These are the red wines we turned up in 2018 that can be well and truly categorised extraordinary. We would remind our readers that we are a small not-for-profit group relentlessly travelling on our own funds to explore and discover great wine. There would be dozens of amazing wines we never tasted or even heard of this year. The ones below are simply offered as the very best of the best of the over 1,000 red wines we did try. (On that note, this year’s picks are admittedly SA and VIC heavy; heading to WA next week 
You should go out and buy as many of these as can still be found. We bought them all, and alas, some are gone already and cannot be bought again.
Our Wine of the Year
* Ellis Wines 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon – A stunning, complex but wickedly smooth, archetypal Cab Sav. Huge body, broad structure, and loads of meaty blackberry. A flavour freight train on the palate with wave after wave of goodness. There is a textural complexity to this wine that is engaging yet seamlessly integrated that screams of masterful winemaking. The best Cab we had in 2018, and perhaps the best Australian Cab we have ever had.
Top Picks by Varietal:
Cabernet Franc – Usually a blended varietal, but when you do find a good stand alone, how good it can be!
* Pyren Vineyard 2017 Cab Franc – Juicy Cab Franc perfection w just the right amount of stalk and stem. Smooth blueberry express with hints of savour in the periphery. Yum!
Cabernet Sauvignon – This really was the year of Cab Sav for us. We came across the best Australian Cab Savs we’ve ever encountered and did we ever enjoy drinking them this year.
* Battle of Bosworth and Spring Seed Wines 2010 Cab Sav – An epic, heavenly perfect Cab Cav. Bright as it could be with hints of rasberry cordial and none of those pesky green elements so common in AUS cabs. We are SO glad we got our hands on a couple bottles.
* Bleasdale Vineyards 2013 Mulberry Tree Cab Sav – Reminiscent of the Ellis Cab Sav above for its unassailable breadth and balance, this was a glorious bottle. Sadly, it is well and truly gone and shan’t be found again.
* Ellis Wines 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon – See our wine of the year above.
* Oliver’s Taranga Vineyards 2014 DJ Cab Sav – A winter fire place, glows in the mouth, photo finish perfect Cab Sav. Hints of vanilla in the background entice throughout the long finish.
* Rymill Coonawarra 2012 Cab Sav – Rich, juicy, smooth … mulberry and hints of plum. A little age has rounded this one into something special. Deep, deep flavour harmoniously delivered.
* Edenmae Estate 2013 Belle Cabernet Sauvignon – A glorious and refreshing Cab Sav. Not brambly and stemmy as so many AUS Cabs can be. This one is all smooth dark fruit with shades of boysenberry and blueberry. A wine of great clarity and singular purpose. Couldn’t be easier to enjoy. Will please veterans and novices alike. $32
Carmenere – One of our favourite varietals and boy are we excited to see it in AUS!
* Humis Vineyard 2016 Carmenere – Equisite dark, plump, polished, delicious. Plenty of violet and dark fruit, the subtlest hint of vanillan all purposefully delivered in a satisfying wave of flavour.
Grenache – This varietal just gets better and better each year. The bottles below were simply extraordinary.
* Arno Wine Co. 2017 Grenache. A deep and polished delicious. Drinking this one is like finding an amethyst glittering on a creek bed – something ethereal, enchanting, and totally satisfying about it. $25
* Bekkers Wine 2016 Grenache – On this entire list, you will not find a wine of greater clarity. The purity Bekkers has achieved with this wine is nothing short of remarkable. We hear so much talk of “terroir”, “minimal intervention” etc etc, but when you taste a wine of this stature, you realise the rest are mostly impostors.
* Kellermeister 2013 Whiskers Single Vineyard Grenache – What a brilliant, vibrant wine. Probably drinking peak right now. Youthful vivaciousness and depth of age both showing at the moment. Beautiful Grenache nose of creamy raspberry segues into a very bright wine. Pepper, leather depth, raspberry playing second trumpet in the background as sunshine spreads across the palate. A bright but still very serious wine. We loved it. $45
Malbec – Australia is making a case for the world’s second home of Malbec (alas that no place shall ever supplant Argentina). Try the two below to see why!
