The judges at the China's Wine & Spirits Best Value Awards were impressed by this rich, spicy Shiraz, unanimously awarding it a Gold. It’s from John Quarisa, who for many years made wine for the biggest names in Oz, winning both the Jimmy Watson and Stodart Trophies. Today, with the help of his wife Josephine, he crafts winners like this. ‘Passion is Everything’ is their motto, and, after just over a decade in operation, their winery in New South Wales boasts four stars from Aussie wine guru James Halliday. He describes the “exceptional value for money provided by the wines” and is full of praise for this red. It’s deliciously easy going, but still packs a punch of luscious ripe fruit. A sure bet for a bbq, a roast or a hearty bake.

You see, we kept meeting young gun winemakers who had access to tiny parcels of prime fruit which they wanted to craft into small-batch, character-laden wines – and we wanted to encourage them! With no rules to adhere to, these talented winemakers produced astounding wines that dazzled the critics: "Avant-garde and highly successful" (James Halliday), "Australian genius … made with passion" (Jancis Robinson MW), "Must be tasted to be believed" (Robert Parker). RedHeads nowadays has much bigger premises in the South Australia's world-famous Barossa, but it is uniquely designed to produce small batch fermentations, just like they did in the old days. The 1888 is their flagship Barossa Shiraz and it's a beauty, deep, dark and decadently intense – the kind that made the Barossa famous. Make sure you go and visit them in the Barossa. They'd love to show you around.

Kilikanoon is famous for its Shiraz. Their top Shiraz costs over $2,500, their ‘Oracle’ Shiraz has twice won ‘Best Shiraz’ at international shows, and Robert Parker himself has noted that Kilikanoon’s “speciality is Shiraz.”

It doesn’t stop there. Robert Parker calls Kilikanoon “the most brilliantly run winery in Australia”, James Halliday awarded it his Winery of the Year in 2013 (“truly the best of the best”) and Wine & Spirits lists it as one of its TOP 100 Wineries. And just last year Kilikanoon took home the award for ‘Best Producer Australia’ at the Mundus Vini Grand International Wine Awards for the 6th year in a row, bringing them to an incredible 8 wins of this coveted international award.

So … if you love the BIG flavours of a lavish Aussie Shiraz, and you want to make sure you’re getting it from the absolute masters of the style, then don’t delay! Add a case of this Kilikanoon Baroota classic to your order today.

Since the launch of the first Yarrunga Field, Sam Trimboli has been delighting customers with his fabulous wines and winning awards. They don't call him 'Mr Medals' for nothing! Only in the last four years has he set up his own family winery and, in our opinion, is producing even better wines. He has made us the dark, spicy Black Duck from Durif, and the White Chardie Pinot Grigio Duck, but this is just his second foray into the Pink Duck.

Sam is from Italian heritage – his grandfather grew vines in Italy 90 years ago and his parents emigrated to Oz in 1967 – so perhaps it's of no surprise that he has used nearly all Montepulciano here. A splash of Vermentino adds extra lemony zip. A pretty hue, lovely ripe fruit and zesty freshness.