Rutherglen, in the north-east of Victoria, is a warm region best known for fortified wines and dense, full-bodied reds. Sangiovese traditionally performs better in slightly cooler environments, and that makes this wine doubly impressive. You can certainly taste the ripeness of this wine though - flavours of macerated strawberry and cranberry, with a sooty/charcoal edge. Aromatically it's more complex, with some charcuterie, a touch of smoke, brambly dark berries and some herbal notes like juniper and thyme. The moderate tannins do a good job of keeping things balanced. Overall, an incredibly solid wine with gentle, approachable fruit and some complex savoury flavours.

We love wineries which celebrate the underdogs of the grape world. We also love wineries which know how to perfect the classics, and bring us superb bottles made from the big name grapes, too. Imagine our delight when we discovered Rutherglen Estate - a northeast Victoria wine producer which really does seem to do it all. From their iconic ‘stickies’ to wonderful table wines made from a massive array of grape varietals, Rutherglen Estate is on a mission to bring to the Australian table the bold, the brilliant, the unusual and the underrated. Founded by the Shelley family way back in the 1850s, this is an estate which has a deep and comprehensive connection with the land… and it shows in each and every bottle they produce. Using a wide array of traditional and ultra-modern winemaking methods, the vintners of Rutherglen Estate have a range which most other wineries would baulk at. There’s a range of classy and expressive Shiraz and Sauvignon Blanc wines, as one might expect, but they also experiment with plenty of varietals which rarely see the light of day in Australia (let alone anywhere else in the world). Take, for example, their Savagnin wines - a varietal barely seen outside of the alpine hills of Jura - or those made from Durif, or indeed their signature blend of Viognier, Marsanne, and Roussanne made from grapes grown on the original 19th century Shelley vineyard. A real treat, and a genuine taste of Aussie innovation and single- mindedness. We’re smitten!