Best Buys $10 And Under

91 points Wine Enthusiast

Despite being Yalumba’s entry-level Viognier, this is one of its most delicious white offerings. Highly aromatic, it wafts a perfume of honeysuckle, orchard blossom and fuzzy peach skin. The palate is more viscous than the nose implies, but there’s enough acidity to keep it fresh. Peach and lemon flavors linger on the finish. Drink with Thai curry or a similarly bold Southeast Asian dish

#38. on The Wine Spectator Top 100 Wines of 2023!

92 points Wine Spectator
A compelling red on a juicy, fresh frame, with smooth, polished tannins and fresh pomegranate and maraschino cherry flavors at the core, showing details of milk chocolate, nutmeg and white peppercorn, plus an appealing hint of toasted herbs and fresh earth. Reveals tannins that firm up on the finish, which packs a spicy kick. Drink now through 2033.

This medium bodied, deep red blend is bold with strong fruit flavors and hints of sweet blackberry. Well-balanced with medium tannins, this wine would pair well with poultry or pasta dishes.

93+ points Wine Advocate
The 2021 Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz is creamy and densely packed with flavor (packed!), and the American oak is a core part of the wine, both aromatically and in the mouth. The fruit is from McLaren, Coonawarra, Barossa Valley, Wrattonbully and Padthaway and comprises 53% Cabernet Sauvignon and 47% Shiraz. The cooler season has imbued the wine with a freshness and levity, which, if you asked me prior to tasting, I would have said it was impossible to imbue levity in the Bin 389! But there you have it. Epic intensity, present oak. Give it time. I have tasted 30-year-old Bin 389s in the past that have still been alive and fresh. So, the cellar is the place for this vintage. 14.5% alcohol, sealed under natural cork.

90pts Robert Parker:
Slightly herbal and leafy on the nose, the deep, currant-scented 2016 Bin 407 Cabernet Sauvignon blends fruit from five different regions of South Australia. It's medium to full-bodied, with soft, measured tannins and true Cabernet identity. Aged in French and American oak, there are some cedar and mocha notes apparent on the nose and finish, but the cassis fruit carries the day.

92pts James Suckling:
Youthful cabernet style here, showing plenty of blackcurrants and a tarry edge with dried plums, some raisins, mint and sweetly fragrant oak spices. The palate is very smooth and juicy. The fully ripe tannins are super fluid and open-knit, delivering a silky and approachable style. Coonawarra, McLaren Vale, Barossa Valley, Wrattonbully, Padthaway fruit sourcing. Drink now or hold.

91pts Decanter:
Bin 407 is an offcut of Penfolds’ signature Cabernet Sauvignon, Bin 707, and as such it tends to share a similar multi-regional expression - in this case Coonawarra, McLaren Vale, Barossa, Wrattonbully and Padthaway. It's cloaked in both French and American oak, where it spends 12 months, resulting in a youthfully primary, vibrant red in that distinctly ripe, opulent Aussie style. Sweet, blackcurranty Cabernet aromas are accompanied by just a hint of cooler climate leafiness, all the while showing plenty of cassis richness, nice firm tannins and a savoury quality on the finish. Try with a rack of rosemary and garlic lamb. Drinking Window 2020 - 2030


Taste Description:
Colour
Deep and prominent - solid red.

Nose
Where to start? So immediately true to variety. Punchy, not shy.
Beneath: Subtle forest floor earthiness, laced with liquorice, fennel and anise with a sceric of non-aggressive fresh spearmint.
Above: Sugar pastille wafts - somewhat reminiscent of the fruit bon bons of youth- more prescriptively/realistically - blackcurrant jelly bean.
In between: Summer pudding fruit generosity - suggestive of a cherry clafoutis? Or maybe a fleshy red cherry trifle, avec sponge cake? Yes please.
Absorbed: Stylish/coiffured oak - want to say classy, but might sound pretentious? Next time.

Palate
Bountiful red cabernet fruits complexed by cut tobacco (pouch) and darkened spices.
Seamless, with a tightness/tension between acidity and tannins.
These tannins are ripe and friendly - currently perceived as fruit, not oak tannins.
Oak - quite possibly partially contributing to the sweetness apparent on palate?
Flavour and length. Lingers.

93 points James Suckling
An amalgam of redcurrant and blackcurrant aromas with cedary and leafy tones, dark berries and pepper and plenty of oak strut. The palate has a deep vein of black-fruit flavors, as well as plum and chocolate. Bold extract. A blend of Padthaway, Coonawarra, Wrattonbully, McLaren Vale and Barossa Valley. Drink now.

91 points Wine Spectator
Fresh strawberry, pomegranate, mandarin orange and orange sherbet flavors are plump and juicy, with hints of white flower and spice on the refreshing finish.

#9 on The Wine Spectator's Top 100 Wines of 2019!

96 pts Wine Spectator
Offers a lush, juicy mix of blackberry, blueberry and black cherry flavors that appears seamless, integrating with notes of amaretto, clove and lavender. Plush, juicy and very generous on the long, expressive finish. Drink now through 2034. 1,156 cases imported.

Four Pillars Rare Dry Gin is a rare specimen indeed. It is distilled with whole oranges. Further, Four Pillars Rare Dry Gin establishes itself as quintessentially Australian with its use of some local ingredients. Tasmanian Pepperberry (also appears in Botanic Australis and Never Never's Southern Strength) adds a warmth and spice. Again, lemon myrtle makes an appearance as a stand in for traditional lemon. The rest of the botanicals includes several contemporary style gin standbys, like cardamom and lavender. All are distilled on a base of local grain spirit and diluted with local Yarra Valley water. - The Gin is In

41.5%abv