Description
'Alternative' grape varieties are causing an evolution in Australian wine, and changing the way winemakers and consumers think about our industry's future. These emerging varieties are often better suited to sustainably grow in our warm climate, and provide a myriad of delicious new flavours, textures and food-friendly styles.
This pack allows you to discover some exciting new grapes for yourself, and sample some of the finest alternative grape variety wines in the country!
- 2023 Nick Spencer P.A.R. Hilltops Malbec
- 2025 Dr. Edge Tyrannosaurus dREDge Pinot Meunier
- 2025 Fighting Gully Road Sangiovese
- 2023 Varney Wines Mencia
- 2025 Bondar Nero
- 2025 Protero Dolcetto
2023 Nick Spencer P.A.R. Hilltops Malbec
"Nick Spencer is one of the better winemakers in this country.”
- Gary Walsh
"Australian wine can be a brash place, but it still manages to provide harbour to some considered, thoughtful souls, of which Nick Spencer is one. He is the real deal, in short. His wines are more than wines. They are their grapes laid bare
- Campbell Mattinson
P.A.R. is a new label from Nick Spencer, started with the intention of focusing entirely on emerging/alternative varieties in Australia, seeing fermentation and maturation only in sandstone amphoras.
The Malbec for this wine is sourced from a vineyard 600m above sea level with decomposed granite soils located around Young in the Hilltops region. The fruit gets picked and sent to amphora for fermentation and further ageing for 18 months.
It comes out bountiful in aromatics and flavour, with it's purple fruited heart to the fore thanks to the lack of oak.
94 points
"You can tell it’s Malbec, but also, gee, it’s a lot like a good Teroldego. I really like this."
- Gary Walsh (The Wine Front)94 points
"This is light and juicy, but, wow, does it finish the job beautifully through the finish! There's no heaviness to this wine – it's essentially built on acidity – but for character and complexity, it really has it going on, and at least, if not more importantly, it's really up there for drinkability too. As they say, delicioso!"
- Campbell Mattinson (Halliday Wine Companion)\
2025 Dr. Edge Tyrannosaurus dREDge Pinot Meunier
The Dr. Edge Tyrannosaurus dREDge is a dinosaur in name but definitely not in nature.
Named in honour of being called a "dinosaur" by an employee (we assume a former employee now), winemaker Peter Dredge sourced the Pinot Meunier grapes from Pipers Brook in Tassie's north, and the Derwent Valley in the south, with a little splash of Pinot Noir thrown in for a touch more grunt. A mix of 50% whole berry on skins and the rest under carbonic maceration, it then spent two months on lees in tank.
Tart cherries and fresh pomegranate mix with a herb-infused and forest floor savouriness to create an ultra-bright and cherry wine. A light little pixie of a wine that's just a pleasure to drink.
2025 Fighting Gully Road Sangiovese
This is perhaps Australia's best Sangiovese.
Mark Walpole is one of the rare Australian viticulturists who genuinely understands how to wrangle Sangiovese. Teaming up with winemaker Adrian Rodda, the Fighting Gully Road label consistently proves that you don't need to be in Chianti to get this notoriously stubborn grape to behave.
The fruit is pulled entirely from the upper, sun-exposed slopes of the Aquila Audax Vineyard in Beechworth. Up here, the vines dig into a tough mix of shale and metamorphic rock, forcing them to work hard and naturally restricting yields.
The blend of the 2025 is 95% Sangiovese backed by a 5% splash of Colorino to help lock in colour and structure. Fermented wild across a mix of stainless steel and oak vats with a portion of whole berries kept intact, the juice spends a full 28 days on skins before maturing in large Italian-coopered casks.
It drinks exactly as great Sangiovese should - dusty, tense, and built for the dinner table. The '25 is maybe a little lighter on its feet than the last couple of vintages, with wild berries, a rub of crushed sage, and the chalky tannin the grape is famous for driving a long, dry finish.
96 points
"Think of the first Australian sangiovese you ever tried and then try this – the two are worlds apart. The fruit sweetness, so obvious back then, is now one layer of many, a multi-cast member... Think you know sangiovese? Think again."
- Jeni Port (Halliday Wine Companion)
2023 Varney Wines Mencia
95 points & Top 100 Wines of 2023
"Bright colour; a haunting herbal/dark cupboard bouquet... and that Varney touch of freshness on the finish."
- James Halliday (The Weekend Australian)
Not as much Mencia among the vineyards of McLaren Vale, as, say Touriga - that seems to the grape 'de jour'. But more wines like this elegant, lacy beauty from Alan Varney and lots of this native Spanish grape might find its way in to the ground.
From a small plot in Seaview, this is a bright, lifted, medium-bodied red with some exotic spice and game meat aromatics.
Nine days on skins, short time in Burgundy barrels then bottled. Just 88 dozen bottles made. Not sure how much drinking that works out to per day...
2025 Bondar Nero
Andre and Selina Bondar have a real knack for making wines that are high on the "gluggability" scale, and their Nero d’Avola is the poster child for that style. Sourced from two distinct McLaren Vale sites - one in Tatachilla and one in Willunga - it’s a bright, energetic red that prioritises fun and freshness over heavy structure.
The winemaking is all about balance. The Willunga fruit gets a massive 90% whole-bunch treatment to dial up the perfume and spice, while the Tatachilla parcel is destemmed to keep the fruit core juicy and soft. Because it comes from younger vines, the wine has a lovely light feel to it, full of crunchy red berries and a zesty lift that makes it incredibly easy to put away.
This is the ultimate "anytime" red. It’s unpretentious, vibrant, and perfectly suited to a 15-minute stint in the fridge before serving. It’s a small-batch release that usually disappears quickly, so it’s worth grabbing a few while it’s around.
95 points
"Black jellybean, black cherry pastille and raspberry gelée – not confected, but feeling essence-like, pure. The palate is refined, missing the sweet, pulpy core so common in the variety. Spice and savouriness deepen the interest, with tobacco, amaro and panforte spices – an Italian Christmas feel – along with a tar/bitumen character. Modest of weight, supple, textural, with finely tooled Bondar tannins. One of the better neros out there."
- Marcus Ellis (Halliday Wine Companion)
2025 Protero Dolcetto
Stephen Pannell’s Protero label has always been about translating the grapes of Northern Italy through the lens of the Adelaide Hills. For Pannell, Dolcetto isn't a lesser cousin to Nebbiolo - it's a daily staple, a style he openly admits to drinking at home more often than almost anything else.
The fruit comes from a tiny, 0.7-hectare west-facing parcel known as Block 9 in the Kenton Valley, bordered by a chestnut grove. A dry spring and warm summer in 2025 pushed the harvest a few weeks early, creating a flawless, disease-free window for late-ripening varieties before the fruit was hand-picked in mid-March.
The goal is purely about capturing that pristine fruit energy. The grapes spent fourteen days on skins in stainless steel with daily pump-overs, then were gently pressed off to extra-large French oak puncheons. It rested there for just three months before bottling in early 2026.
The style here is wonderfully fleshy and exuberant, leaning away from heavy extraction and toward bright, immediate joy. Think crushed dark berries, tart bramble, and a dusting of baking spice, all wrapped up in shifting, chalky tannins that grip and then melt away. You could overthink it, but the best move is to follow Langhe tradition: crack it young, pour it generously, and park it next to a plate of braised beef cheeks.
Customer Reviews
| Price Bracket | $30 or Less |
| Type | Red |
| Country | Australia |
| Size | 7 |
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