If money is tight after Christmas there are plenty of good wine buys around, Winsor Dobbin reports
Summer quencher
Tim Adams 2020 Pinot Gris
Clare Valley winemaker Tim Adams was one of the first in Australia to grasp the potential of pinot gris/grigio and is one of the leaders when it comes to the style. This has pear, lychee and white peach fruit notes to the fore and is best enjoyed when chilled and still youthful. This would pair well with a chicken and cashew nut stir-fry. $24.
Cheap as chips
Calabria 2019 Richland Durif
Australian wine drinkers are blessed that they can still find wines of this quality for such a small price. Calabria Family Wines, formerly known as Westend, are the masters of value from the Riverina. This durif (a grape sometimes known as petit sirah), is an excellent quaffer that would be terrific with a barbecue, pizzas or pastas. Soft, plummy, spicy and chocolatey, this is seriously under-priced at $11.
Classy chardonnay
Hill-Smith Estate 2019 Eden Valley Chardonnay
The Eden Valley is the cooler part of the Barossa in South Australia and is known for producing wines of elegance. Hill-Smith Estate is part of the Yalumba combine and always offers great value for money. This is a subtle, textural and very drinkable – excellent work from winemaker Tereza Heuzenroeder. Well worth looking out for on special. Vegan friendly with some flinty palate interest added by wild yeast fermentation. $24.
Gala Estate 2018 Black Label Pinot Noir
Gala Estate is the second-oldest family business in Tasmania, having transitioned from farming to wine production on the warm East Coast with their first plantings just a decade ago. The wines – across the board – are on a very quick upward trajectory and creating a real buzz. This is an exemplary cool-climate pinot noir, quite light and very youthful with wild strawberry fruit and savoury notes in perfect balance. Pair with Chinese roast duck. $65.
See Winsor’s work at www.gourmetontheroad.com