The brief was for a big, bold Barossa red, and winemakers Kym Teusner and Corey Ryan have surely delivered.

“Unashamedly opulent, with loads of power” and from the 5 star Halliday rated Zeppelin winery, the Zeppelin Big Bertha Barossa Shiraz 2009 has all the dark berry flavours, seductive fruit sweetness, soft savoury tannins and spicy oak and a very long plush aftertaste that excellent Barossa Shiraz can deliver.

With old (up to 80 years) vines, extended maturation, open fermentation and basket pressed to maximise fruit expression, the Big Bertha has garnered a big thumbs up from all the notable reviewers:

"This is a far more complete wine than your average run-of-the-mill quaffer. Everything works in harmony. The mulberried, dark berried fruit. The chewy, velvety tannin. The malty, spicy oak. And the way its jubey fruit flavours sing in a clear voice on the finish. Neither alcohol nor acid get in the way. And it just has a nice shape to it as it passes through your mouth. Hardly think you can go wrong". Winefront

"Nice to see a wine perfectly personified in its name and massive, fat, round blimp up in lights on its label. Unashamedly opulent, with loads of power and soft, fluffy tannins. Ready for launch." Tyson Stelzer

"Low-yielding Barossa vines provide traditionally generous qualities to this well priced shiraz. Raspberry jam, blackberry and spice on the nose show little apparent oak influence and the full bodied palate is jammy and mellow with ripe flavours, smooth texture and balanced tannins." Ralph Kyte-Powell in Epicure, The Age Score: 95. January 2011.

"Strong purple-crimson; you get a great deal of ultra-typical Barossa Valley shiraz in this bottle, yet it retains excellent structure, balance and mouthfeel, and the flavours build deliciously on the harmonious back-palate and aftertaste." Score: 94. July 2012. James Halliday - who also gave Zeppelin the 5 Star Winery gong in his 2012 James Halliday Wine Companion.

All this more than gives good reason for the normal $17 retail, so our price of $159.60 a dozen makes this a truly great buy.

This is a wine we - and many of you - have grown to love over the years. France's Rhône wine region is rapidly gaining recognition in Australia - not least as many Australian winemakers who do stints there, come back with praise and passion for the Rhône's wine styles and winemaking techniques. 

This excellent wine pays homage to the great multi-varietal Rhône blends, containing no less than six grape varieties, each making at least a 10% contribution to the final blend. There's Grenache, Syrah, Mourevèdre, Carignan, Cinsaut and Counoise (which adds a peppery nuance on the finish) - the last three coming from old vine material. The grapes are sorted and destemmed before a long maceration in concrete tank (about three weeks), then the wine spends one year in tank prior to bottling. The blend works brilliantly, displaying powerful raspberry and musky spice aromas. Add to this the herby/earthy touches of the terroir: lavender, violets, thyme, bay leaf and warm stones. The finish is tangy and perfumed with a flood of bright fruit shrouded in a particularly fine weave of powdery tannins (typical of limestone rich soils). By the way, Chèvrefeuille [pronounced: shev-ruh-foy] is French for 'honeysuckle', the unmistakable perfume of which you cannot miss during springtime in the southern Ardèche.

A wine more expressive of place we are hard pressed to suggest. 

Buy the Domaine La Remejeanne Cotes du Rhone Les Chevrefeuilles Rouge here for just $285 for a case including delivery.

We love Rosé. There. We said it. We love it for its drinkability throughout the year, its sheer versatility and enhancement of food, its refreshing palate. That said, our love is not unthinking - there are too many Rosés not worthy of the name that have let the side down.

Of all the Rosés you buy, the most popular (and our staff pick) is the de Rimauresq Côtes de Provence Cru Classé Rose. Now on the 2011 vintage, this wine has offered unaparalled quality over many years - whilst the price has remained the same. Chilled for an hour and kept on ice, this Rosé is summed up well by Stephen Tanzer:

"Light pink. Highly aromatic scents of candied red berries, blood orange, lavender and ginger, along with a spicy topnote. Deeply pitched strawberry and bitter cherry flavours are braced by zesty minerality and show excellent clarity. Closes spicy and long, with resonating floral notes and impressive length." 91 Points - Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar

The perfect summer wine - buy the Domaine de Rimauresq Côtes de Provence Cru Classé Rose 2011 here.