary characters that dwell into the lingering finish. Oak maturation has added vanillan and cocoa characters. A varietally expressive, highly regional Cabernet Sauvignon, it may be a cleanskin but the quality of Coonawarra fruit, and skill at vinification, distinguishes this wine and places it squarely in the best value category

The higher altitudes of the King Valley yield some of the finest, slowly ripened wine grapes. Spring runoffs and retentive soils nourish the vines and stimulate the fruit to achieve maximum flavour profiles. Good canopy management is essential to defend the fruit against native fauna and extremes in weather. The fully ripened grapes are quite often the secret ingredient in many of Victoria's most cherished wines. Here's a bottle aged, fully aproachable Merlot wine that never quite made it to labelling, superb value and drinking beautifully

$999each $11988/DOZ EACH DOZEN The King Valley made the transition from tobacco farming to producing world class vintages, and the nuances of sweet tobacco leaves are sometimes still present on the nose and palate of the finished wine. Fruit picking is carried out on different days to a schedule determined by the vines as the separate parcels ripen. Grapes are picked when fully physiologically ripe to obtain peak varietal expressions and regionality in terms of flavour profiles and tannins, natural sugars and balanced acidity. Following the crush, the must is inoculated and vinified in a combination of traditional and modern fermenters before being treated to maturation in a mix of fine grain oak barrels

Brick red in colour. Displays complex berry fruit on the nose and palate, cherry and currant, figs and date, strawberry and plum with hints of sweet and supple, aromatic vanilla/ spice oak. The nose is dominated by the riper characters of juicy berry fruit while the tongue is coated by darker, chocolate and coffee, sticky date pudding, bramble and licorice winegum expressions. A handsomely developed Merlot wine, a touch herbaceous with mint and sweet tobacco, leather and pepper. The wine has a supple mouthfeel and great length, delivering excellent balance between the ripe, complimentery tannins, creamy spiced oak, divine plummy fruit and light, cleansing acids

Here's an exciting King Valley red that offers a broad array of fragrant aromas and lively tannins, a mouthfilling assembly of Merlot and Sangiovese grown to cool climate, high country vines. An engaging red with a seamless palate and distinctive Italianate stylishness to savour with all good food, exhibiting many of the savoury spice and plum characters of the lofty Tuscans. There are dark fruits and peppery flavours, wrapped in subtle toasty oak, the tannins are brisk, the palate is long, fully integrated yet complex, the acids drying and invigorating

$999each $11988/DOZ EACH DOZEN Grapes are harvested from good vineyards which enjoy the nourishing spring rain runoffs of the high country, and are carefully tended by the most dedicated growers. The King Valley is generally classified as a cool climate, slow ripening region, the vignerons often call on their continental heritage to adapt the alpine vineyard management techniques to husband some of Australia's healthiest vines. Soils are replenished by spring rains, the grapes are encouraged by the slow ripening conditions to develop intense characters of plum and spice, with supportive tannins and an equitable balance between natural fruit sugars and refreshing acidity

Deep, bright red with a dark centre. Rich, complex aromas of scented fruit, the sweetness of raspberry and the savoury of soy, fruit driven, alluring and poised, with a central core of plum, mocha and spice, underpinned by hints of bouquet garni and dusty cedar. Whiffs of cherry and stonefruit, offset by compotes and lifted berry characters, the ground black pepper and fine, spiced oak. On the palate are notes of herbs and mint, pepper, blood plum and black cherry, fruit driven and distinctively King Valley. A fully developed and satisfyingly complex, well integrated Merlot Sangiovese, an excellent partner to braised dishes or barbequed meats, gourmet sausage, lasagna or ripe, flavoursome cheese

King Valley is the source of some of Australia's most conspicuous Pinot Grigio. The descendants of Italian migrants seem to have retained their traditional flair and intimate understanding of this splendid style of pure varietal wine. Here we have a generously flavoured Grigio crafted by one of the King Valley's baronial winemaking estates, recently assigned a breathtaking Five Star rating by gentleman James Halliday. The palate is clean and crisp with a luxurious minerality supporting all the requisite mix of ripe pear, apple and nut characters

$899each $10788/DOZ EACH DOZEN One of the best values in fine Pinot Grigio wines to be found anywhere, it's recognizable cool climate King Valley regionality and vivacity of fruit make it as personable as the cheerful winemaking team who husbanded the vines and affected the vinification. Minimalist handling techniques and exacting standards of viticulture have achieved a fully integrated Grigio wine with distinctive varietal fruit, ample complexity and cleansing finish. Pinot Grigio is particularly well suited to the mesoclimes of the King Valley vineyards. The varietal was originally discovered by monks in France, its popularity soon spread to Italy, where it continues to be crafted into the stylish wines of the Friuli region

