WINES

DOMAINE DE RAPATEL

Origin: Languedoc, France
Type: Red
Grape(s): Cabernet Sauvignon, Carignan, Cinsault, Merlot
ABV: 14%

The color is deep garnet here. The nose is fine, complex, on stewed plum, leather, dried orange peel…and lots of other things (including a hint of VA that brings things up nicely). The palate is just as fine, tense, with a silky and fresh material gradually gaining in density, and a decadent aromatic, marrying a vibrant fruit with tertiary notes. The finish delivers a fine tasty chew, with a return to the plum enhanced by citrus peel and spices.

LARRY CHERUBINO

Origin: Margaret River, Australia
Type: Medium
Grape(s): Chardonnay
ABV: 12.5%

Incredible bargain Chardonnay, which Erin Larkin named "Biggest Surprise" in her value wine tasting of over 700 Australian wines. Pronounced aromatics of melon, unripe pineapple, yellow apple, sweet citrus fruit. On the secondary front, there's a lot of gorgeous lees notes in forms of biscuit, yeast, fresh bread, vanilla. Palate is energetic and offers a ton of complexity. Expressive of the region and grape variety to the fullest. KIller value for money!

ORMIALE

Origin: Bordeaux, France
Type: Ancestral Method
Grape(s): Malbec, Cabernet Franc
ABV: 12%

Bordeaux was always that region you had special feelings for, but never admitted it because your friends think it’s only for the bourgeois society and never buy them for their parties. But there are so many hidden gems in this region, especially when it comes to smaller, boutique producers like Ormiale. This sparkling beauty shows notes of ripe black fruit blended perfectly with the sour cherry tang and licorice in the background. The palate is fruit-driven with a brick wall of acidity and just a brush of tannins.

HOFGUT FALKENSTEIN


Origin: Mosel, Germany
Type: Light
Grape(s): Riesling
ABV: 9%



In addition to the fine minerality, the nose reveals a lot of fruit in the form of yellow apple, peach, lemon, as well as a floral fragrance, white flowers and a little acacia honey. Everything is delicately and elegantly packaged to really get going on the palate. The radiant Riesling fruit shines together with tart herbal spice, then the expressive acidity follows, fizzes on the tongue, creating a wonderful balance with the playful fruit sweetness.

LS MERCHANTS

Origin: Margaret River, Australia
Type: Light
Grape(s): Riesling, Gewürtztraminer, Pinot Gris, Vermentino
ABV: 12.3%

LS Merchants has been delivering in Margaret River for as long as we’ve known the region, and they continue to impress. Their wines always strike that sweet spot between simplicity and intrigue. This latest white blend is no exception - Riesling takes centre stage, with other varietals adding layers of texture and aromatic lift. The balance is spot on: bright acidity, soft curves, and loads of juicy, expressive fruit. A total joy to drink. Gather a bunch of friends and hit 2-3 bottles.

MITJA SIRK

Origin: Friuli, Italy
Type: Light
Grape(s): Tocai Friulano
ABV: 13.5%



Marzipan meets floral. Bright, lifted and cleansing bouquet – seems frisky, edgy. Smooth glide of flavour across the palate, a touch of waxiness to texture but underpinned with glossy acidity. It’s sort of juicy and yet crisp, and the finish has a likeable citrus freshness and sweet-sour pucker with a trail of marzipan nuttiness. Delicate, in a way, but has curves, and importantly great drinking.

LARRY CHERUBINO

Origin: Margaret River, Australia
Type: Medium
Grape(s): Chardonnay
ABV: 12.5%

Incredible bargain Chardonnay, which Erin Larkin named "Biggest Surprise" in her value wine tasting of over 700 Australian wines. Pronounced aromatics of melon, unripe pineapple, yellow apple, sweet citrus fruit. On the secondary front, there's a lot of gorgeous lees notes in forms of biscuit, yeast, fresh bread, vanilla. Palate is energetic and offers a ton of complexity. Expressive of the region and grape variety to the fullest. KIller value for money!

