Here we are, the final pack of the year.  There are two rules for the wines in this pack: they have to be delicious, and they have to be great value. That's it! We aren't trying to reinvent the wheel here; we just want to make sure you have plenty of great gear to drink over the coming silly season.

With that in mind, and as we always do, we've made sure there are plenty of bright and crunchy whites for the warmer weather to come, and hopefully a little poolside, beach, or bayside action or insert your favourite body of water here. This year, we have got some lush French chardonnay, a couple of crispy white blends that will hit the spot as the mercury rises, one of the best value rieslings in the country, and a staff favourite from Italy. Of course, there is one of our favourite rose from Corsica, no less, to round out the action in the fridge. After all, what is a summer drinking pack without a little rose!?

For the reds think juicy, packed with flavour and perfect for whatever comes off the BBQ. This year its a perfect mixed bag of styles with some lovely Yarra Valley pinot noir that we have only recently discovered, a ripper red blend from Mclaren Vale, one of the best value Chianti you are likely to find, along with our number 1. Rioja producer and their most recent release.

To round it all off, we have included a magnum of Torbreck Woodcutters shiraz. This big boy is looking great, and with the legend that is Ian Hongle at the helm, this is one of the better renditions we have seen. Cracking this big fella will be quite the celebration starter!

And last but not least, we have included some brilliant new gin from Rottnest Island Gins. We tried these recently and loved them. You will be receiving a 200ml tube of goodness along with some Archibald tonic as a mixer. The gins come in four flavours, and we will be randomly popping one in the box for you. They are all delicious, and part of the proceeds help to maintain and protect the wonderland that is Rottnest Island.

This pack is crammed full of delicious drinking. They are the perfect packs to keep around and dip into with a little something for everyone and for any occasion over the holiday season. They're so good that you might as well get two! 

We wish you all a happy holiday and season's greetings. Whatever way you celebrate, enjoy, stay safe, and drink well.

Riesling with both body and bones. This is such a good option for drinking. It tastes of lime, slate, melon and apple, with a run of chalk detectable through the finish. It works a treat. The value is high. CAMPBELL MATTINSON, the wine front

This is always a belter Riesling. Rocky Gully sits under the umbrella of Frankland Estate, one of Australia’s truly great Riesling producers and a benchmark name in the Frankland River. While Frankland Estate is celebrated for its pristine, detailed, and age-worthy expressions, Rocky Gully offers a more approachable, everyday window into the same exceptional region and philosophy. It is always a bit of a jaw-dropper when you try it, considering its humble pricing.

The Rocky Gully Riesling is crafted with the same care, sourcing, and regional integrity that have long defined Frankland Estate’s reputation. It’s bright, vibrant, citrus-driven, and wildly drinkable—showing off the tension, purity, and effortless charm that Frankland River Riesling delivers so well. Think of it as the fun, fruit-forward sibling to the more serious estate wines: built for immediate enjoyment but still unmistakably Frankland at heart.

Fresh, pure and with generous Riesling flavour, it never fails to hit the spot. It shows abundant blossom and stone fruit, citru,s and melon on the nose. Bath salt, talc, and delicate spice undertones. A nicely weighted wine with a generosity of flavour and white stone fruit. Delicate and precise on the palate with generosity of fruit, persistent length of flavou,r and soft texture

It's an impressively modern affair here with state-of-the-art equipment and winemaking facilities. However, the team here is committed to making what they see as the traditional expressions of the wines of the region while embracing contemporary craftsmanship. That includes very little oak if any at all and steel tank, temperature controlled ferments to preserve freshness and vitality.

These are impressive wines that capture the warmth, heart, and soul of the region with modern styling and a nod to the many generations of quality wine producers that came before them.

SPECIAL VALUE - True to the Ricca Terra ethos of educating and watering the masses with alternative Australian varieties, here is a blend of vermentino, grenache blanc and fiano. Salty and bright, this is both savoury and floral – fenugreek, chamomile, ruby grapefruit and green apple with lots of citrus acidity reverberating through. Textured and resolved; I like this a lot. KATRINA BUTLER, Halliday Wine Companion

This crazy and delicious blend from vermentino, fiano, greco and arinto grapes is produced by Ashley Ratcliff and family from the Ricca Terra farms of Riverland, South Australia. Year in year out it has to be one of the best value smashers for summer around. I honestly don't know how Ashley does it at this price but we don't really care. 

