Here is Australian wine writer Paul Ippolito's take on what are good value for money wines on the market at the moment;

Marlargo Fingers Crossed 2006

This is a Shiraz dominant blend with a good splash of Petit Verdot in a stunningly labelled bottle. The savoury nose just invites you in with its gameyness, rich earthy features, mushrooms and forest floor fruits giving it a complex edge. An elegant and yet complex well blended red with distinctive aromatics. Fine and seamless fruit with an ultrafine length and well integrated oak. Damn good drinking I say particularly at the price.

Drink to 2012. About $15. 92/100 – Excellent.

Deep and vibrant with loads of spicy fruit. Delicious and well balanced with a persistent length of finish – deep and yet smooth. A very decent medium to full bodied red with a certain refinement on the finish. Very decent blending as well.

Drink Now. About $19. 91/100 – Excellent.

Campbells Rutherglen Muscat

This is just sensational stuff. Deep toffee, all complex and fully aromatic subsuming the senses. Luscious, soothing and potent fruit impart with softness and with mouthwatering acidity. Full bodied flavours on the mouthfeel – nutty, honey, caramel, molasses and raisiny dried fruits. Thick and viscous on the finish – this is truly glorious drinking.

Drink Now. About $17. 97/100 – Superb.

Primo Estate La Biondina Colombard Sauvignon Blanc 2008

Stock up to celebrate for springtime drinking, this gloriously vibrant white blend is just spot on to invigorate the post Winter senses. An awakening of them no less. Vbirnat, young, fresh and deeply aromatic, the tropical fruit characters flood the glass, along with floral and citrus nuances. Eminently drinkable with a lively acidity supporting the deep ripe fruit, this will go just right with Thai cuisine.

Drink Now. About $18. 91/100 – Excellent.

Pepperjack Shiraz 2006

This is a very respectable red put together by the people at Saltram. Deep dense dark berry fruits along with spicy plums, liquorice and dark chocolate. It really sets itself apart through its robust structure, decent coffee oak and dense ripe chewy tannins on the finish. Weighing up as a full bodied red, it still has a youthful edge that should develop for many coming years. Try this with steak diane.

Drink to 2016. About $22. 93/100 – Excellent.   

Coriole Redstone Shiraz 2005

Spot on McLaren Vale drinking with vibrant fresh dynamic lifted red and black fruits. Spicy and invigorating on the palate, with well integrated melded oak and good ripe fruit characters softly and well put together on the finish. Drink with satay beef.

Drink to 2010. About $25. 93/100 – Excellent.

Angoves Long Run Cabernet Sauvignon 2006

This is an easy drinking delicious good value red quaffer for the winter period. Pure and succulent full of blackberries, violets and plums. There is good alcohol there and the fruit is deep but yet medium bodied enough to be soft and mellow on the finish. Try it with a beef curry.

Drink Now. About $10. 88/100 – Very Good.

Conte Estate Over The Hill Reserve Shiraz 2006.

Put this one on the winery watch list folks. This McLaren red is just spot on drinking. Seamless pure balanced and packing quite a punch from the outset, this Shiraz exudes glorious black and red fruits, with integrated oak, providing coconut macaroons as well as black olives and liquorice on the finish. Ripe smooth tannins augur well for the future. And value drinking as well. Try it with a beef stew.

Drink to 2016. About $25. 94/100 plus – Excellent.

Stella Bella Sangiovese Cabernet Sauvignon 2006

Mediterranean in style well blended – an action packed red – full of cheery liqueur, violets, spring flowers and plums as well as earthy overtones. A vibrant fresh invigorating red, medium bodied in style and food friendly with lingering red and black fruits on the finish. Try it with oven baked pasta.

Drink Now. About $25. 90/100 – Very Good.

Rolling Cabernet Merlot 2005

Gloriously fruit driven and ripe, succulent and balanced, luxuriant plums flow as do blackberries, blackcurrants and a luscious velvetiness. Long aromas, deeply wafting and with fine integrated tannins and seamlessly melded oak. An effortless drink of a red blend.