Light straw with green edges. Lovely nose of white peaches and honeydew, delicate lemon and lime aromas. Crisp and invigorating on the palate with distinctive pungent honey and hay characters, offering rich mouthfeel, quenching minerality and resplendent acid in fine balance. "Pinot Grigio is so very well suited to the higher altitudes of the King Valley where the slow ripening climes infuse the grapes with luscious orchard fruit characters, ripe citrus, dandy florals and hints of vegetal which can conjure up idyllic impressions of pasture and countryside. This immensely satisfying effort is full, round and rich, offering multi-layers of fruit, creamy textures before a gorgeous, flavoursome finish!" -Winegun.com

King Valley Riesling is grown to vineyards at higher altitudes which slowly ripen the grapes and develop distinctive characters. The variations from one vintage to the next, particularly relevant to cool climate whites, contributes to the unique balance between fruit and crunchy acidity. This unbranded Riesling exhibits the trademarks of a well crafted estate grown wine. An excellent palate of taught citrus and lime, creamy pavlova and peach, the expressions of a premier site and the polish of a skilled winemaking team

$799each $9588/DOZ EACH DOZEN Select parcels of fruit grown to good vineyards in Victoria's King Valley are the source. The growing seasons here are long and cool, greatly enhancing the aromaticness of white varietals, especially the Riesling. The long and cool ripening periods greatly enhance the flavours in the grapes, concentrating the fruit and developing fine natural acidity. The grapes were gently pressed and cold fermented with specially selected yeasts, to ensure the retention of varietal characteristic and palate texture. A combination of traditional and modern winemaking techniques have yielded a satisfying Riesling that is drinking well today, and can be expected to develop handsomely

Colour is a pale straw with lime hues. Fragrances of stonefruit and limes, floral hints, beeswax and quince. Secondary impressions of honeysuckle and lemon, the blossoms of summer fruit and jasmine. A taught and fruit driven white wine showing delicate background florals and fresh minerality typical of fine Riesling. The palate is crisp and clean, with a steely acid backbone to the citrus and hints of vegetal. This cleanskin Riesling is elegant and generously flavoured, with a soft warm glow of appley acid that carries through to the finish. "Beautifully balanced with limes and green melon, funky floral notes, apple and cherry blossoms, all balanced by a clean and crisp acidity!" -RieslingRider.com

Great depth of flavours, fabulous wood treatment, lifted pepper and spicey complexities are the hallmarks of the Margaret River, a wine that has been recognized internationally for it's mating of world class vineyards with the noble grape variety. After generations of selfless care, the experienced W.A winemakers have fine tuned their vineyards into producing better and better everyday table reds. A harmonious bouquet and an exemplary palate for it's range, this selected 2005 cleanskin is extremely well balanced and delivers the expectations demanded of a good Cabernet blend.

$899each $10788/DOZ EACH DOZEN Since the earliest waves of Silesian migrant settlers, who recognized the complimentery climatic conditions and characters of soil, successive generations of Barossa winemakers have refined the vine growing techniques and developed a style of red that's flavoursome, satisfying and unique to Australia. The individual components of this 2005 Barossa Shiraz were fermented in static fermenters, regularly pumped over during the process with a peak of 28-29°C then reduced to 23-24°C. The wines were left to settle for about 7 days, then post malolactic fermentation again were racked. Alcohol 14.5% TAcidity 6.84g/L pH 3.55

Very dark ruby colour. Complex, fruit characters on the nose showing rich fruitcake and dark chocolate. A well Margaret River Cabernet Blend crafted from premium fruit, it shows rich fruit characters, ripe tannins, flavour concentration and great density. The palate is soft and concentrated with powerful fruit richness of raspberries, liquorice and tobacco. Smooth, mouth filling tannins and a gentle acidity lead to a soft, full finish with a nice touch of wood and good length.

