The Lucky Dip Case is back... with a TWIST! This time with a focus on some seriously delicious premium reds from some brilliant producers. There’s still the opportunity to pick up a bottle of Grange, if you are lucky, but the smaller, quality-focused lineup is very impressive standing alone. Each case contains the same 5 wines (listed below - the other wines), and the 6th wine could be any one of our four ‘wildcard wines’.
The wild card wines:
An iconic Penfolds Grange 2015 worth $900 (1 in 100 chance)
A single vineyard McLaren Vale cabernet worth $250 (1 in 25 chance)
A 95pt Hunter Valley shiraz worth $150 (1 in 10 chance)
A 96pt Great Southern shiraz worth $55
Each box contains one of these epic wines. The odds vary per wine, but each one is a centrepiece wine, worthy of some truly special occasions.
We should say up front: there are no returns on this - click here for case terms and conditions. As it’s a Lucky Dip, it would be unfair to other mofos running in the draw.
The easiest way to guarantee getting a bottle of Grange is to go out and buy one for yourself. If you, like me, don’t have $900 handy, this is definitely your best (and cheapest) option! Heard enough already? Pop that case in the cart and cross your fingers and toes! Otherwise, read on for a bit more info on all those lovely wines:
Wildcard Wines
Wild Card Wine #1
Penfolds Grange Shiraz 2015
South Australia
99pts James Halliday | 98pts Wine Advocate | 97pts Wine Enthusiast | 97pts Wine Spectator | 97pts Wine Front
“Bang. The first whiff cries Grange. A lifted, fragrant, harmonious blend of fruit, oak (American, of course) and finely pitched tannins. Faultless. It’s all relative, but this is starting to relax its grip. And the length is very, very special.” - James Halliday
“The nose of the 2015 Grange features the wine’s characteristic lifted aromas, joined by pronounced American oak influence and bold blackberry fruit, plus hints of red meat, raspberries, asphalt and vanilla. It’s dense and concentrated on the palate, full-bodied yet balanced and firm, with a rich, velvety texture and long, plush finish. Don’t expect great complexity at this stage—it’s much too young to show much more than the primary fruit and oak elements—but this is a Grange that should easily go three or four decades.” - Wine Advocate
“Don’t mind if I do. There are clear notes of coconut here, indeed more than I can ever remember in a young Grange. That will ring alarm bells for some but, in my opinion, it can mention coconut all that it likes; it still manages to get away with it. The combination of richness, length, tannin spread and balance places this straight in the realms of the elite. Individual descriptors: who cares. It’s deep, bold, muscular and dark, and it delivers all this in svelte, satiny, seductive fashion. This 2015 release of Grange is no disappointment. Indeed it’s as good as you’d hope and/or expect. The finish: it soars.” - Campbell Mattinson, Wine Front
YOU’D PAY $900 full price.
Wild Card Wine #2
First Drop Dragons Blood Cabernet Sauvignon 2014
McLaren Vale, SA
Single Vineyard | Cult Producer
Seven years old but right on time (and bloody good at that). This is the flagship dreams are made of. Intensely rich and structured, this wine from First Drop would have been too tightly wound a few years ago. Now it’s sitting pretty and opening up, begging for you to have a taste. The nose is of cassis and plum standing on the shoulders of potpourri and tobacco leaf. The immensely viscous palate yields dark berry flavours, cedar notes from 24 months in new French oak and a lingering finish that brings the whole experience home. A fully enveloping wine for those that want to be immersed.
YOU’D PAY $250 full price.
Wild Card Wine #3
Tempus Two Uno Shiraz 2013
Hunter Valley, NSW
95pts James Halliday
Tempus Two sources their grapes from a single vineyard in the higher altitudes of the Hunter Valley, crafting a gorgeous shiraz in gorgeous packaging. Low yields, volcanic soil and a strong vintage all played their part here. The wine spent 18 months in a mix of French and American oak. And since this is the producer’s top of the range, only the best of the barrels made it into the final bottling. The nose is of raspberries, blueberries, mocha and vanilla, and the palate adds cherry, plum, cedar and smoked meats. This is an exceedingly complex Hunter shiraz with eight years already behind it and another 10-15 years of good drinking left.
YOU’D PAY $150 full price.
