#1 - Bodegas Catena 2013 Alamos Chardonnay - $13.99
Offers fantastic value, keeping it simple with a focus on the balance of clean, crisp orchard fruit and rich, malolactic and barrel fermentation characters. Sourced from the high altitude vineyards of Mendoza, the wine does spend 6 months in a combination of American and French oak, imparting a myriad of spices on the finish and texture on the palate, balancing the bright, apple and peach flavours.
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#2 - Cellar Hand 2014 Free Run White - $15.90 (including tax)
The nose offers ripe, delicate aromas of tropical and orchard fruit, most notably: pineapple, mango, apricot and nectarine. The medium-bodied palate follows with similar fruit flavours and added citrus notes and acidity.
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#3 - Tinhorn Creek Vineyards 2014 Gewurztraminer - $14.99
Aromas and flavours of peaches, lemons, apples, oranges blossoms, stonefruit and spice on the rounded, pleasant nose and the well-balanced, long-lasting, off-dry palate.
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#4 - Chateau Des Charmes 2012 Gamay Noir 'Droit' - $16.95 (including tax)
An excellent Gamay with a rich nose of black cherry, cola, mineral and warm, spicy earth aromas. On the palate, despite the 3.5g/l of residual sugar (adding texture and body), a thin vein of citrus acidity runs through to the Christmas Cake and oak-infused finish, contrasting the ripe, spicy raspberry flavours.
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#5 - The Painted Wolf Wines 2014 The Den Chenin Blanc - $13.29
A refreshing, well-balanced and extremely well-priced Chenin Blanc from South Africa with zesty citrus, rich apple and light mineral aromas on the nose. The palate opens with a kick of zesty citrus fruit that quickly transitions to creamy, off-dry texture mid-palate and then circles back to tongue-tingling citrus zest for the (slightly) spicy finish.
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