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We’ve had a little break, but it’s time to get back to business! Brad spent a bit of time up around Beechworth in Victoria’s north east, and came back with a Chardonnay from Savaterre that is worth the wait.

Danny looks at a Brand’s Laira Cabernet that’s classic Coonawarra and Brad rounds things out with a funky bottle named The Squid’s Fist from rogue producers Some Young Punks.

This week’s recommendations are:

• Savaterre Chardonnay 2009 ($68-$75)
• Brand’s Laira Blockers Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 ($17-20)
• Some Young Punks The Squid’s Fist 2010 ($21-25)

Download the video: (4 min 45 sec)
Quicktime/iPod/iPhone (29.0 Mb) | Mpeg4 (15.6 Mb)

Cheers… and happy wine buying!

Brad and Danny

It’s all about triples this week on episode 222 of Wine Week. We start by looking at Penfolds Bin 09A, the third vintage in a row from this wine that has us asking if it is the best Chardonnay in Australia?

We then head over to Margaret River to recommend the Vasse Felix Cab Merlot from 2009, the third of three stunning years for the WA hot spot. And rounding out the week Danny suggests you grab a wood fired pizza this Friday night and combine it with the Paxton AAA Shiraz Grenache.

This week’s recommendations are:

• Penfolds Bin 09A Chardonnay 2009 ($70-$90)
• Vasse Felix Cabernet Merlot 2009 ($18-20)
• Paxton AAA Shiraz Grenache 2009 ($17-$18)

Download the video: (4 min 29 sec)
Quicktime/iPod/iPhone (28.5 Mb) | Mpeg4 (14.7 Mb)

Cheers… and happy wine buying!

Brad and Danny

When people start talking about “Australia’s best” you’ll always get a variety of responses. When it comes to Cabernet Sauvignon it’s no different. But any discussion of the best Cab from down under will certainly include Penfolds’ Bin 707. This week we check out the recently released 2008 vintage to see how it stacks up.

We also look at a much more affordable cabernet from Bowen Estate in the Coonawarra and a young Chardonnay from Yarra Valley boutique producer, Yeringberg.

This week’s recommendations are:

• Bowen Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 ($27-$30)
• Yeringberg Chardonnay 2010 ($50)
• Penfolds Bin 707 2008 ($160-$190)

Download the video: (5 min 03 sec)
Quicktime/iPod/iPhone (31.5 Mb) | Mpeg4 (16.6 Mb)

Cheers… and happy wine buying!

Brad and Danny

Start with a white, continue with a red, finish with a sticky. It’s the classic night of wine drinking for many. So this week we follow the pattern and start with a Chardonnay from Oakridge, a producer from the Yarra Valley with big chatter about their whites right now.

We continue with onto a red, staying in the Yarra Valley. The Mac Forbes Cabernet impressed Brad with its style and polish. To end the episode we hook into a sticky, in this case a Rutherglen Muscat from local stalwarts Chambers.

This week’s recommendations are:

• Oakridge Over the Shoulder Chardonnay 2010 ($18-$20)
• Mac Forbes Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 ($21-25)
• Chambers Rutherglen Muscat ($18-$20)

Download the video: (4 min 58 sec)
Quicktime/iPod/iPhone (31.4 Mb) | Mpeg4 (15.9 Mb)

Cheers… and happy wine buying!

Brad and Danny

This week the theme is all about the letter C. We start with Mount Langhi Ghiran’s mid priced Cliff Edge shiraz, a beautiful cool climate red from 2006. We then take a look at a Chardonnay from Coldstream Hills that sees just the right amount of oak for a young, drink now white. And to finish we check out a 2007 Cabernet from Mildara that shows that Coonawarra Cabernets from 2007 weren’t all hard work.

This week’s recommendations are:

• Mount Langi Ghiran Cliff Edge Shiraz 2006 ($25-$28)
• Coldstream Hills Chardonnay 2010 ($26-$30)
• Mildara Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 ($21-25)

Download the video: (4 min 29 sec)
Quicktime/iPod/iPhone (29.1 Mb) | Mpeg4 (14.7 Mb)

Cheers… and happy wine buying!

Brad and Danny

The best known wine ‘valley’ in Victoria would have to be the Yarra Valley, but a little further afield there’s the King Valley, where winemakers such as the Dal Zottos have been working wonders with Italian varietals.

This week we look at their Pinot Grigio before popping over to the Barossa Valley for a bargain shiraz from Thorn Clarke. We finish up by looking at a Cabernet not from Margaret River or Coonawarra but from the stylish folks at Balgownie Estate up around Bendigo.

