The Full Fifteen has been one of our bestselling Aussie reds for years. Smooth juicy flavours, power and real drinkability have made it an all-time customer favourite. So we were thrilled when Andrew McPherson decided to craft a special Reserve edition. It’s been made in honour of Andrew’s mother Doreen, a woman who embodied Australia’s great pioneering spirit and whose devotion to family inspired everyone around her.

To call this Andrew’s special project red is an understatement. He seeks out premium parcels of old-vine Shiraz and Cabernet from acclaimed Victorian vineyards and treats the wine to long, luxurious ageing in finest oak barrels. The result is a berry-laden, richly concentrated, spicy red. Serve with prime steak or roast lamb.

However, a down draught from the Andes and the Pacific’s Humboldt Current both help to moderate temperatures by day and ensure very cold nights.

In addition, the sunlight is exceptionally bright and snowmelt from the Andes provides all the irrigation water required.

Viña Falernia, one of only two wineries in the valley, was built in the late 1990s by Italian Giorgio Flessati and won a Trophy with its first vintage. Elqui produces “some particularly gutsy Syrah at altitudes of over 2,000 metres” (World Atlas of Wine), and the Carmenère is equally robust.

Deep bramble, cassis and spice character, it's great with lamb. Best decanted.

Antonio Federici is a small, 3rd-generation cellar in Lazio, just south of Rome. As you'll taste here, its wines are both authentic and exceptionally delicious.

Normally, they only supply their meagre output to top restaurants in Rome. But with most shut in 2020 and 2021, we managed to gain a small allocation of this superb, cherry-scented red.

On fine limestone soils (the rocks of which were used to build some of Rome's most famous buildings) they grow some of Italy's most characterful native grapes. From these they make a small range of highly awarded, rule-breaking wines.

No doubt the skill of top Italian consultant Franco and Matteo Bernabei come into play, as well as the commitment and passion of the family.

A great pizza or pasta red.

Wine Enthusiast calls Amarone “one of 15 icons in Italian wine”. They are certainly some of the country’s most treasured reds. Rooted in the ancient tradition of sun-drying grapes before fermentation, Amarone wines offer exceptional richness and a glorious combination of power and complexity that cellars well, too. No wonder they are sought after worldwide. This 2020 from esteemed Cantina Negrar pays tribute to 18th century poet Bartolomeo Lorenzi, whose epic poems celebrating rural life made Valpolicella wines famous.

The grapes are from the ancient, dry, stone terraces of the cool Marano Valley, where they ripen slowly. They are then air-dried for 120 days to intensify flavours. Decant early and enjoy with hearty dishes, or cellar.

Let’s go back in time! To the 1st century AD and vineyards planted to serve the ruling elite at the thriving Roman port of Troia. Here, on Portugal’s windswept Atlantic coast, the only grape that thrives in the dry, sandy soils and super-hot sun is local star Castelão. This small, dark-skinned grape boasts fathomless depths of flavour – if you know how to unlock it. Back to today and enter Gold-medal maestro Jaime Quendera at Portugal’s most awarded winery, Casa Ermelinda Freitas. Only made in the best years, this Black Red flies of our shelves as soon as it's in stock. So our advice is: if you see it, buy it! Rippling with ripe plums, black fruits and laced with chocolate, with a spicy oak finish. At 14.5% it’s got power, so sip slowly.

Opi Sadler has brought us the customer favourite ‘Waxed Bat’, now he presents the ‘Big Bat’. If you didn’t think a wine could get any richer, silkier and packed with luxurious layers of flavour, you were mistaken. But then, Opi is one of Argentina’s most internationally renowned winemakers and he adores the Cabernet Sauvignon grape.

To achieve such an ageworthy perfection, he selected grapes from the finest, high-altitude vineyards in Altamira, Uco Valley, ageing this grand red for 18 months in French oak barrels. This lends a spicy edge to the rich black fruits. Opi states that Argentina makes "undoubtedly the best Cabernet wines in the world". A big statement, but judging by this wine, he may well be right. An elegant, mature steak red.

Martinborough may be less high profile than other Kiwi wine regions (it's only small) but the quality of its cool climate wines is second to none. It lies in the southern corner of North Island and is renowned for Pinot Noir. A government report in 1979 had highlighted that the conditions of the region were remarkably similar to Burgundy – free-draining gravel soils, with moderate temperatures and rainfall. Jeremy Corban and Katherine Jacobs founded their beautiful family estate in 2005, after a wine stint in France.

They chose a site in Martinborough's Te Muna valley and planted Pinot Noir. This is their gloriously fragrant, expressive flagship wine. Aged in new oak, it has a lovely balance of ripe fruit, spice and savouriness. Open early.