* Bleasdale Vineyards Riparian 2016 Malbec – Shows just how much AUS can do with this grape! Worthy of its $35 asking. An elegant and superbly balanced wine.
* Forest Hill Winery 2014 Estate Malbec – An assertive dark and brooding Malbec. Dark berries, silk texture, and damn good! $30
Merlot – A mercurial grape in AUS, rarely to be found great, but when a winemaker hits the nail on the head … magic!
* Stefano Lubiana Wines & Osteria 2016 Merlot – A plump Merlot that exhibits an earthy depth with some intriguing smokiness in the background. Long, polished finish. One of the better AUS Merlots we’ve had. Drinks beautifully! At once satisfying and intriguing. $38
* McIvor Estate 2014 Merlot – This one is all polish and fruit with no edge or strange flavours. A beautiful and satisfying expression of Merlot fruit.
Montepulciano – Of course it would be an Italian name behind the best one we found this year
* DiGiorgio Family Wines 2016 Montepulciano – A noble expression of this robust but versatile varietal. Deep, dark, fruity, juicy, all the good adjectives. Easily enjoyed on its own but would stand up to a rack of lamb just fine. Crazy that it can be had for $23.
Pinot Noir – While we are seeing more good and interesting Pinot Noirs popping up in more and more places across Australia, in our opinion, VIC is still producing the best.
* Moorooduc Estate 2015 Robinson Pinot Noir – Such a satisfying Pinot. A little bramble, a little spice, a little forest floor enchant with mystery, but there is no grip at all to this wine so you get all the complexity but delivered in a very smooth taste ride. The kind of bottle that would go great with a deep conversation in front of the fireplace on a winter night.
* Rob Dolan Wines 2016 Pinot Noir – A clinically perfect textbook Yarra Valley Pinot Noir. At once vibrant and brooding, with fresh flavour and textural depth.
* Tucks Wine 2016 Pinot Noir – A glorious send-off to the old world Tucks. Stunning depth of nose. Tantalising savoury up front. Full-bodied mid-palate with suggestions of cherry, cardamom and dark forest. While deep and complex, the wine retains a fresh liveliness. Plenty of texture. A Tuck’s Ridge classic.
* Riversdale Estate 2012 Centaurus Pinot Noir – This TAS Pinot is simply phenomenal. Restrained, but broad and complex with layers and waves that captivate and keep you coming back to try again.
Sagrantino – Never heard of this varietal? Check out the wine below to see why it’s time you do!
Oliver’s Taranga Vineyards 2014 Sagrantino Punchy, sharp, and packed with flavour, this wine will be epic in about three years; giving it a 97 in advance.
Sangiovese – In Australia, we wouldn’t normally include this varietal on a best of list, but boy did we find a gem this year.
* Vineyard Road Cellar Door Sangiovese – All breadth and polish; all that a Sangiovese should be but so seldom is. Ample cherry but also a nice texture to make this the perfect summer delight or serious meal pairing. Easily the best AUS Sangiovese we’ve had this year.
Shiraz – This category always gets a little crowded because Australia produces so many damn good Shirazes! Still, we’re not sorry. Each of the wines below deserves to be there.
* Bowen Estate 2016 Shiraz – If you are after a well-rounded Shiraz that really showcases what this varietal is all about, this one is one of our top picks. Nearly black in colour, the wine is vibrantly alive. Perfectly structured for powerful depth and maximum flavour expression with no sharp edges. Hints of spice, loads of texture, bright fruit flavour; it’s all here in polished and well-rounded presentation. A perfect AUS Shiraz. 96 points. A true bargain at $30.
* Brockenchack Wines 2013 Jack Harrison Shiraz – Barossa depth with Eden Valley finesse; violet, lavendar, raspberry, and plum somehow polished seamlessly into this “Good God Delicious” wine. This one is truly something special.
* Blackjack Wines 2016 Shiraz – A hallmark take on what a Heathcote/Bendigo Shiraz is all about. Deep and juicy upfront, but dark fruit quickly takes over, all delivered across a firm and smooth tannin foundation. An exceptional Heathcote Shiraz.
