The latest to join this club is Nine Liter imports, whose first shipment, arriving any day now, includes pinots from Ten Minutes by Tractor and a bargain petit verdot from cult winemaker Bill Downie, two producers I admired on a trip to Australia four years ago. At long last, I’ll be able to snap them up.
Australian Wine Bottle Buying Guide
2016 BK Wines White Skin ’n Bones ($35)
Brendon Keys, a former chef and DJ, makes this “orange” wine (a white made by letting the juice macerate on the skins for a month) from savagnin, a grape from France’s Jura region. It has orange-peel and fresh herb aromas and a honeyed pear taste.
2016 Jauma Like Raindrops Grenache ($36)
James Erskine turns to carbonic maceration, a technique frequently used in Beaujolais, to make this juicy red from grapes grown in McLaren Vale. Aussies call the salty fruitiness that makes you want to gulp it down “smashable.” (Look for his chenin blanc, Sand on Schist, too.)
2016 Grosset Alea Riesling ($38)
Jeffrey Grosset is famous for his complex, highly collectible Polish Hill riesling, but this lively German-style bottling from the Clare Valley is citrusy, off-dry, and drink-me-now perfect. It comes from a tiny vineyard parcel—and is a bargain at the price.
2016 Luke Lambert Nebbiolo ($45)
Inspired by a stint making Barolo in Piemonte, Lambert crafts this rose-petal-scented nebbiolo from a rocky vineyard in the Yarra Valley. He also makes stellar syrahs.