Four opulent reds await behind the Secret Cellar door

The quartet features a 98-point Barossa shiraz usually worth $80 a bottle that will ward off the late-winter chills.

The popular Secret Cellar helps winemakers hurt by China’s effective boycott of our wines to move their stock.

More than 35 years ago, a year or so after I passed my driving test, my dad called me over and handed me a spare key to the family car. “Just don’t go crazy,” he told me with an undeniably anxious expression on his face.

Exactly the same feelings of excitement, responsibility and terror came flooding back to me when John Lehmann – long-time custodian of this space – told me he was ready to share access to The Australian Wine Club vault, and handed me a spare key. The look on John’s face was not unlike my dad’s.

To be fair, the rust-encrusted Rover 3500 Estate to which I was granted access all those decades ago – and whose brakes failed a year later, while I was driving – is hardly analogous to the majesty of the Wine Club’s stocks, from which many readers replenish their own collections regularly.

That’s especially true in this of all months. I did wonder about John’s sense of timing, as the extraordinary contents of this quarter’s Secret Cellar case were lined up.

Four pretty opulent reds sat there, with an average RRP of around $63 each, on offer to our members in this special mixed dozen at less than half that.

Regular readers know how popular the Secret Cellar is, to the degree of it often selling out, but also know the caveat that you are buying blind, in the sense of not knowing the specific identity of each wine.

It has to be that way; the point of the Secret Cellar has been to allow winemakers hurt by China’s effective boycott of our wines to move their stock, but in a way that protects the brands in the long run.

That support for our wine industry remains essential, even though China moved earlier this year to end the crippling tariffs that were tripling prices. What was a $1.2bn market is in tatters and the road back to even a fraction of those levels will be a slow one.

Which is why The Australian Wine Club’s quarterly offer is both necessary and popular, especially as it’s underpinned by the insurance policy that if you don’t like what you get sent – for whatever reason – we’ll refund your order.

It’s a quartet featuring a 98-point Barossa shiraz (with a usual RRP of $80 a bottle, just quietly), a sort-of sibling in a 96-point shiraz from the McLaren Vale, a rather silky cabernet sauvignon from the Adelaide Hills and a decanter-worthy cab sav from the Coonawarra.

We may be past the halfway point of winter, let alone the shortest day, but move quickly and this case will provide a little internal central heating while there’s still a chill in the air.

Barossa Valley Shiraz, 2021

Hold this up to the light and the depths of dark purple give the first hint of the intensity to come – though the ruby glint at the edge also reveals the balance in this showstopper. It’s all about those concentrated berries on the nose, with mulberry, blackcurrant and blueberry to the fore, with a touch of plum. A few minutes’ grace in the glass adds some vanilla, burnt toffee and definite spice.

The berries stick around on the palate too, all concentrated sweet fruit and a beguiling square or two of milk chocolate. From the first sip the effect is soft and velvety, with the tannins delivering a long and rewarding finish. 15% alc; RRP $80 a bottle.

SPECIALS: $74.99 a bottle in any dozen; $28.99 a bottle in Secret Cellar dozen

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McLaren Vale Shiraz, 2020

With grapes sourced from three of the Vale’s better-known vineyards, the garnet hue is no surprise on first pour. There’s a cooked sugariness upfront on first sniff, redolent of creme brulee and vanilla bean but adding layers of dark red fruit and plum.

The fruit-forward theme continues in the palate, rewarding with a concentrated mouth-filling texture and generous weight. 14.5% per cent alc, $60 RRP a bottle.

SPECIALS: $53.99 a bottle in any dozen; $28.99 a bottle in Secret Cellar dozen

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Adelaide Hills Cabernet Sauvignon 2017

An absolute case study in how a wine can unfurl as it gets to grips with the atmosphere, this is initially intense on the nose, with a graphite edge. But within moments there’s licorice notes, some marzipan and then a field of berries.

Those berries are upfront in the mouth too but the savoury edge won’t go away, especially with a juicy acidity that marshals a long fruit finish. 14.5% per cent alc, $50 RRP a bottle.

SPECIALS: $44.99 a bottle in any dozen; $28.99 a bottle in Secret Cellar dozen

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Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon, 2022

Just as some people take a while to get to know, this Coonawarra number offers hidden depths if you make the effort to open it up in advance. Initially it’s a herby offering, with rosemary, sage and eucalypt on the nose and similar in the mouth as grippy tannins take hold. But the dark fruits begin to play the longer it’s in the glass, with dark chocolate and vanilla adding depth. Fantastic with a ragu. 14.5% alc, $60 RRP a bottle.

SPECIALS: $49.99 a bottle in any dozen; $28.99 a bottle in Secret Cellar dozen

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SECRET CELLAR DOZEN Three bottles of each wine above for $28.99 a bottle. SAVE $402 a dozen.

Tom Smithies and cellar director John Lehmann will share the authoring of the column in the weeks ahead.
Order online or phone [phone] Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm AEST. Deals available only while stocks last. The Australian Wine Club is a commercial partnership with Laithwaites Wine, LIQP770016550.