Big, bold reds with an even bigger and bolder 60pc saving

Hungerford Hill’s award-winning shiraz from the Hunter Valley takes centre stage, with other blockbuster shiraz from McLaren Vale, the Adelaide Hills and Pyrenees in this week’s mixed dozen offer.

The Hungerford Hill is in good company.

It’s an interesting premise, the idea that a level of adversity can be an essential ingredient in creating a premium wine.

Winemaker Bryan Currie is enjoying a dry winter’s morning in the NSW Hunter Valley as he discusses his 2022 Hungerford Hill Shiraz that’s part of The Australian Wine Club’s special offer this week.

Four cracking shiraz from around the country take centre stage, including an old-vine McLaren Vale shiraz with a recommended retail price of $105 a bottle.

But Currie knows the next climatic challenge is unlikely to be far away for the three wine labels he oversees. The incessant rain of 2024 has followed previous seasons of bushfires and drought, adding to what Currie sees as the unique obstacles – and pleasures – of producing wine in the Hunter Valley.

“You become pretty philosophical when you grow grapes up here, you just learn to roll with the punches to some extent,” Currie says.

Bryan Currie.

“It is a challenging place to grow grapes, being very coastal and somewhat subtropical in summer with a lot of humidity. You expect there’s going to be challenges and get quite used to them.

“But if you think about it, most of the great wines of the world come from places where it’s a bit marginal. When it’s really easy to grow grapes, as a generalisation it doesn’t make for high-quality wines.

“When there’s a bit of a challenge and it’s a bit too cool, or it’s been too dry, or whatever the other challenges are – and in the Hunter, it’s generally a bit too wet – you tend to find it pushes the grapes to extremes and that’s when you get the higher-quality wines.”

In part that’s why Currie prefers a light touch as the senior winemaker across three prestigious Hunter wine brands: Hungerford Hill, Dalwood Estate and Sweetwater Estate, aiming to roll with the vicissitudes of the environment to exemplify the subtle differences within one region.

“With the winemaking philosophy, especially when you’re trying to make wines from different regions, I really like to express the region and not so much the winemaker, because otherwise they all become the same and that’s really boring,” he says.

Boring is hardly the epithet to apply to Hungerford Hill’s award-winning shiraz, whose gentle tannins and balanced acidity make it “a textbook Hunter shiraz”, Currie says.

“We worked really hard on the vineyard, which has shown up in the wine, just beautifully ripe and soft.”

In The Australian Wine Club dozen this week the Hungerford Hill sits alongside fellow shiraz from the Adelaide Hills, McLaren Vale and Pyrenees, offering a discount of more than 60 per cent on the RRP.

Hungerford Hill Hunter Valley Shiraz 2022

Given the natural irrigation of the Hunter’s subtropical climate, it’s no surprise to pick up an earthiness to Bryan Currie’s baby on the nose, adding rosemary notes among the more dominant cherry and blueberry theme. The same fruits come through on the palate but are held in check by savoury guardrails of leather and coffee flavours. A hint of dark chocolate rounds off an easy, rewarding mouthful. 13.5% alc, RRP $45 a bottle.

SPECIALS: $39.99 in any dozen; $22.99 in the shiraz dozen.

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d’Arenberg J.R.O. Afflatus McLaren Vale Shiraz 2014

A wine whose grapes came from vines planted in 1910 is as complex and intriguing as you might hope – and quite extraordinary value in this bundle. It glints a deep garnet on first pour and the aromas unfold like storytelling: bramble fruit, black olives, almost a gamey meatiness and just a hint of menthol. From first sip it’s a juicy and succulent wine, full bodied and yet still youthful for a 10-year-old vintage – this will continue to age well, though the temptation to pair it with a steak right away will also be strong. Gold medal and 95 points from James Halliday. 14.5% alc, RRP $105 a bottle.

SPECIALS: $92.99 in any dozen; $22.99 in the shiraz dozen.

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Tapanappa Adelaide Hills Shiraz 2018

Sometimes one’s gut instinct is spot on, and the exclamation from our tasting panel on first sip sums it up: “Oh my, that’s lovely!” An appropriate maturity on the nose had offered touches of plum and dried fruit with port-like intensity, but it’s more measured on drinking: an elegant and subtle mouthfeel with a savoury edge offering dried sage and olive tapenade. 94 points from Wine Orbit. 14.2% alc, RRP $55 a bottle.

SPECIALS: $49.99 in any dozen; $22.99 in the shiraz dozen.

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Blue Pyrenees Section One Shiraz 2019

A gold medal winner at the London Wine Competition in 2022, this Victorian shiraz is a brooding number, from its dark garnet colouring through to a structured and moreish finish. The restrained and savoury nose drops hints of mint, vanilla and ground pepper but there’s a generously fruity palate to follow. A back note of creamy milk chocolate helps to keep the tannins nicely smooth. 14.5% alc, RRP $38 a bottle.

SPECIALS: $27.99 in any dozen; $22.99 in the shiraz dozen.

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SPECIAL SHIRAZ DOZEN
Three bottles of each wine above for $22.99 a bottle. Save $453.

Order online or phone [phone] Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm AEST. Deals are available only while stocks last. The Australian Wine Club is a commercial partnership with Laithwaites Wine, LIQP770016550