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.

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.

Château Lafite’s Barons de Rothschild in France and world renowned Nicolás Catena from Argentina – Bodegas Caro Aruma Malbec 2021.

Aruma brings together small batches of wine made from tiny parcels of premium Ucó Valley grapes – from Altamira, El Peral and San José – to create a fine, silky and complex blend. Hand-harvested, high grown, old-vine grapes provide outstanding quality, while the absence of any oak maturation ensures the wine shows great purity of fruit from Ucó terroir. Velvety smooth and deeply fruity with beautiful floral notes, this mouthfilling stunner is a delight from first sip to last.

James Suckling is impressed – he gives it a stellar 93pts. He also gave its 2020 vintage an impressive 92pts and commented: "Perfumed yet focused nose with lots of violets and deep but fresh blueberries. Very pure”.

Like most Argentine Malbecs (and indeed many fine French wines), it will match your finest cut of beef beautifully. Decant and pour into large glasses so that its full magnificent flavours can be suitably appreciated.

When I came over the high pass south into the Agly Valley in the 70s, I was captivated by the ancient vines on steep, terraced hills, topped by high, ruined castles. It was wild 'unknown' territory. That's where bestselling Cabalié, made by the legendary Hervé Sabardeil, is from. Hervé buys grapes for Cabalié from many vineyards, but the best grapes came from two vineyards of 100-year-old vines on schist/granite soils. They are two of France's oldest vineyards, lying on steep, terraced hillsides. When Hervé learned the farmer was retiring, he bought those two vineyards – and thus we have the 'Grand Cru' Origine … the purest essence of Cabalié … made solely from those two vineyards. It's a nearly all dark, spiced Carignan, with a few rows of silky Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre, which add to the incredibly rich fruit and luscious texture.

Here, in the UK, we don't get to drink much Californian Zinfandel - 95% of it is consumed locally. And Lodi is one of the elite regions for growing it, its wines gorgeously rich, dark and swarthy. This is a special parcel from one of Lodi's finest cellars, so good we aren't allowed to name them. That's part of the hush hush deal that ensured an exceptionally good price on this wine. It won't surprise you that sales for super-premium wines have slowed, so the winery was keen to shift some stock. And with Zin-focused customers, we were more than delighted to oblige.

Small grapes ensure intense colour and a big lift of super-ripe black fruits, rippled with vanilla and spice. Open and decant an hour beforehand. Great with roast red meats.