Explorer Mix - Case of 12

Vintage: 2013

A ripe and fruity modern Chardonnay bursting with peach, pineapple and yellow plum flavours. It is unoaked and has a succulent, fresh finish.

About this bottle: A well-balanced, unoaked Chardonnay from Chile, which is widely recognised as producing some of the most fruity and flavoursome whites in the world. The grapes for this wine come from the sunny, dry Rapel region, near the Pacific Ocean. The winemaker was José Ignacio Cancino of Viña La Rosa.

Vintage: 2013

The rich aroma and flavour of cassis distinguishes this fine Chilean cabernet sauvignon. Underlying it are notes of cherry plum, cedarwood and cigarbox, which linger on the smooth, ripe finish.

About this bottle: Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the most highly prized red grape varieties in the world, and Chile has emergeed as one of the countries that makes the very best. This premium Chilean red is made from 100% Cabernet grapes grown in teh La Palmeria vineyard in the Rapel region, a sunny and dry area close to the pacific ocean. The winemaker was Jose Ignacio Cancino and the wine has been aged in French oak barrels for six months to add further complexity and depth of flavour. This wine may throw a harmless deposit as it has been minimally treated to retain optimium quality.

Vintage: 2016

With its mouth-watering flavours of ripe peach and crunchy green apple, this is a delightfully refreshing and soft-textured Australian Chardonnay.

About this bottle: Winemaker Corey Ryan has skilfully blended fruit from Riverina and Orange, using just a touch of oak, to make a white that is crisp yet subtly creamy and spicy.

Vintage: 2013

Deep purple-red wine with tempting aromas of dark berries and chocolate. The balance of dark cherry fruit alongside subtle notes of oak, soft tannins and silky smooth texture on the palate is sublime, and makes for an utterly delicious mouthful.

About this bottle: This Shiraz is harvested in mid- to late-January, just when these Aussie grapes are at optimum ripeness. This is earlier than most Australian wine regions due to the baking summer heat of the inland Murray-Darling region. The grapes are wonderfully natural and intensely flavoured as this hot, dry region needs little disease control or chemical use and irrigation is only sparingly used as water is very precious here. A little French and American oak is used to round out the flavours of this deep and delicious red.

Vintage: 2013

A fruity red with a vibrant ruby-purple colour, mouthwatering plum and cherry aromas and a seductively smooth palate of wild berry flavours that lingers with a nice balance.

About this bottle: A juicy Malbec from Mendoza, where the warm climate ripens the grapes to perfection.

Vintage: 2013

This textbook Pinot Noir offers an expressive wild strawberry, cherry and smokey forest-floor bouquet over a focused palate of crunchy red fruits and cheerful acidity.

About this bottle: Eastern Europe is something of a new frontier for winemaking. Its indigenous wines are being re-energised and talented young winemakers from all over the world are heading there. This exceptional Pinot Noir, for instance, was made by Australian Hartley Smithers and Spaniard Nora Iriate, who’ve both worked at different wineries around the world. They’ve pooled their experiences to create a wine that’s inspired by the great Pinots of western Europe and the New World, as well as being totally of its place.

A floral bouquet of elderflower and acacia aromas draws you into this exotic Romanian white, while ripe peach and apricot flavours grace the delicately sweet palate.

About this bottle: Eastern Europe is something of a new frontier for winemaking. Its indigenous wines are being re-energised and talented young winemakers from all over the world are heading there to experiment. This thoroughly modern white, for instance, was made by Australian Hartley Smithers and Spaniard Nora Iriate, who’ve both worked at different wineries around the world. They’ve pooled their experiences to create a wine that’s both of its place and yet inspired by the crisp, aromatic intensity of today’s Sauvignon Blancs.

Vintage: 2013

This rich and racy southern French white packs tangy clementine and baked lemon aromas with honeysuckle notes and quenching citrus flavours on the palate.

About this bottle: Nestled in the hills north of Béziers between the larger wine-producing areas of Minervois and Faugères, the St-Chinian appellation sits right in the centre of the Languedoc region. It was here that Briton Simon Whittle found himself in 1989, having left behind his lucrative financial career in search of a better quality of life. Gradually learning the craft of winemaking, Simon now makes characterful wines for Cave de Saint-Chinian, such as this little-seen St-Chinian Blanc.

Vintage: 2013

Abundant aromas of nectarine, white peach, gooseberry and spring flowers lead to a crisp and lively palate of juicy stone fruit flavours and a fresh citrussy finish.

About this bottle: Birthplace of Charles de Batz, the man who inspired Alexandre Dumas’s famous musketeer d’Artagnan, the Gascony area of Southwest France has cultivated grapes for centuries. This mouthwatering white was made by up-and-coming local winemaker Cédric Garzuel. Blending the region’s popular Armagnac grapes Colombard and Ugni Blanc – which ripen to perfection in the area’s idyllic abundance of Atlantic- and Pyrenees-tempered sunshine – Cédric has crafted a fresh, fruity and food-friendly wine full of warm, sunny flavours.

Vintage: 2013

This modern Spanish red turns the spotlight on the Garnacha grape, offering ripe raspberry, strawberry and floral aromas over a fruity palate with a lingering finish.

About this bottle: The conditions in Spain’s Aragon region are perfect for the Garnacha grape. Garnacha needs long, hot summers to achieve full ripeness, and the southern Aragon area of Campo de Borja provides just that. Due to the ripeness of the grapes, Garnacha wines from here are generally left unblended, such as this fine example from winemaker José Luis Chueca. Indeed, so pleased was José Luis with this particular crop of grapes, he also left this wine unoaked to display all its luscious fruit purity.