Its pitch-perfect in its delivery with juciy, punchy fruits, intriguing and inviting aromatic complexity yet remains so much fun and is so easy to enjoy without coming off as overly-simple. Great stuff! 

Antonio Monteiro of Quinta do Ermizio is one of the quietly brilliant contemporary voices of Vinho Verde, a region often underestimated but increasingly home to some of Portugal’s most exciting, terroir-focused wines. Based in the sub-region of Basto, Monteiro farms a patchwork of granitic vineyards at altitude, where the cooler nights and well-drained decomposed granite soils provide the perfect conditions for producing structured, mineral-driven whites. The estate has been in the family for generations, but under Antonio’s stewardship the viticulture has shifted steadily toward sustainability, lower yields, and greater attention to parcel selection. His winemaking is deliberately restrained: hand-harvesting, gentle pressing, cool ferments using native yeasts wherever possible, and extended lees contact for texture without sacrificing the electric acidity that defines the region.

Vinho Eléctrico is Monteiro’s experimental outlet, a project designed to showcase the raw voltage and purity of Vinho Verde through a more contemporary lens. Sourced from his highest, most granitic plots, the wine is built on a backbone of Arinto, Azal and Avesso, harvested early for tension and precision. Fermentation is slow and cool, followed by maturation on fine lees in stainless steel to preserve purity while building mid-palate weight. The result is exactly what the name promises: a charged, crystalline expression of northern Portugal—saline, linear, tightly coiled and humming with energy. It’s a wine that speaks clearly of Monteiro’s technical precision and deep understanding of site, and one that underscores why Quinta do Ermizio has become a name to watch in the new wave of Portuguese white wine.

The P & A wines come from our good friend (RIP) — and full-blown Burgundy tragic — Nicolas Potel, along with his partner-in-crime Stéphane Aviron. That’s P for Potel and A for Aviron. It all sounds like a bit of fun because, well, it is — but the wine itself is seriously good vin de soif. Yes, an oxymoron, but we’re rolling with it. These bottles are made for uncomplicated, joyful drinking, sourced from the sun-drenched south of France via the duo’s deep network of growers and like-minded winemakers.

Both Nicolas and Stéphane have a gift for this style. Nicolas has long chased the dream of bringing the best of Burgundy — and by extension, France — to a wider audience, never once dropping the quality bar. Stéphane, with his deep Beaujolais roots and uncanny talent for finding great fruit, has now taken the lead on winemaking for several vintages. Together they deliver exactly what you want: bright, generous, utterly drinkable wines that channel the warmth and charm of southern France. Pure fruit, freshness, fun — proof that great wine doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive.

Fresh pineapple and white peach flavours are met with a honeysuckle pop. A generous creamy texture delights the palate with more peachy goodness alongside a delightful savoury mealy edge. Softness and richness driving the wine - it’s an easily lovable, medium-bodied chardonnay that’s sure to please. 

Importer Felix Riley and I often have little guitar nerd chats on Instagram. We both love a good rosato too. Felix has better taste in rosé than he does guitars. JUST SAYING. He likes metal, I do not, aside from a little Iron Maiden and a few other bits and pieces.

A musky perfume, strawberry, pink grapefruit, watermelon granita, a light smoky top note. It’s juicy, all the bright red fruits and watermelon freshness, some chalkiness, a little tang and grapefruit bite, with a succulent finish of excellent length. Very nice. Vibrant. A nice drink that’s very easy to guzzle, though there’s some complexity here too. GARY WALSH, The Wine Front

The Fazi vineyard is situated on the sandy east coast of Corsica and is planted to the indigenous varieties of Sciaccarellu and Nielluccio as well as Merlot, Syrah, Grenache and Cinsault. Established by Vincent Fazi in the 1970s, this vineyard produces only rosé wines.

Corsica's strikingly beautiful mountainous terrain makes farming challenging; added to the logistics of getting wine off the island for mainland port pickups, it's not a region renowned for value-end wines.  Fazi vinifies wine on site but works with a Provence based bottler, a key part of keeping value sharp and compelling.  

SPECIAL VALUE - A blend of fruit from the home block at Wonga Park and two different sites in Gladysdale. A light, bright crimson. Composed, with aromas of lightly poached red fruits, rose petals and delicate spice. The light- to medium-bodied palate is finely tuned. Finishes with silky smooth tannins that you barely notice. Not a blockbuster. Very nicely done. PHILIP RICH, Halliday Wine Companion

Whole bunch fermenting, extended maceration, lots of punching down – Stuart Dudine, winemakers, says “I like to layer in as much interest as possible into pinot noir, sometimes you have to call a spade a spade, and push things and get good flavours and ripe tannin into the wine, especially with cooler years and upper Yarra fruit the majority of the wine”.