DOMAINE LEFORT

Origin: Burgundy, France
Type: Medium
Grape(s): Chardonnay
ABV: 13%


From a tiny appellation in Burgundy called Rully. As always this is a neat, well-composed and well-made wine but with this 2020 we see an increase in sheer intensity of fruit flavour. This release really does have a power to it. Citrus, grapefruit, green pineapple, pear and cedar notes take full command of the palate before pushing confidently through the finish. It’s taut but not too much; everything here feels perfectly placed.

NICOLAS CHEMARIN

Origin: Beaujolais, France
Type: Light
Grape(s): Chardonnay
ABV: 11.5%

As we were exploring the world of orange wine, we decided that we needed some more approachable, dare we say “classic” wines on the list. P’tit Grobis does the job nicely. Deep lemon in the glass. Aromas of nectarine, peach, lemon tart, jasmine. Almost tea-like qualities to this (great to drink on a rainy day). Light-bodied, has some really nice texture to it and some solid fruit concentration. Long, slightly saline finish. Very well-done Chardonnay, that jumps out of the box of your run-of-the-mill stuff.

PETER RADOVIČ

Origin: Friuli, Italy
Type: Light
Grape(s): Malvazija Istriana
ABV: 12.5%

Bright amber in the glass. Nose is explosive, with scents of candle wax, lemon balm, green melon and some savoury, salty-nutty notes faintly there too. Also, dried flowers, a kind of rosy pot pourri. Slippery texture with a light, chalky pucker to close. Sensual, perhaps. It feels righteous. Deliciousness of flavour in all that fruit and savoury character, the nutty-yeasty notes amplified a bit. Complex, intriguing, brilliant wine.

DARIO PRINČIČ

Origin: Friuli, Italy
Type: Medium
Grape(s): Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Sauvignon Blanc
ABV: 13.5%

One of Friuli’s true icons, standing alongside Radikon and Gravner. The deep amber hue hints at its depth, while the nose crackles with energy - a bit of volatile acidity present but beautifully integrated. Aromas of dried apricot, jasmine, peach, mango, and fermenting pineapple create a layered, intoxicating profile. On the palate, it’s medium-bodied with electric acidity and a warming embrace of alcohol, offering impressive complexity and a lingering finish.

RONGO WINES

Origin: Victoria, Australia
Type: Medium
Grape(s): Riesling
ABV: 12.5%

Thirty days on skins has taken this Riesling into a whole new dimension. Deep amber in the glass, glowing with intensity, already hinting at the structure and power within. The nose is a full-on citrus explosion - tangerines, orange peel, and dried peach, backed by delicate floral notes and a hint of honeyed spice. There's an almost tea-like aromatic quality that makes you want to keep going back for another sniff. Medium-bodied but with serious presence, the acidity is moderate but well-integrated, allowing the tannins to take center stage.

DOMAINE GESCHICKT

Origin: Alsace, France
Type: Full
Grape(s): Pinot Gris
ABV: 13.5%

This is your wild card at the table - a fascinating skin-contact wine made of 100% Pinot Gris. Hints of residual sugar with a touch of spice. If you’re curious to see why this looks like a rosé, Google “Pinot Gris skins” and it’ll be pretty clear. Fruit-forward in nature, with moderate acidity to balance out the warming alcohol. For people that don't like overly rich wines, this may not be the sane choice, but it pairs gloriously with heavier dishes such as lamb rack or cheeseburger spring rolls.

DOMAINE MĂMĂRUTÁ

Origin: Languedoc, France
Type: Light
Grape(s): Syrah, Carignan, Macabeu
ABV: 12%


A blend of two black grapes and one white. From a producer that we really love and whose wines you will see often on our list. Peach tea, melon, a herb and floral perfume, fennel seeds, strawberries too. It’s juicy, but balanced, lots of fresh strawberry and raspberry, bright acidity, with a chalky and dusty texture. A glycerol slipperiness, though it finishes tight, with a twist of blood orange and excellent length. Nice.

