About The Pack
The big wide world of imported wine can be a daunting thing to explore. Where do you start? French? Italian? Who knows?!
This is the perfect way to discover some great imports if you're not quite sure where to start.
It's a seasonal mix of varieties and a broad cross-section of producers and countries. And most importantly, it's cracking value.
Think of this as your 'serious imported wine starter kit'.
2018 Charteris Central Otago Pinot Noir
This, PJ's 'village' Pinot Noir, comes from a vineyard high up on Felton Road in Central Otago.
The aim here is to craft something that is complex yet approachable in its youth.
PJ includes a little whole bunch which gives a gentle smokiness to what is lovely ripe and open fruit. It's a much more subtle and restrained style of Otago Pinot Noir and one that's immediately approachable.
Still, it shows plenty of power, plenty of fruit. It's a lovely example for the region which will only get better over the next 3-5 years.
Read more about 2018 Charteris Central Otago Pinot Noir2018 Rosi Schuster Rotburger
Rosi Schuster began her eponymous Burgenland label in 1979.
It wasn't until 2005 that her son Hannes joined her at the winemaking helm and influenced Rosi to pursue organic farming of their Sankt Laurent, Blaufränkisch and Rotburger (Zweigelt). The gear shift towards more sustainable farming practices has yielded fantastic results, with Hannes winning the 2011 Gault & Millau Austrian Wine of the Year for his 2009 Blaufränkisch Rusterberg amongst a slew of other accolades.
They are a formidable team, producing some of the most enticing reds in the region today.
This Rotburger is a snappy, sappy red wine with a kick of green herbs and vibrant, mineral-driven mouthfeel. It's Zweigelt at its most moreish with a little more complexity than you would typically expect from the variety. This offers top notch drinking from a producer in fine form.
Read more about 2018 Rosi Schuster Rotburger2018 Mas de Libian Cotes du Rhone Bout d'Zan
This is an absolute steal of a wine.
This is a blend of Grenache (75%), and Syrah from selected biodynamically farmed vineyards in the Rhone Valley. There's something magical about these wines from Mas de Libian. They have a sense of life and energy that is palpable. Not to mention, the effortless purity that you see in the glass.
The name 'Bout d’Zan' refers to the patriarch's nickname as a kid, however, today it refers to the lick of licorice that the winemakers see in the wine each year.
It's a red wine that makes you want to sit a swirl. A rosy, cherried, lighter frame Grenache blend that shows the efficacy of gentle farming and low intervention winemaking. Spring and Summer in red wine form. Brilliant stuff for the dollars asked.
Read more about 2018 Mas de Libian Cotes du Rhone Bout d'Zan2017 Alberto Oggero Sandro d'Pindeta
Growing up, Alberto Oggero would often follow his grandfather Sandro through the vines
It sparked a life-long love affair with making wine from his home area of Roero. He studied oenology in Alba, gaining the technical skills to compliment his passion. And in 2009 Alberto took over his grandfather's vineyard, eventually fulfilling his long-time dream of restoring the old family house and cellar.
He now lovingly tends to 3 hectares of vines across his home. This Nebbiolo is an ode to his grandfather. It's brought to life in concrete, released young and fresh. The perfect pulpy, nervy Nebbiolo to sink your teeth into young.
A flat out delicious wine with a great story that doesn't cost an arm and a leg. What's not to love?
Read more about 2017 Alberto Oggero Sandro d'Pindeta2018 Matias Riccitelli Hey Malbec!
Matias Riccitelli is a madman in Mendoza.
Young and full of energy, Matias is crafting a range of wines that are challenging many of the preconceptions of the Mendoza region.
His wines are made with a gentle hand and show a more raw and unpolished side of the region. That is to say, his wines feel like they were grown, not made. In a sea of over-ripe, over-oaked Mendoza Malbec, they offer a refreshing change of pace.
The Hey Malbec! is his wine meant for early consumption. It's an excellent example of fresh-faced Malbec that is near impossible to put down.
Read more about 2018 Matias Riccitelli Hey Malbec!2018 Maestro Tejero El Rey Del Glam Garnacha
Alfredo Maestro makes some seriously excellent, expressive, and inexpensive wines from his home in Ribera del Duero.
This fun-loving, vampy Garnacha is a blend of fruit from both Ribera del Duero and Alfredo's vineyard in Navarredondilla. It's the essence of Garnacha made almost in the mould of Beaujolais.
The fruit is fermented as whole bunches, allowing the juicy raspberry bubblegum flavours to pop out of the glass.
It's not the hulking, ultra-ripe caricature of Spanish Grenache that may spring to mind, this is about freshness and drinkability... and importantly, glamming it up!
Read more about 2018 Maestro Tejero El Rey Del Glam Garnacha