Pale garnet colour. Crisp, bright, cherry and cranberry juicy, lightweight with good layers of peppery and brown spices. Snappy texture, a crunch through the finish, enough flavour yet stacks of freshness. Rose hip tea elements. Easy drinking and super lovely overall. MIKE BENNIE, The Wine Front

We must admit we didn't know much about Kellybrook Estate when trying through the wines but we were certainly impressed. Effortlesly enjoyable but marked but some subtle complexity and moving past the simple and fruity style you may expect at this level, which made for a very pleasant surprise. Still a family ownder winery and one of the first in the Yarra to have a cellar door. Good gear.

SPECIAL VALUE - A blend of shiraz, mataro, grenache, touriga nacional and cinsault, picked at the same time and co-fermented; about 12 months in seasoned oak. Year on year, this offers such exceptional value. The varieties, though all dedicated contributors, somewhat fall away here, which is testimony to the cohesion of the wine. It’s medium weight, cut through with ferrous mineral notes, blue/purple florals, cracked pepper and warmed whole spices. Blue and red fruit notes fill the palate, along with fermented salami and dried woody herbs. Such a beautiful balance of the savoury and the vibrant; made for the table. (95) MARCUS ELLIS, Halliday Wine Companion

Blewitt Springs. Shiraz, Grenache, Mataro with a little Touriga Nacional. I’ve read all the Dune books, though I’ve not yet seen either of the new films.

Such a pleasing wine to drink. Blue and purple fruit, coal dust and ozone, sage and thyme, some dried flowers, pastrami and aniseed. It’s medium-bodied, has a distinctly ‘mineral’ feel to it, with fine dusty and peppery tannin, a quiet juicy blueberry succulence, and it’s also quite savoury, bresaola and Spanish black olive, I reckon, with a gently sticky and tactile finish of excellent length. Fresh. Spicy. Yum. (94) GARY WALSH, The Wine Front

Dune Wines is the McLaren Vale project of brothers Wren and Ralph Gunn, who draw on their family’s long farming history in the region to craft expressive, sun-soaked, textural wines with a distinctly Mediterranean lean. Working primarily from their Blewitt Springs vineyards, some of the Vale’s most prized, deep-sand sites, they favour varieties perfectly suited to the area’s warm, dry conditions, including Grenache, Mataro, Fiano and Vermentino. The brothers farm with a light touch, prioritising soil health and vine balance, and their winemaking is equally gentle: hand-picked fruit, whole-bunch influence where it suits, fermentations in concrete or old oak, and minimal additions. The result is a range of bright, savoury, quietly thoughtful wines that capture the coastal ease and natural generosity of McLaren Vale while retaining precision and freshness.

"Arturo de Miguel of Artuke ... has already cemented his position as one of the best winemakers in Spain" TIM ATKIN

The eponymous 2024 Artuke is a juicy and tasty carbonic maceration red, a modern rendition of the classical "cosechero" wines. It is perfumed, aromatic and heady, with aromas of bubble gum and flowers and a velvety palate with almost unnoticeable tannins. It's a young and unoaked Tempranillo with some 5% white Viura grapes from the village of Baños de Ebro and was kept in concrete until it was bottled. 80,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in December 2024. This is a bargain to buy by the truckload and drink unashamedly. LUIS GUTIERREZ, The Wine Advocate 

A fresh, vibrant nose with potpourri, morello cherries, briar and flowers. Not complex but so pure and fruit-forward with chewy, stemmy tannins providing firmness. Ripe fruit gives a "sweet," approachable impression. 100% whole-cluster fermentation with carbonic maceration. Lovely. Drink now. ZEKUN SHUAI, JamesSuckling.com

The 2024 Artuke is a blend of Tempranillo and Viura from Rioja. It's intensely fruity, with notes of cherry, banana, yogurt and hints of carbonic maceration. This is juicy and broad, with a sweet, clingy texture. Vibrant and expressive, this is an energetic young red designed for casual enjoyment. JOAQUIN HIDALGOI, Vinous 

We love the wines of Artuke. Not sure what we can add here, but these are some of the best modern Riojas produced in the country. From the most "basic" offering to the top of the tree, this is a very impressive set of wines year in, year out. This is the perfect introduction to the Artuke style, built for pure pleasure and enjoyment.

