White
Wakefield Clare Valley Riesling 1996 (Superquinn, Roches, many SuperValus, Pettits and other outlets, usually about £6.99). Cool night breezes in the Clare protect the freshness of wines like this zippy, lime-and-sherbet Riesling - one of a clutch from the region that are winning the poor, neglected grape new fans. Very good value. Annie's Lane Chardonnay 1996 (Dunnes Stores Blanchardstown, Cornelscourt, Parkway, Stephen's Green, Donaghmede, Eyre Square Galway, Tralee, Terryland, £7.99) Endless hours of Oz sun shine through in a Chardonnay full of ultra-ripe fruit flavours - melons, peaches and more - but with balancing acidity. Best enjoyed with food.
Red
Wakefield Cabernet Sauvignon 1994 (outlets as for Wakefield Riesling above, usually £7.99). It was Cabernet from their own vineyards that promised the Taylor family a shiny future in wine, and it's still their biggest success. See Bottle of the Week. Annie's Lane Cabernet Merlot 1995 (outlets as for Annie's Lane Chardonnay above, £7.99). After the initial heady alcoholic vapours disperse, this emerges as a typical Australian mouthful of sweet, plummy fruit with a generous dollop of vanilla and a nice little pinch of spice. Soft and seductive.
Jim Barry McCrae Wood Shiraz 1994 (outlets as for Annie's Lane wines above, £12.99). New baby brother of The Armagh (see below), offering the same spectrum of dark, rich flavours, with less intensity but at a more manageable price. Smooth, lingering lusciousness, and 14.5 per cent alcohol. Lay in now for winter warmth . . .
Jim Barry The Armagh Shiraz 1994 (outlets as for Annie's Lane wines above, £29.99). Twelve years ago, when Shiraz was deeply unfashionable, the gung-ho young Barry brothers decided winelovers would be won over, nonetheless, by the massive flavours of a single-vineyard blockbuster. The Armagh (named after the vineyard area) is it, and they were right. The 1994 has unbelievably intense, opulent fruit flavours - mulberries, blackberries, chocolate-covered maraschino cherries, you might even say - with spice and vanilla seeping in from American oak. Already delicious, and Peter Barry promises it will keep for at least 10 years.