JM 1ST APPROACH

Medium crimson-purple; the plush red berry fruit and oak aromas lead into a multi-layered textural palate, with plum and more savoury fruit set within the subtle French and American oak in which the wine was matured. This is indeed a serious merlot at a laughable price. 92 points James Halliday Top 100 Wines

the ultimate weekday refreshing red (don’t quote me on that). Red fruit, blood plum, black jellybean with a subtle nut and dried herb flavour. It’s fresh and balanced with fine dry tannin and a good clean finish. Drinks beautifully and has that bit of Nero d’Avola charisma as a point of difference. Rated : 90 Points Winefront.com.au

Another impressive import with bags of bright personality that begs for food. WiningPom

Cranberry, damask rose, pomegranate, cherry juice and cracked dark husky spices (not quite clove, or black pepper) mingle in a beautifully pure Toro red earthiness. A full and velvet-soft fruit palate, sheeted on quality fruit tannin. Medium volume, with spread and reach, never sweet, not heavy nor lumpy. Effortless and lovely.

A jam-packed cranberry+field herb nose (red lavender anyone?) is perfectly struck - fresh fruit and earth, lift and depth ... The palate is perfumed, ovoid, lissom, and really harmonious - built beautifully on Telmo's trademark natural fruit tannin-acid twin-track. Juicy and deft, it's not just good and typical, nor merely delicious … this is spectacular wine for the $$

A medium bodied wine that’s chewy and red fruited with a side of meat, Brazil nut and mint/licorice. It has dry tannin, a bit of tension and sinew, and good flow through the mouth, dipping slightly on the back palate, before running long and savoury on the finish. There’s a pleasant dried herbal bitterness and something like coffee beans, though they say ‘roast chestnut’ on the back label, and damn them for besting me. Classy. And something of a bargain.”Rated : 93 Points WInefront.com.au

A bright brick red colour with crimson highlights. The palate is complex and alluring, combining dark berry fruit and blueberries with underbrush and hints of chocolate and toasted coffee. The palate is rich and fruit driven with Barbera’s vibrant berry flavours matched by the savoury tobacco leaf and fine tannins of Nebbiolo.

A 'mini' Barolo, for this price? Unbelievable ... yet true. Stock up, I have! Gavin Trott

A bright brick red colour with crimson highlights. The palate is complex and alluring, combining dark berry fruit and blueberries with underbrush and hints of chocolate and toasted coffee. The palate is rich and fruit driven with Barbera’s vibrant berry flavours matched by the savoury tobacco leaf and fine tannins of Nebbiolo.

A 'mini' Barolo, for this price? Unbelievable ... yet true. Stock up, I have! Gavin Trott

Green pear, citrus, apricot kernel and a few dried herbs, but perhaps ‘cooly fruity’ is a good way to describe it. It’s clean and refreshing with excellent fruit purity and a little bit of ‘mineral’, perhaps there’s a touch of sweetness to round out  and balance, but feels pretty much dry and pulls that way with its gently herbal and sparkling finish. Well, maybe not ultra-complex, but so good to drink. 91 points Winefront.com.au

Straight Up Mataro, named after the Mataro vine’s vertical inclination, is a wine heady with floral herbs of kitchen gardens and elderflowers. A core of bramble fruits and blueberries hold it’s terrestrial, earthy characters and muscular structure.