Unlabelled Sauvignon Blanc by one of Marlborough's most reputable estates. In a unique and distinctively recognizable growing region such as Marlborough, the most critical work to produce beautiful wine must be done in the vineyard. There is no substitute for well balanced fruit and the maker here has clearly spent time amongst the vines applying the most exacting standards of viticulture right up until harvest. Portions were treated to a luxurious fermentation in oak barriques and puncheons, which contributes a supple undertone of smoky savouriness

$899each $10788/DOZ EACH DOZEN Summer in Marlborough started early and finished just before harvest, providing ideal growing conditions from flowering right through to the ripening of fruit. This achieved a wide variety of flavour profiles in the individual parcels, affording the winemaker a fortuitous opportunity to construct an engaging and complex Sauvignon Blanc. Numerous batches were fermented cold to preserve freshness and assembled to realize a well balanced, intense and textural wine. A number of portions were aged on lees and stirred to add richness and weight, others were racked early and filtered to accentuate the clean citrus. Treated to a small portion of barrel fermentation in a selection of new French oak barriques. Alcohol 12.5%

Pale straw colour. Rich tropical fruit aromas with a hint of white peach and pink grapefruit. Luscious palate with summer flavours of tropical fruits, white peach and grapefruit filling the palate with a lovely intensity. Exhibits layers of flavour ranging from the distinctive grass characters of Marlborough, right through to citrus, lemons and lime to tropical and grass at the other end of the spectrum. A wine of good acid balance, and great length, the palate is textural and complex, with a pleasant, finely textured mouthfeel, finishing long, revitalising and clean. A vivacious Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc to accompany summer seafood salad, the freshest grilled fishes, newly shucked oysters and scallops

Winner of 2 Trophies and 3 Gold medals. Traditionally vinifed from small parcels of select, superior vineyard fruit, treated to a no expenses spared vinification which includes the painstaking process of basket pressing to ensure that only the softest of tannins were extracted. "Big red, but a beautiful one. It smells of hay and tastes of asphalt, blackberries, ink and plums, and has a real-beaut, solid, muscular frame of tannin encasing it. Substance plus. It’s matured in all-French oak, and you could sum it up as a blockbuster but balanced!" -Winefront.com.au

$1499each $17988/DOZ EACH DOZEN John McLaren's report on the rich and extensive districts south of Adelaide was completed three years after proclamation in 1839. His team came across a wide valley that members of the party named McLaren's Vale. Parcels of the highest quality McLaren Vale Shiraz have been inoculated and vinified in small, open top fermenters, the cap was laboriously plunged to extract flavours. When the perfect balance between fruit, acid and tannins was achieved, the must was basket pressed, followed by a transfer into a combination of small American and French oak barriques for eighteen months maturation. Only those barrels meeting the most exacting standards were included into the finished wine

Deep magenta colour with bright purple hues. A complex array of primary fruit aromas including ripe plum, blueberry, dried herbs and dark chocolate. These combine harmoniously with a scent of spicy, lifted oak. The palate is dense and creamy whilst managing to retain the vibrancy and integrity of the superior quality of fruit. Blueberries and spice intermingle with chocolate to deliver upon the palate the promises of the bouquet. The restrained use of oak adds texture and sweetness while providing a firm structure of the finest mouth coating tannins. The wine grows as it breathes, developing characters of licorice, leather and tar, building complexity to achieve an experience of tremendous satisfaction

A luxury Chardonnay crafted at one of the Mclaren Vale's oldest operating wineries. Originally intended for labelling under one of Australia's most internationally recognized brands and destined for consumption by the most discerning Chardonnay enthusiasts. An intensely flavoured wine with a complex and engaging palate that belies its packaging and pricepoint, it carries the essential expression of premium McLaren Vale fruit, fashioned to an extravagant vinification and cellared at the winery for extended ageing and development

$999each $11988/DOZ EACH DOZEN An assemblage of Chardonnay grown to choice McLaren Vale vineyards which are the source to some of the region's most distinguished wines. Classic and traditional vinification techniques were employed to retain the character of the superior quality fruit and to achieve elegance in the final wine. Whole bunches were transferred through an air bag press which gently breaks the grapes, allowing the juices to run freely, while harsh tannins are not released. Treated to inoculation and fermentation in a combination of French oak barriques and enriched by a regular lees stirring, leading to a full flavoured wine of great depth, a luxurious mouthfeel and abundant complexity

Pale straw colour with green hues. Lifted fragrant aromas of ripe melons and peach, custard cream, lemons and spicy oak. A soft and rich palate showcases full flavours of rock melon, guava and white peach. A fresh, clean, lemon acid structure combines with underlying oak characters, leading to a smooth and rounded finish. The perfect match to spatchcock under garlic cloves, or ripe, runny cheeses. "Didn't quite make it to labelling, but streuth, this is an impressive Chardonnay with the tell-tale textures and imposing structure of quite an opulent wine. Lofty aromas of creamy custard fruit, cereal and spiced oak before a sumptuous palate of lemon curd, leesyness and drying, crabapple acids!" -Winemonthly.com.au