Wild Card Wine #4
Byron & Harold The Partners Shiraz 2019
The Great Southern
96pts Sam Kim | 5 Stars Sam Kim | 5 Red Star Halliday Rated Winery
Here comes that ‘all things to all people’ shiraz! Turns out you can please all of the people ALL of the time. And Byron & Harold have figured out how. This wine’s got the quintessential Great Southern smoothness and medium body with quite lifted aromatics. Think plum, mulberry, blackberry, pepper, chocolate and mocha with great concentration and a nice, long finish. 18 months in both new and old French oak gives it a little hit of exotic spices and cedar, rounding out a wine experience that’ll please both the connoisseur and the newbie alike.
YOU’D PAY $55 full price.
The Other Wines
Haselgrove Cul Stor Shiraz Cabernets 2019
McLaren Vale, SA
95pts Sam Kim | 95pts Wine Showcase| 5 Stars Sam Kim
It’s safe to say this wine is a ‘shoe-in’. Multiple vintages of Haselgrove’s Cul Stor have rushed into our warehouse and zoomed straight back out and to your front door faster than you can say ‘shiraz blended with cab sav and a splash of cab franc’. It’s so SO popular with our thirsty mofo members. At its core, we have all the plush dark berries, plums and chocolatey goodness that you’d expect from McLaren Vale. But the blend of cabernets is what lifts this drop way above entry level, firm tannins and a liveliness on the back palate provide wonderful length and serious structure; perfect to pair with your good old fashioned Sunday roast lamb with all the trimmings.
YOU’D PAY $40 full price.
Ulithorne Familia Shiraz 2018
McLaren Vale, SA
95pts Sam Kim | 5 Stars Sam Kim | 5 Red Star Sam Kim
McLaren Vale shiraz, yes, but lithe and vibrant. A more medium-bodied feel leaves room for the lively fruit flavours to sing, unshackled from big, beefy, old-school styles. Classic brambly goodness skates on a fresh sheet of acidity, with just enough grippy tannin to keep it grounded. Miraculously food-friendly, there’s all the ingredients here for an infamous dinner party red. The kind you and your mates are liable to enjoy a wee bit too much of in an evening.
YOU’D PAY $40 full price.
Luigi Bosca Testimonio Old Vines Malbec 2019
Mendoza, Argentina
Old Vines
Testimonio is sourced from 40-year old vines in Vistalba, the first wine area you encounter upon leaving the city of Mendoza. The grapes are hand-harvested, fermented under the strict watch of the winemaker and sent to rest in French oak for eight months. It’s bright, intense and voluptuous with typical Mendoza fruit and a backbone of vanilla from the time in barrel. Deep and elegant, this malbec will develop very well for next decade if you have the patience.
YOU’D PAY $35 full price.
Sherwood Estate Pinot Noir 2020
Waipara Valley, NZ
90pts Sam Kim | 4.5 Stars Sam Kim
New Zealand has become an international force on the pinot scene the past couple of decades, and the Waipara Valley on the South Island has certainly played its part. Less than an hour north of Christchurch, this wine region is protected from the ocean winds by the Teviotdale hills, allowing for warm air to come down from the northwest. The soils are diverse, ranging from gravel to limestone to loam. The long hot autumn just ahead of harvest ensures full ripening and bright, concentrated flavours in the wines. This pinot noir from Sherwood Estate is rich and ripe with a palate of plum and blackberry. There is a hint of oak and a smooth finish. For lovers of Kiwi pinot, this’ll scratch that itch.
YOU’D PAY $30 full price.
Château Signac Pliocene Côtes du Rhône 2018
Rhône Valley, France
Richer than your average CDR (that’s industry-speak for Côtes-du-Rhône, just so you’re up with the lingo), this has all the black fruits and spices, plus a bunch of flowers and a delicate salinity. Soft tannins and well-judged balance speak of this winery, a fortified farm that had already gained a reputation for great wines by the 17th century. The wine reveals its secrets as gently but as assuredly as the site itself. You need to go down a mottled, tree-lined alley amid the vineyard rows, and then the Château sprawls ahead, stone buildings protected by thick walls. Despite the fortified appearance, there’s an open invitation to travellers and tasters, and the elegant, generous wines within.
YOU’D PAY $30 full price.
