Hand Picked Icon Red Dozen - Valued at $384

Sometimes, all it takes to reach for the top-shelf, is a little boost. That’s where we come in at The Wine Collective. Our manrtra is all about hunting down the hidden gems of wine value; the kind of wines that over-deliver wella bove their price point, laying down slabs of flavour and generosity not usually found for anywhere near the kind of money.

This Hand-Picked Icon Red Dozen showcases the kind of wines you only ever want to bring out on special occasion. The big days, the major life achievements, or the boss is coming over for dinner, we’ve got it covered.

It all starts with a glorious blackcurrant drenched Cabernet from Rosendo Road in the Margaret River. While it might be an unfamilar name to most, what’s in the glass will be full bring a wide-brimmed smile to your face. Through a quick handshake deal with a very well known winery, and the capable hands of mastercraftsman Bruce Dukes, Rosendo Road have created a single-vineyard Margaret River red with decades of cellaring ahead. Even Master of Wine Andrew Caillard was impressed, scoring the Cabernet 95 points and calling it ‘brilliant value’. Pair that with the equally as breathtaking Shiraz, and you’ve got an almighty duo.

Speaking of impressive - how about the CV of winemaker Nigel Dolan, who helped craft the Dolan Family Wines 33CWT Barossa Valley Shiraz. There's not a trophy or major wine award that Nigel hasn't been awarded. Jimmy Watson? Nigel's got two of them. Winemaker of the Year? Three of those. Nigel's crafted a monstrous, full-throttle shiraz from the Stonewell region in the Barossa, made from achingly small yields of fruit (meaning the flavour is intensified). Prepare the decanter for this one, as it has the likes of St Henri and Henschke in its sights.

All up, this is twelve high calibre, well-crafted & thought provoking reds to settle into now, or many years into the future.