Grant Dickson

Sommelier, FermentAsian, Tanunda

What wine sums up the Barossa in one bottle?

The Cirillo 1850 Grenache. If you’re lucky enough to find a bottle from the 2011 vintage, it will shift perceptions of what our region can achieve. What do you recommend if someone’s after a big, bold Barossa shiraz?

The 2012 Chris Ringland Northern Barossa Vintners Shiraz is ideal if you’re seeking robust power. And how about a more subtle Barossa shiraz?

Fraser McKinley’s 2015 Sami-Odi Mahé & Ribo is one of the most thought-provoking shiraz wines I have seen for a long time. It’s from the same vineyard as Chris Ringland’s NBV shiraz. What’s the best wine in Australia right now? Chardonnay. The herd mentality has disappeared. There are so many diverse and exciting examples. I love the BK chardonnays from the Adelaide Hills. Joe Holyman’s chardonnays from Tasmania are also outstanding. You’ve got $20 to spend. What wine would you buy? Dom Torzi’s Vigna Cantina Trebbiano. And if you had $50? A cru Beaujolais: Morgon or Fleurie. Daniel Bouland’s expressions are crunchy, minerally and thirstquenching, with gamay’s tangy cherry-stone deliciousness.