Make no mistake Langhorne Creek makes outstanding wines that belong in the best value for money category.

Recall the master Wolf Blass loved the region because he saw flavours in the fruit that he could not get elsewhere. With that said Langhorne Creek has not won the number of fans it deserves. One reason the best wines are cheaper than other SA regions.

A good place to start is with this Lake Plains Road Cabernet Shiraz which was blended for us by McLaren Vintners in McLaren Vale.

Region: Clare Valley, SA
Here is the full story about this significant Clare wine. We first tasted this wine with the winemaker Andrew Braithwaite in late 2005 at the former Classic McLaren winery (since purchased by Mollydooker). It had been made under contract. At the time we purchased bits and pieces from Classic McLaren and for future reference stored away our thoughts on the Clare red including that it was in brand new French oak.

A few years passed by, Andrew had moved on, and he stored this and other wines made under contract at his friend Tony de Lisio’s winery, also in McLaren Vale. While looking at a range of Tony’s wines he also showed us the contracted wines including those made for the Clare grower which were now for sale. We purchased all of this wine, in bulk, covering 2005 and 2006.

We then headed to Clare to meet the grower and examine the vineyards in the historic town of Mintaro which lies to the east of the main strip of vines along the road to Clare. The grower explained that they were not from his vineyard but were purchased from a small vineyard in the centre of Mintaro. This was a tiny 3 acre vineyard of low yielding grapes including shiraz over 100 years old. The cabernet vines were 40 years old and the merlot about 15 years. As there was only a row of so of merlot this was picked with cabernet and the two co-fermented. The wine spent two years in new oak. We removed the wine to the Barossa and left it in old oak until bottling last year.

We believe the result is excellent. A tasting note may help; “Medium red colour just fading from very youthful tones; classical dusty cabernet with nicely integrated oak; soft, gentle palate, quite smart, complex and integrated with a firm though easy finish.” Not for the long haul though will be more than decent over the next few years. We think a wine such as this has a fair shop value of about $20.00 making our offer competitive. Only 146 cases made.

We have been very fortunate lately with many terrific winemakers offering their wares. Here is a range of Barossa Valley Shiraz wines from the 2008 vintage that we have been gathering for your enjoyment and priced very, very keenly.

These are very serious wines and at $8.25 a bottle there is no risk of a purchasing error. Of course all our products have a money back guarantee but you will not need it.

Please click here for detailed notes on the wines.

Contains two bottles each of the following wines:-

• Bengalee “Crown Land” Barossa Valley (Greenock) Shiraz 2008
• Old Moppa Road Barossa Valley Shiraz 2008
• Karrawirra Barossa Valley Shiraz 2008
• The Garagiste Barossa Valley Shiraz 2008
• BIN 221 Barossa Valley Shiraz 2008
• BIN 222 Barossa Valley Shiraz 2008

Contains two bottles each of the following wines:-

• Andrina Plains Langhorne Creek Cabernet Sauvignon 2007
• Hawker Brothers Clare Valley SA Reserve Malbec 2008
• Karrawirra Barossa Valley Shiraz 2008
• Square Mile Clare Valley Shiraz 2006
• The Garagiste Barossa Valley Mataro Grenache Shiraz 2007
• West Winds McLaren Vale Cabernet Sauvignon 2008

What is our mystery pack? Well it's our way of clearing out all manner of odds and ends so each pack will be different. So do you get good value and good wines? Yes we guarantee that you will be quite happy with the purchase. It will include nine reds and three whites.

Ben will mix up each pack under the watchful eye of David who normally only goes to the warehouse after hours to pinch a few bottles of wine. Mystery packs are a bit of fun. No sparkling wines or sweet wines are allowed as I have banned these from the mix.