Drink Now. About $17. 91/100 – Excellent.

Flaxman Wines Eden Valley Shiraz 2005

Pure succulent blue fruits abound – blueberries, spicy plums – liqueur and intoxicating – deep and inviting. Along with melded coffee oak and fine tannins, it provides a savoury style of finish, with a soft roundness and a velvety long finish. Try this roast lamb.

Drink to 2012. About $25. 93/100 – Excellent.

Mothi Chardonnay 2007

A vibrant leesy fulsome robust Chardonnay. Cashew oakiness along with a tanginess along with loads of peach melon fruit, fresh figs and a well rounded creaminess to the palate. Classically varietal and delicious to boot. Luxuriant drinking for those that enjoy a complex and oaked Chardonnay. From a boutique winery in Mudgee. Try it with calamari.

Drink Now. About $17. 92/100 – Excellent.

Fox Creek Shadow’s Run Shiraz Cabernet Sauvignon 2006

I was really impressed with this red blend. Medium bodied, respectably blended and put together as seamless in presentation and mouthfeel, a really delightful red wine for Winter – but not overly rich, not velvety in fruit, not firmly oaked or over the top in alcohol, albeit it is 14.5% on the label – no just liquid blackforest cake are my dominant wine key words to describe it. No wonder I enjoyed it so much. Drink it with butter chicken.

Drink Now. About $15. 93/100 – Excellent.

Westend Estate 3 Bridges Golden Mist Botrytis Semillon 2005

I make no secrets about loving dessert wines and especially ones from down Griffith way. So I wasn’t surprised when I really took to this fine drop, but the purity of the fruit characters and the overall balance really impressed me. Yes it is sweet but the interface with the acidity makes for high level drinkability here and that balance really makes it smooth and fine and elegant, rather than cloying. Yes there is some classic peach melon and a hint of honey but there is also some lemon custard tart there as well. It just lingers on and on and is very moreish.

Drink Now to 2015. About $20 – 500ml. 94/100 – Excellent.

Kay Brothers Amery Hillside Shiraz 2005

This is all the things I like about wine all wrapped in a bottle. Affordable, balanced and highly drinkable. You get pure succulent classically varietal red and black fruit, ripe and even a tad sweet on one hand, aromatic as well as with an earthyness and even some truffle character to it as wel, yet the oak while there is in sync with the fruit, well melded, spicy and carrying through well roundedly and effortlessly through the palate and lingering long and on and on. Smooth long and charismatic are my parting words. Bring me more I say.

Drink to 2012. About $22. 91/100 – Excellent.

Majella The Musician Cabernet Shiraz 2007

A gem of a red blend – the Cabernet and the Shiraz working ever so well together. Well blended, well rounded, well presented and representative of what Cabernet and Shiraz together should be like. Spicy blueberries, deep rich blackberries, a hint of tobacco, a good dash of cedary oak, some mulberries and hey presto a delicious highly drinkable red. Good oak and fine tannins augur for a good future as well but it is drinking very decently right now. Try it with chicken coriander curry.

Drink to 2012. About $18. 91/100 – Excellent. 

Sirromet Sparkling PV Granite Belt 2006
 

This is sparkling Petit Verdot from Queensland largest wine producer. And damn fine stuff at that. I really enjoy the tight seamless black and red berry fruit nature of the nose, really neat and creamy and not letting the sparkling nature of the wine overwhelm the fruit and yet featuring enough as to add class and elegance to the wine overall. Deep, dark and intense, really well melded and lingering deliciously long with dark chocolate and briary fruit to the end. Try it with chicken and olive stew in a tomato sauce.

Drink Now. About $17. 93/100 – Excellent.

Mount Majura Merlot 2005

This is red hot Merlot drinking folks. From this Canberra winery, Frank Van De Loo has crafted an excellent Merlot that hits the mark on all fronts. A ripe fulsome robust red wine full of blueberries, mulberries, allspice and violets as well as loads and loads of black cherries, so much so I cannot get this delightful black forest cake character out of my mind and nose. Just glorious black cherries and plums subsume the palate as well, imparted also with judiciously spiced oak and fine grainy tannins. Exquisitely put together and a pleasure to drink. Value drinking as well. Try it with lamb stew.