DOMAINE MOSSE

Origin: Loire Valley, France
Type: Light
Grape(s): Cabernet Franc, Grolleau Gris, Gamay
ABV: 12%

If it’s your first time trying Domaine Mosse, you will be blown away, we guarantee it. This is incredible juice. Wonderful complexity right on the nose - dark berry fruit, some ripe, some freshly picked. Plum, licorice, white pepper, hibiscus, and some Middle Eastern spices. Hints of bell pepper in the background. Light on its feet with a sleek texture. Has this beautiful lightness that just makes you want to drink it like cranberry juice. Flawless balance, with a long, juicy and refreshing finish. Stunning all around, one of the best wines we’ve tried this year.

HOFGUT FALKENSTEIN

Origin: Mosel, Germany
Type: Light
Grape(s): Pinot Noir
ABV: 12%



This is one of our favourite recent discoveries. Just goes to show - when a great producer gets healthy fruit, the result speaks for itself. Pale ruby in the glass. Aromatics are fully switched on: strawberry, raspberry, cranberry, and a bit of twiggy stem in the mix. Super fresh, super lifted. Light-bodied with a slick, almost milky texture. Acidity sits at medium-plus - bright but not sharp. Everything is in balance, which makes it way too easy to keep going back for another sip (or three). A seriously good wine for a killer price.

DOMAINE MĂMĂRUTÁ


Origin: Languedoc, France

Type: Light

Grape(s): Carignan

ABV: 11.5%



Intense small black berries, herbs de Provence perfume, some blood orange peel here too. It’s medium-bodied, bright and cool in acidity, but dense in dark fruit flavour, tannin is tight and silty, and that combination of earthiness, floral and herb mouth-perfume is really so fetching. The finish is long and bright, and gee it drinks well and offers so much interest, with something of a scrubby wild country feel. We like this a lot.

SÉBASTIEN MORIN

Origin: Beaujolais, France
Type: Light
Grape(s): Gamay
ABV: 12.5%

We’ve spent a lot of time with Sébastien Morin when he visited Singapore last year, hearing him throw around the phrase “Easy Game.” When asked why, Sébastien explained it’s the rare bottle in his winemaking journey that came together seamlessly, a remarkable achievement considering his zero-zero, no-intervention philosophy. Easy Game is anything but simple in the glass. This wine strikes the perfect balance between depth and drinkability. Smooth tannins and ripe red fruit bring structure, while its vibrant energy keeps it effortlessly approachable.

KALLESKE
Origin: Barossa Valley, Australia
Type: Light
Grape(s): Grenache
ABV: 12%

Grenache is the sweet-fruited cousin of Pinot Noir. Light ruby in the glass. Nose is marked by loads of red fruit (strawberry, raspberry, sour cherry), blackcurrant jam, some mint as well. Incredible vitality of this Grenache, not overripe or overbearing for a second. The palate shows a delicious blood orange-strawberry note that blasts off into the stratosphere. This is a wine to share with all your friends. Incredibly well done and one to drink with a bit of chill.

NICOLAS CHEMARIN


Origin: Beaujolais, France
Type: Light
Grape(s): Gamay
ABV: 13%


This is tightly wound and compact with a slight haze to texture and a pleasing balance of sweet-sour-bitter of red berry fruit and herbal elements. It’s quite zesty as a red wine, succulent in texture too, a refreshing, if not crisp finish. Tart cherries, rose hip tea, a faint ginger element, dried basil and cardamom spice are the quarry. It feels very modern and bright and drinks suuuuper well.

