Four of our wines featured prominently in Matthew Jukes round-up of the great and the good coming out of Australia this year:

Chapel Hill McLaren Vale Mourvèdre 2014

I understand why Mourvèdre performs vital flavour duties in a GSM blend, but it has so much more to offer with a stunning rose petal perfume and deep, dark, plum core. There is spice here, too, but it is not Shiraz’s pepper – it is Asian, musky and much sexier. Give this heroic wine a whirl after all it is the equivalent of an Australian Bandol! Now that makes it sounds a lot more intriguing.

Deviation Road, Reserve Brut, Pinot Noir / Chardonnay

The value here is staggering. It ducks under almost all Champagne and English sparkling wine (save for a few dreary supermarket own label offerings) and it soars above all competition at this twenty quid mark.  Made to exacting standards and tasting like a dream, this is a wine you should track down at all costs (or rather £20).

Lethbridge Pinot Noir 2013

These are dark, briary, powerful wines and yet as indulgent as they seem there is tenderness here, too. The oak is relatively well-managed and there is a fair percentage of whole bunches used in this Pinot, too (30%), but it is the calibre and tone of the fruit which I find so compelling. You can chew these wines.

Lethbridge Negroamaro 2015

Obviously it has crazy levels of spice and debauched, bitter fruit, but it is not a world away from the seductive, temptress of a Pinot. There is something slightly magical going on here and I always feel a little frisky after tasting these wines, so I am certain they will have an effect on you.