James Halliday’s ‘creme de la creme’ of wine: The Australian’s annual dozen deals
The Australian’s biggest wine offer of the year is on the table, with James Halliday guiding our selection of the 2021 premium dozen and super premium six.
We’re here: spring has sprung and The Australian’s biggest wine offer of the year is on the table.
The Australian Wine Club’s annual dozen is a tradition that goes back decades, to the days when James Halliday and Len Evans would sample hundreds of wines in a single tasting, before throwing open the doors to The Oz journos, who would ravage through the leftovers. I wasn’t around then, unfortunately – but I can imagine the mayhem!
When the club first began, believed to be about 45 years ago, the annual dozen was the only offer of the year.
Now, under the guidance of Laithwaites and our club president, Halliday, we have great deals every week but the annual dozen remains the pinnacle.
In fact the annual dozen now features several offers involving 30 different wines: the Select Dozen ($15.99 a bottle); the Premium Dozen ($20.83 a bottle) and the Super Premium Six ($36.25 a bottle). Each deal comes with a complimentary bottle of Pikes Eastside Clare Valley Shiraz 2017(95 points, RRP $32).
Rachel Robinson, Laithwaites’ chief in Australia, who has seen the annual dozen campaign triple in sales to more than 5000 dozen, has called out a few of her personal favourites this year.
In the Premium Dozen, Robinson nominates the DeBortoli Estate Dixons Creek Yarra Valley Pinot Blanc 2019: “It has such lovely weight. I’m a huge chardonnay fan and it leans that way in terms of the style but gives different flavours. I’ve been drinking it all year.”
“In the Super Premium Six, the Peter Lehmann Stonewall Shiraz 2015 is iconic and a great price for the quality (as are they all),’’ she says. The Stonewell normally retails for $100 but can be snapped up for only $36.25 as part of this exclusive six-pack offer. (See below)
All wines in the Premium Dozen ($20.83 a bottle) scored between 94 and 96 Halliday points.
Here are a couple of my favourites:
Evans & Tate Redbrook Estate Margaret River Chardonnay 2017
Sublime, high-quality Margaret River chardonnay. White peach, pear and citrus flavours, combining with toasted cashews and a comforting creaminess. 95 points. RRP $40; $20.83 in mixed dozen.
Serafino GSM McLaren Vale Grenache Shiraz Mataro 2019
This 83/14/3 per cent blend works a treat, with forest berries, violets, plums and mouth-watering silky tannins woven together to create a delicious Rhone-style red. 96 points. RRP $28; $20.83 in mixed dozen.
Schild Estate Ben Schild Reserve Single Vineyard BV Shiraz 2017
Classic Barossa shiraz from a trusted family producer: dark plums, blackcurrants and chocolate notes. Smooth and soft. RRP $36; $20.83 in mixed dozen.
The Super Premium Six features wines with retail prices of between $55 and $100, going for just $36.25 a bottle. Described by Halliday as “the creme de la creme”, each wine has scored between 95 and 97 points. Here’s the lineup with descriptions from James Halliday’s Wine Companion.
Thorn-Clarke William Randell Barossa Shiraz 2017
A powerful, full-bodied shiraz with blackberry fruit, tannins and oak all driving the long palate. The absorption of the oak into the fabric of the wine is particularly impressive. 95 points RRP $70; $36.25 in mixed dozen.
Peter Lehmann Stonewell Shiraz 2015
This full, polished red beams dark cherry and plum, while clad in five-spice, espresso and vanillin barrel ferment oak tones. 95 points. RRP $100; $36.25 in mixed dozen.
Kilikanoon Covenant Clare Valley Shiraz 2017
This is a salubrious, full-bodied and glossy wine. A firm bulwark of coffee grind-mocha tannins prolongs scents of violet, blue- to blackberry persuasions and crushed rock, long and far across the palate. 95 points RRP $55; $36.25 in mixed dozen.
d’Arenberg Coppermine Road McLaren Vale Cabernet Sauvignon 2017
A firm, forceful cabernet with blackcurrant, clove, graphite and choc-cedarwood flavours flooding the palate. 97 points RRP $75; $36.25 in mixed dozen.
Serafino Sharktooth McLaren Vale Shiraz 2015
The concentration here is excellent, the ripe and fine-grained nature of the tannin likewise, and length completely convincing. 95 points RRP $70; $36.25 in mixed dozen.
Alkoomi Blackbutt Frankland River Cabernet Blend 2014
Bordeaux-like: leaf, bouquet garni, cassis and clove, swathed in a sage-soused tannic fold, accentuated by classy oak. Long and enveloping. 95 points RRP $65; $36.25 in mixed dozen.
Order online or telephone 1300 765 359 Monday to Friday from 8am to 6pm AEST. Deals available while stocks last. The Australian Wine Club is a commercial partnership with Laithwaite’s Wine People
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