This is one of those “how do they do it for the money—and how is it so good?” kind of wines. A Chianti from the estates of Andrea Cecchi, it’s built from 90% Sangiovese and 10% Colorino, crafted without any oak influence and leaning firmly into a traditional, characterful style—especially impressive at this price. With 125 years of winemaking behind them, the Cecchi family have some excellent vineyards at their disposal, and it absolutely shows here.

On a recent tasting of this, the latest vintage, we all sat around staring at each other kinda slack-jawed. We couldn't believe the price on this wine. We all went back for seconds just to make sure we hadn't made a mistake. It's very, very good.

This year’s rendition brings a touch more flesh and plushness than the last, while still firing on all cylinders as a vibrant, fresh expression of Sangiovese. Wines at this level can so often be thin and hard (especially with Sangiovese), or pushed into overripeness—but this walks a beautiful middle line. Expect pillowy fruit with plenty of zing, deeper-set dark mixed-berry notes, and just a whisper of leather and savoury dried herbs lingering in the background for extra interest and dimension

Rottnest Island Gin captures the wild, salt-kissed spirit of WA’s most iconic island. The team distils in small batches using a copper pot still, layering classic botanicals with native aromatics that they gather directly from the island — including saltbush, wildflowers, peppermint gum, and coastal herbs. These foraged ingredients are vapour-infused to preserve their freshness and aromatic lift, giving the gins a distinctly coastal purity and sense of place. The result is a range that’s clean, bright, and deeply tied to its landscape, built with balance in mind: clarity of flavour first, coastal complexity second.

It's important to note here that Rottnest Island is protected and preserved by a team that collects and clears wild bushland areas on the Island to help with suppressing fire risk. When they do, they save the native botanicals for Rottnest Island gin, which distills them and then donates some of the money back to the reserve. 

It's a great project, but most importantly, the gin is actually great. Capturing all that native botanical goodness without the sometimes overpowering aromatics it can deliver. Bravo!

The Flavours

Signature Dry – A classic WA coastal dry gin built on juniper, citrus peel, and native saltbush. Fresh, mineral, gently saline, and exceptionally versatile.
Pink Gin (Pinky's Sunset) – A rosier, fruit-led style infused with local berries and coastal flowers. Expect lifted aromatics, soft red-fruited charm, and a refreshing, almost beachy finish.
Wild Gin– A bold, structured gin with amplified juniper, spice, and coastal herbs. Higher proof but beautifully controlled, with deep flavour and impressive length.
Oyster Shell Seasonal Release – A rotating expression showcasing whatever’s in season on Rottnest — this one has used local oyster shells for a seaside expression that is sure to hit!

SPECIAL VALUE - A harmonious, black-cherry-rich shiraz sourced from the Barossan parishes of Marananga, Greenock, Seppeltsfield, Gomersal, Moppa, Lyndoch and Ebenezer. Satsuma plum, the aforementioned cherries, five-spice, bay leaf, licorice, biltong, citrus blossom and earth. I love the pure, savoury fruit core here, like a tube of black cherry and spice, travelling straight and true with fine tannin support and boundless energy. Great drinking. DAVE BROOKES, Halliday Wine Companion

A refined yet savory nose of blackcurrants, wild blackberries, mocha and iodine. The palate is full-bodied with finely integrated tannins and bright acidity, giving notes of mulberry bush, olive tapenade and ferric earth. Very chewy and structured with an underlying freshness. Delicious. Drink or hold. Screw cap. JAMES SUCKLING

Very deep, almost glass-staining red-purple colour; meaty/earthy, spice and gently jammy fruit aromas. The wine is full-bodied and firm with slightly gritty tannins and remarkable depth and drive for the price. Solid shiraz, not refined but rewarding to drink now with hearty proteins and has some aging potential too. Value. HUON HOOKE, The Real Review 

This has to be one of the surest things in the Aussie wine world. The Woodcutters always seem to deliver lots of pleasure, unbridled and exuberant Barossa fruit, and plenty of tasty goodness. The team is headed up by the uber-talented Ian Hongle, and he takes this wine up a notch, adding a little freshness and detail without losing any of that joie de vivre that makes this such a great drink. Best part is you get a magnum of this bad-biy to enjoy over the Christmas break. How can that be bad!?