OUTSIDERS USING RIVERLAND FRUIT

FIVE TO TRY

2020 Bellwether Montepulciano, $35

From her Coonawarra home base, Sue Bell sources this fruit from Ricca Terra Farms and keeps the flavours fresh and spicy, with soft, supple tannins making a mouth-pleasing savoury mid-palate the hero.

2020 Unico Zelo River Sand Fiano, $33

One of nine wines featuring fiano made by Brendan and Laura Carter at their Adelaide Hills winery, this fruit sourced from Bassham’s organic vineyard at Barmera captures the happy balance of sunny tropical notes and ripe nectarine with a lick of bone-dry minerality and slippery texture. The result? Pour me another glass.

2021 Delinquente Roxanne the Razor NND, $25

A small-batch blend made in Adelaide by Con-Greg Grigoriou (with fruit from Bassham’s vineyard), this combination of negroamaro and nero d’Avola is all about bright red berries, with the tart acid zing from early picking balanced by savoury fleshiness, wrapped in soft, supple tannins.

2021 Brash Higgins ZBO Zibbibo, $39

McLaren Vale winemaker Brad Hickey ferments this aromatic grape from the muscat family in amphora with skins, seeds and juice for five months, then ages it in old French oak to develop length and complexity. Cloudy yellow in the glass, its curious meld of dry herbs, apricot and lemon is piqued with the tang of ginger and cloves, with a firm grip in the tail.

2019 Amato Vino Nero d’Avola, $30

Brad Wehr’s Margaret River winery uses Riverland fruit to make a delicious light-bodied, red-fruited meld of savoury and sweet notes. Its meaty bite and ripe cherries are complemented by a touch of baking spice, while generous tannins ensure a seductive, moreish palate.