Description
Here's the latest selection of top value reds with 95+ point scores from the Halliday Wine Companion Tasting Team.
This is one of the best iterations of this pack of all time.
This pack will sell out and is only available for a limited time. At under $30 a bottle delivered this is crazy value for money.
- 2023 Giant Steps Yarra Valley Pinot Noir
- 2023 Varney Wines Mencia
- 2022 Dune The Empty Quarter GSM
- 2021 Bleasdale Frank Potts Cabernet Blend
- 2022 Mordrelle The Gaucho Malbec
- 2021 Stonehaven Limited Release Wrattonbully Shiraz
2023 Giant Steps Yarra Valley Pinot Noir
The Yarra Valley Pinot Noir is the perpetually excellent entry point to Mel Chester's highly acclaimed Giant Steps range.
This is a superb entry point into the world of premium Yarra Pinot Noir, with fruit sourced from the Sexton, Applejack, Tarraford and Primavera vineyards. It's made with around 40% whole bunches and meticulous attention to detail, for which Chester has become renowned. Unfined and unfiltered, too.
Aromatic red fruits, good refreshing mid-palate and a light, earthy grip on the finish.
If you want to get familiar with this stellar Yarra Valley producer, this is the best place to start.
96 points
"A bright crimson red. After a few good few swirls, aromas of ripe raspberries, black cherries, wild herbs and some crushed violets soon emerge. The palate, though, doesn't need much coaxing, and this silken, sappy wine has excellent depth and persistence."
- Philip Rich (Halliday Wine Companion)
2023 Varney Wines Mencia
95 points & Top 100 Wines of 2023
"Bright colour; a haunting herbal/dark cupboard bouquet... and that Varney touch of freshness on the finish."
- James Halliday (The Weekend Australian)
Not as much Mencia among the vineyards of McLaren Vale, as, say Touriga - that seems to the grape 'de jour'. But more wines like this elegant, lacy beauty from Alan Varney and lots of this native Spanish grape might find its way in to the ground.
From a small plot in Seaview, this is a bright, lifted, medium-bodied red with some exotic spice and game meat aromatics.
Nine days on skins, short time in Burgundy barrels then bottled. Just 88 dozen bottles made. Not sure how much drinking that works out to per day...
2022 Dune The Empty Quarter GSM
The Arthur Kelman Perpetual Trophy for Best Shiraz Dominant Blend
- 2023 Royal Sydney Wine Show
The Lloyd brothers have burst out of the gates with a suite of interesting and delicious examples of McLaren Vale wines.
With firm roots in the region, hailing from the great Lloyd dynasty at Coriole, this is the boys chance to spread their wings and do things their own way.
This is a blend of Shiraz, Grenache, Mourvedre, and a dash of Touriga. Medium bodied, svelte and spicy with delicious ripe fruit flavours, they've nailed this wine from first swing of the hammer.
GSM fan? Here's something that's going to get your engine running.
96 points
"A beautifully detailed and handled wine that is a super-elegant version of standard GSM."
- James Halliday (Halliday Wine Companion)
94 points
"I love the grip and savoury complexity. Very good."
- Gary Walsh (The Wine Front)
2021 Bleasdale Frank Potts Cabernet Blend
The Bleasdale Frank Potts Cabernet Blend is a wine that honours a legacy of hard work and innovation. Named after the pioneering Frank Potts, who founded Bleasdale Vineyards in 1850, this blend is the culmination of six generations of dedication to winemaking excellence.
Crafted from a mix of Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Petit Verdot, and Merlot, this wine is a complex symphony of red berry and darker fruit aromas, underpinned by fine oak tannins and a lively berry finish.
Awarded 97 points by James Halliday and multiple gold medals and trophies, including ‘Best Dry Red’ and ‘Champion Wine of Show’ at the Langhorne Creek Wine Show, this vintage is one the most highly decorated in the wine's history.
Enjoy it now, or cellar for up to 20 years—either way, this is one of the best value Cabernet blends in the country.
97 points & Top 100 Wines of 2023
"Bright crimson-purple hue heralds a very complex wine that has no need of time thanks to its balance, texture and length. It is an outstanding achievement and offers equally exceptional value for money. Top gold at Royal Adelaide Wine Show ’22, gold at Perth Royal Wine Show Awards ’22."
- James Halliday (Halliday Wine Companion)
2022 Mordrelle The Gaucho Malbec
If big, bold Malbec full of plush fruit and subtle spice is what you're looking for, this one from Argentinian-born Martin Moran is one you can't miss. In some ways, it's an homage to his home town of Mendoza - a place highly regarded for Malbec.
The fruit comes from a single vineyard in Langhorne Creek, a great Aussie region for this variety.
It's one impressively bold, structured red filled with purple florals, ripe plum, whiffs of chocolate and peppery spice, finishing dry and long. Beautiful.
96 points
"The wine has a constant byplay, pitting juicy dark fruits against a savoury, spicy backdrop, the cool vintage imparting its special signature. The marriage of Langhorne Creek and malbec has been consummated countless times, albeit seldom with the finesse of this wine."
- James Halliday (Halliday Wine Companion)
2021 Stonehaven Limited Release Wrattonbully Shiraz
This is a name you perhaps don't know but these Stonehaven wines seriously impressed us for their polished nature and their outstanding value - particularly this Limited Release Shiraz.
Coming from the heart of Wrattonbully, one of the Limestone Coast’s quiet achievers, this 96-point beauty is a rich yet modern take on Aussie Shiraz.
It's classic SA Shiraz with bold, juicy flavours—blackberries, plums, and a crack of peppery spice—woven through with subtle oak that brings everything together. It’s got a lovely silky texture and balanced tannins that keep it smooth and drinkable, but with enough structure to make it really sing.
For $25, you’re getting serious quality—this wine easily punches well above its weight. It's the perfect mid-week high-quality quaffer.
96 points
"Small-batch vinification with prefermentation maceration, extended skin contact and barrel fermentation might have been an exercise in winemaking prowess, but in fact is more than that, the quality also reflecting an excellent vintage. The tannin structure is exemplary, fruit welded to a long palate."
- James Halliday (Halliday Wine Companion)
Customer Reviews
| Price Bracket | $30 or Less |
| Type | Red |
| Country | Australia |
| Feature |
High Score |
| Reviewed By |
Halliday Wine Companion |
| Size | 9 |
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