Drink to 2010. About $17. 94/100 – Excellent.  

Bremerton Tamblyn Cabernet Shiraz Malbec Merlot 2005

Deep dark dense black and red fruits abound from this Langhorne Creek red blend from respected winemaker Rebecca Willson. Balance is the key word here as all comes across in sync – fruit, oak, tannins, acidity and alcohol – measured and balanced. It’s my sort of red because whilst it is laden with ripe quite rich fruit character and flavours it also has a vibrant and quite evocative structure, a good dosage of oak and smooth ripe tannins, making for a balanced (there’s that word again) drink now wine that also augurs for a long future. I could make a few more words up (for the sake of filling in time and space) to describe this wine (but I wont) but really the blending does the trick really well turning it in a highly drinkable pleasure experience that calls out for more. Try it with lasagna.

Drink Now. About $22. 93/100 – Excellent.

Oyster Bay Sauvignon Blanc 2007

What impresses me with the Oyster Bay range is their consistency, quality and affordability – hard things to get right year in year out with your wines. So if you want to try something from the other side of the Tasman, i.e New Zealand this one hits the spot nicely with a balance between its tropical fruit array of characters against a backdrop of more classic gooseberry and herbaceous notes. A 50/50 bet if you care to put it this way. Enjoyable easy delicious drinking whether you like your Savvy Blanc with a tad of fruit or a tad of savoury dimension.

Drink Now. About $15. 90/100 – Very Good.

Little Rebel Cabernet Merlot 2005

Whoever put out this wine together knew what they were doing. By the way I think it was their winemaker Kate Goodman. It is fruit driven, well rounded and full of fleshy ripe succulent and luscious red and black fruits. The Merlot has been judiciously added, not compromising the Cabernet origins but yet producing a delicious easy well blended wine that goes down the throat a treat. Try it with lamb kebabs.

Drink Now. About $15. 90/100 – Very Good.

Juniper Crossing Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot 2005

Aromatic black fruits, blackcurrants, blackberries along with spicy plums. Lifted and upfront with good alcohol and seamless oak. Well blended and composed. A well rounded mouthfeel with a luscious long finish of black fruits along with fine tannins. Value drinking at this price. Try with grilled rump and mushroom sauce.

Drink to 2012. About $18. 91/100 – Excellent.

Pirramimma Old Bush Grenache 2004

Deep dark coffee mocha, blackcurrants, blackberries, liqueur plums and a glorious spiciness exude from the aromas. Good firm oak supporting, along with quite an intense earthiness, with fine grainy tannins on the finish. Full bodied, robust and berry fruit laden, this is delicious imbibing for the serious red drinker. Try it with grilled pork ribs.

Drink to 2014. About $20. 92/100 – Excellent.

Six Foot Six Geelong Chardonnay 2006

Delicious luscious and succulent aromas abound from this Geelong Victorian Chardonnay. Tropical fruits, stone fruits – think peaches, bananas, passionfruit and pineapple ensue. Gloriously laden fruit salad characters flood the senses. All of the fruit is supported by well melded and perfumed oak and together it produces quite a big Chardonnay of smoothness and well roundness. Try it with gnocchi and four cheese sauce.

Drink Now. About $18. 90/100 – Very Good.

Lazy Ballerina Shiraz 2006

This is boutique McLaren Vale material crafted by winemaker James Hook. Ripe, rich smooth classy and sexy Shiraz all rolled into one. Pure succulent and luscious black fruits – luxuriant and seamlessly delivered. Good coffee mocha oak, hints of cedar along with ripe tannins. Well balanced in mouthfeel with an effortlessly long delicious palate delivery. A long future as well. Try it with lamb stew.

Drink to 2018. About $25. 94/100 – Excellent.