KOERNER

Origin: Clare Valley, Australia
Type: Medium
Grape(s): Sangiovese, Grenache, Sciacarello, Malbec, Carignan
ABV: 12.8%

Corsican-inspired blend. An edgy and energetic wine with its vivacious acid profile and general pluck and crunch. Red cherries galore at the crisper edge of their profile. Strawberry in there too. A bitter-tartness amongst that more recognisable flavours. There’s a faint slosh of cola, a faint lick of liquid cinnamon/clove spice too. Tannins are firming, stony and proper. It feels a bit on the leaner side. Get some red sauce meatballs happening and watch it work its magic.

DOMAINE DAVID BEAUPÉRE

Origin: Beaujolais, France
Type: Medium
Grape(s): Gamay
ABV: 13%

This is a slightly aged, but still extremely fresh, jubey and juicy red from David Beaupére. Some crisp edges, lots of sappy red cherry, a bit of white pepper, some green herbs and a touch of dried cranberry tang. It’s a fun drink, a little spritzy on entry as well (gets shrugged off), lively, bright therefore and generally just a barrel of fun. Nothing too cerebral, but well made, good fruit, great thing to guzzle with lots of friends.

HERVÉ VILLEMADE

Origin: Loire Valley, France
Type: Medium
Grape(s): Pinot Noir
ABV: 14%

A delicious balance of red and black fruit, complemented by some stemminess coming from the whole-bunch fermentation, a common practice in the region. This Pinot has beautiful elegance and finesse, supported by a generous yet precise fruit profile and hints of sweet spices. Bright acidity and a moderate tannic structure provide both immediate approachability and aging potential, making this a compelling wine to enjoy now or revisit in the years to come.

ALEXANDRE BAIN

Origin: Loire Valley, France
Type: Medium
Grape(s): Gamay
ABV: 13%

A Loire Gamay with age, structure, and attitude - this is no playful, chuggable Beaujolais. The wine commands attention with its high acidity, dense fruit, and firm tannins. Some volatility creeps into the palate, with a touch of Brett lingering on the finish, but the integrity of the wine remains intact. There’s an intriguing savouriness alongside all that power. A fascinating bottle that makes you want to dig deeper into its past and future vintages.

DAL ZOTTO

Origin: Victoria, Australia
Type: Medium
Grape(s): Barbera
ABV: 13.5%

A textbook expression of Barbera, a grape that still doesn’t get the recognition it deserves back in the old country, Italy. The bright fruit profile leans towards blackcurrant, raspberry, and dark/sour cherry, backed by a subtle forest floor note that hints at the beginning of its evolution. Medium-bodied, medium everything - acidity, tannins, and length - all in harmony. Not the most complex wine, but a solid, easy-drinking start before diving into something more serious.

PETER WETZER

Origin: Sopron, Hungary
Type: Medium
Grape(s): Pinot Noir
ABV: 13%


This is an interesting Pinot Noir from an “exotic” region. It’s certainly complex, which is always a good starting point. It tastes fresh, almost frisky, but then it has good ripe notes too, the latter courtesy of macerated red berry flavours, combined with subtle woodsmoke infusions, and rounds of twiggy herbs. Reduction has been used to positive effect and the wine’s tannin has a gummy softness. A very pretty red wine.

DAL ZOTTO

Origin: Victoria, Australia
Type: Medium
Grape(s): Sangiovese
ABV: 13.5%

A vintage that is truly a work of excellence. Cool spring, warm summer, perfect difference between night and day temperatures, allowing the grapes to ripen evenly. This is very good, and good value with it too. Juicy red fruits, a slight liquorice richness, some dried herb and floral perfume. It’s medium-bodied, with an appropriate level of grainy tannin grip. Freshness is there too, some rosy perfume, finishing off with crunch and eternal length. Vibrant and great to drink.