* Fox Creek Wines2016 Short Row Shiraz – A text book perfect McLaren Vale Shiraz. Big and fully present on the palate, but masterfully restrained for a drop that is at once jammy and elegant. Love it so much!
* Heathcote Winery 2015 Slaughterhouse Paddock Shiraz – A textbook Heathcote Shiraz. Big and powerful dark fruit, but as smooth as could be and perfectly restrained at just the right points in its journey across the palate. Perfect amount of light spice. Love this Shiraz.
* Riversdale Estate 2014 Musca Syrah – The coolest clime Shiraz/Syrah to make our list this year, but god was it rewarding. The cool climate restraint allows the layers and layers of depth and spice this wine boasts to shine on full display; a wall of deliciousness and satisfaction. A true terroir expression masterpiece of serious gravitas.
* Rymill Coonawarra 2016 Yearling Shiraz – Rymill’s take on a “drink now” Shiraz is a pretty deep affair. Jammy, chocolatey, and super yummy dark fruit express train. Smooth as it could be, but a deep and serious Shiraz all the same. A miracle at $15. If wines such as this were widely known, Barossa would be in serious trouble.
* Warrabilla Wines 2015 Parola’s Shiraz – We have really come around to Rutherglen’s in-between Barossa and Yarra style of Shiraz, and this one captures why! Big and robust, but every nuance of Shiraz fruit flavour sings through in harmony in this wine. If you have not had a Rutherglen Shiraz, this one will be a true revelation.
* Schild Estate 2016 Sparkling Shiraz – Textbook example of why it is time for Sparkling Shiraz to be taken seriously! The bubbles unlock a flavour element of Shiraz that you just can’t pick up in still Shirazes. Delicious deep blackberry delivered against a subtle vanilla foundation with a creamy effervescence that maximises flavour penetration. Amazing length, and stunning clarity of fruit flavour. If you love Shiraz, you simply must try this wine. It sits alongside Seppelt Wines and Hentley Farm as one of the best Sparkling Shirazes in AUS, but only $25! Quality for the dollar, or pound for pound, this is very much a wine of the year.
Tempranillo
* Anderson Winery 2015 Tempranillo – A beautiful Tempranillo. Ample acidity carries a yummy grape bubble gum flavour; not overly complex, and that’s a good thing for this bullet wine
* BlackJack Wines Tempranillo – Imminently drinkable but unusually deep. A real Heathcote take on the varietal, and our kind of Tempranillo. Serious wine buffs won’t need to make excuses to drink this gem.
Blends
* Parker Coonawarra Estate 2015 Super Luigi Sangiovese / Cab Sav – A fun and delicious take on a Super Tuscan. Big, rich, smooth and delicious.
* Pyren Vineyard “Union” – This blend is a Cab Sav blueberry dream in the best of ways. Although a blend, it perfectly nails that beautiful blueberry flavour that a certain few Cab Savs can achieve. Smooth, delicious fruit.
* St. John’s Road 2016 Motley Bunch GMS – This is a surprisingly powerful wine. If you’re expecting Granny’s GSM, you’re in for a ride. There is something flamboyant about this GMS, the way it serves up sharp and varying flavour components as it makes its way across the palate. Spice, mulberries, some earthiness at one point, but always fruit forward. Powerful and very engaging drop. A real bargain at $22.
* Teusner Wines 2015 Avatar GMS – Deep, dark, and delicious. The M (Mataro) really pops in this savoury and earthy dark chocolate express. Loved this very engaging wine! Worth every penny of the $40 price. Good on Teusner for compellingly standing the tired old AUS GSM on its head!
* Thorn-Clarke Wines 2015 Shotfire Quartage – This deep Bordeaux blend is guaranteed to please. Plump blackberry spreads across the palate against a foundation of earth and pleasant hints of leather. An immediately delicious wine that will age spectacularly over the coming years.
The glorious wines above are 100% #WhyWeLoveWine!