This week’s recommendations are:

• Dal Zotto Pinot Grigio 2010 ($15-$16)
• Thorn Clarke Sandpiper Shiraz 2009 ($15-$20)
• Balgownie Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 ($30-35)

Download the video: (4 min 04 sec)
Quicktime/iPod/iPhone (25.4 Mb) | Mpeg4 (13.3 Mb)

Have you seen our Best Dozen purchase offer? You can purchase 6 of our Best Dozen of 2010! Details here.!

Cheers… and happy wine buying!

Brad and Danny

We’ve been meaning to do this one for a while, and there’s no good reason why we haven’t. So while the Wynn’s Black Label Cabernet is the last wine in the episode, it was easily our first pick to talk about this week.

We also check out a lovely drink-now Chardonnay from Red Hill Estate, and a great bargain red blend from Langhorne Creek producter, Metala.

This week’s recommendations are:

• Red Hill Estate Chardonnay 2008 ($18-$19)
• Metala Cabernet Shiraz Malbec 2009 ($12-$14)
• Wynns Coonawarra Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 ($22-35)

Download the video: (4 min 21 sec)
Quicktime/iPod/iPhone (27.4 Mb) | Mpeg4 (14.4 Mb)

Have you seen our Best Dozen purchase offer? You can purchase 6 of our Best Dozen of 2010! Details here.!

Cheers… and happy wine buying!

Brad and Danny

The lucky person who wins our Best Dozen of 2010 is announced this week! While we get ready to read out the name we check out a couple of wines that have a strong tie with the Best Dozen.

The first is the Heathcote Estate Shiraz. While it hasn’t appeared in the Best Dozen yet, the winemaker is the same as for the Yabby Lake pinot that did make it. We also feature a Ben Glaetzer wine, although this time not the winning Wallace, but it’s more expensive sibling the Anaperenna. In between we also look at a Chardonnay from Margaret River producer Flametree.

This week’s recommendations are:

• Heathcote Estate Shiraz 2008 ($40-$44)
• Flametree Chardonnay 2009 ($26-$28)
• Ben Glaetzer Anaperenna 2009 ($48-50)

Download the video: (5 min 38 sec)
Quicktime/iPod/iPhone (27.5 Mb) | Mpeg4 (14.6 Mb)

Have you seen our Best Dozen purchase offer? You can purchase 6 of our Best Dozen of 2010! Details here.!

Cheers… and happy wine buying!

Brad and Danny

Sometimes when you visit the bottle shop it feels like they must be handing out medals to wines just for turning up. This week we start by looking at the Margaret Semillon from Peter Lehmann, a wine that picked up a prize for best in show that you can trust!

We also check up on the latest vintages of the Penley Phoenix Cabernet Sauvignon and the Stonier Pinot Noir.

This week’s recommendations are:

• Peter Lehmann Margaret Barossa Semillon ($32-$35)
• Stonier Pinot Noir 2009 ($23-$28)
• Penley Phoenix Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 ($19-25)

Download the video: (4 min 39 sec)
Quicktime/iPod/iPhone (28.8 Mb) | Mpeg4 (15.4 Mb)

Have you seen our Best Dozen purchase offer? You can purchase 6 of our Best Dozen of 2010! Details here.!

Cheers… and happy wine buying!

Brad and Danny

Update: Just announced – our friends at Boccaccio Cellars are offering 6 of our Best Dozen in a special pack at just $130 plus delivery!

It’s that time of year again! Yes, that time when we announce the 12 wines that impressed us the most over the last year…. and then give them away to a of lucky fan of the show!

If you’re an email subscriber you get one entry into the draw to win the complete set of our Best Dozen automatically. If you’re a Twitter follower you’ll get another entry into the competition. And if you’re a fan on Facebook then you’ve got another chance to win! Retweeting on twitter, or posting on your facebook wall with a link to the competition will get you another entry too! There are heaps of ways to give yourself the best possible shot at taking home one of the Best Dozen of 2010 packs!

The Best Dozen of 2010 are:

• De Bortoli Rococo Blanc de Blancs NV
• St. Hallett Eden Valley Riesling 2010
• Toolangi Chardonnay 2008
• Andrew Thomas Wines Braemore Semillon 2010
• Scion Vineyard Durif 2008
• Yabby Lake Pinot Noir 2008
• The Story Grampians Shiraz 2008
• Ben Glaetzer Wallace 2008
• Teusner Riebke Shiraz 2009
• Yalumba The Cigar 2008
• Penfolds St. Henri 2006
• Wolf Blass Platinum Shiraz 2007

Download the video: (11 min 11 sec)
Quicktime/iPod/iPhone (68.6 Mb) | Mpeg4 (37 Mb)

Cheers… and happy wine buying!

Brad and Danny