Madfish Premium White 2007

Nice aromatics here resonating of tropical fruits as well as citrus limes and lemons. Vibrant, fresh and lively, good alcohol with a soft well roundedness and a delicious mouthfeel. Long and tangy on the finish, a delightful summer quaffer. Try it with pan fried chicken breast stuffed with cheese and prosciutto.

Drink Now. About $19, but found for less. 88/100 – Very Good.

Higher Plane Margaret River Semillon Sauvignon Blanc 2007

Gooseberries, citrus lemons and grapefruits, cut grass, green herbs and straw make up a complex set of aromas. Classy and elegant in structure. Well blended and very MR in structure. Crisp green youthful acidity complements the fruit. A very well put together blend with a long crisp finish. Try this with cheese and spinach pie.

Drink to 2010. About $25. 91/100 – Excellent.

Conte Estate Rock Hill Shiraz 2006

From this McLaren Vale producer comes this intense and deep red, with loads of spiciness and an edge of earthiness. Dark black fruits abound as well – blackberries, currants, plums with coffee mocha oak, quite forward yet with a smooth soft long finish with fine grainy tannins auguring a long future. Still in its infancy. And good value drinking. Try this with Irish stew.

Drink to 2018. About $18. 91/100 – Excellent.

Windowrie The Mill Central Ranges Chardonnay 2006

Gloriously upfront but in a balanced way. Classically varietal as well. Typical peach melon falvours, well melded oak, a touch of butterscotch, cashews and other grilled nuts. Long and luscious in mouthfeel, luxuriant in palate delivery. One damn fine Chardonnay folks. Try it with fish and chips.

Drink Now to 2009. About $18. 93/100 – Excellent.

Giant Steps Sexton Vineyard Chardonnay 2005

Classically varietal chardonnay - typically peach melon characters - yet tight and elegant and slowly unwinding beautifully over time in the glass. Develops into a well rounded and delicious Chardonnay of substance and finesse. Excellent balance, judiciously oaked and well structured. Very good winemaking here folks. Try this with prawn risotto.

Drink Now to 2013. About $45. 94/100 -Excellent.

O'Leary Walker McLaren Vale Clare Valley Shiraz 2005

Intense red fruits abound - raspberries, red cherries along with aniseed, liquorice, a subtle earthiness, black olives and roasted meats. Vibrancy and freshness ensue with an invigorating character. Good oak, good alcohol, ripe tannins, savoury nuances and a delicious long moreish finish. Try with gourmet pizza.

Drink Now to 2015. About $22. 91/100 (Excellent).

Howard Park Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot 2003

Just glorious were my first impressions. Complex, alluring and vibrant were words that followed. A stunning red wine, well blended, well presented and well delivered in all dimensions. Intense with ripe blackcurrants, raspberries, smooth plums all with a purity and elegance to them. Slight smoky nuances, hints of black liquorice, cedary as well as cigar box oak in sync, integrated well and with silky fine tannins. A wine with power yet also elegance and structure. Approachable now, delicious in fact, very drinkable but with the goods to deliver pleasurable drinking well into the future.

Drink Now to 2018. About $60. 94/100 (Excellent). 

Leeuwin Estate Prelude Vineyard Chardonnay 2005

Divine and superb were my first utterances upon tasting this truly wonderful Australian Chardonnay. Elegant, tight and restrained at first – the underlying classic nectarine and honeydew melon aromas then start to evolve right under your nose. The wine opens up into one classy well structured drop with gorgeous classic stone fruit characters, with lees complexity and citrus lemon undertones. The use of judicious oak melds well with the developing luscious fruit along with the lively fresh acidity, all integrating perfectly into one balanced and eminently drinkable Chardonnay. At the price, it is exceptional value and with it’s quality, it is worth every cent and more. Try it with lobster mornay.

Drink Now to 2012. About $30. 95/100.

98-100 – Exceptional – A truly world class wine

95-97 – Superb – A memorable drinking experience

91-94 – Excellent – A wonderful mix of a top wine at a decent price

88-90 - Very Good – Really well made wine that should impress

85-87 – Good – Honest everyday drinking 

 © Paul Ippolito 2008