DOMAINE DE RAPATEL

Origin: Languedoc, France
Type: Full
Grape(s): Cabernet Sauvignon, Carignan, Cinsault, Merlot
ABV: 14%

The color is deep garnet here. The nose is fine, complex, on stewed plum, leather, dried orange peel…and lots of other things (including a hint of VA that brings things up nicely). The palate is just as fine, tense, with a silky and fresh material gradually gaining in density, and a decadent aromatic, marrying a vibrant fruit with tertiary notes. The finish delivers a fine tasty chew, with a return to the plum enhanced by citrus peel and spices.

SMITH & SHETH

Origin: Hawkes Bay, New Zealand
Type: Medium
Grape(s): Syrah
ABV: 12.5%

An outstanding vintage from a classic Syrah region. What a gem. Very fresh on the nose with ripe black fruit that comes in forms of both fresh and jammy blueberry, blackcurrant and plum. Hints of tar, black pepper and stewed meat. Medium-bodied, but packs an enjoyable fruit concentration - like stuffing your mouth with licorice that's beautifully sweet and refreshing at the same time. Ripe tannins, followed by an acidity that's still well and kicking. Pair with lamb and let your senses take you into another dimension.

POWELL & SON

Origin: Barossa Valley, Australia
Type: Full
Grape(s): Grenache, Mataro, Shiraz
ABV: 14.5%

A slightly different take on the typical Rhone blend, the Powell & Son Riverside GMS offers notes of black raspberries, kirsch and mulberries layered with spicy notes. The palate is soft, richly fruited and delivers plenty of pure, uncomplicated flavors with great harmony. It’s complex, it’s slightly sweet, it’s floral and it’s smoky; it’s also threaded with tannin but, then, it’s so concentrated flavour that you barely notice the dryness. A great wine on its own or with rich dishes.

DARIO PRINČIČ

Origin: Friuli Venezia Giulia, Italy
Type: Full
Grape(s): Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon
ABV: 13%

This is a more quiet expression of your typical Bordeaux blend. Pencil shavings and subtle earthiness, tobacco. Some notes of blue and black fruit perfume, light spicy and nutty oak in play, a little mint, menthol and green herb. It’s medium-bodied, savoury but with brightness and energy, tannin has something of a graphite grip, and the wine feels very composed and comfortable in its skin. Finishes long, red-fruited, cocoa-dusted and fresh.

LARRY CHERUBINO

Origin: Margaret River, Australia
Type: Full
Grape(s): Cabernet Sauvignon
ABV: 14.5%

Deep black-ruby in the glass with a purple rim - looks spot on for the style. Straight out of the bottle, it throws ripe, sweet black fruit with a touch of oak. Bold and upfront, and honestly pretty solid at this price point. The palate follows through with the same sweet fruit character. There’s good mid-palate weight, medium-bodied with some plushness. The finish brings in firm, slightly green tannins. Works great with BBQ. Not built for nuance, but delivers plenty of punch and presence.

L'ARCO

Origin: Veneto, Italy
Type: Full
Grape(s): Corvina, Rondinella, Molinara, Sanioveto, Teroldego
ABV: 14%

Deep violet and almost opaque in the glass, this wine pours thick and slow, giving you a clue straight away - it’s not here to play light and easy. Definitely worth decanting. Give it 30 minutes and it opens up fast: bright cherry, blackcurrant, clove, and a swipe of vanilla come flying out of the glass. The palate is dense - no other word fits. Ripe, concentrated fruit runs straight through it, lifted by warming alcohol that adds weight without tipping into heat. It’s plush, powerful, and unapologetic.

L’ARCO

Origin: Veneto, Italy
Type: Full
Grape(s): Rondinella, Corvina, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Molinara

ABV: 16%



A savory beast, with a burst of smoke and crushed rocks giving way to white pepper-tinged black cherries and wild herbs. It sweeps across the palate with silky textures and polished wild berry fruits, propelled by zesty acidity as salty mineral tones saturate toward the close. It finishes saline and youthfully tannic yet still quite fresh, leaving rosy inner florals and a chalky sensation that lingers on and on.