Attica's Sommeliers Winter Cellar Picks: Sensible, Sweet Spot and Splurge
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Attica's Sommeliers Winter Cellar Picks: Sensible, Sweet Spot and Splurge
Three sommeliers. Nine bottles. One for every kind of winter night.
Published 01.07.26
A selection of three bottles of wine for the Attica cellar
Between them, Primo, Guillaume and Sam spend more time thinking about wine than most people spend thinking about anything. This winter we gave them a simple brief: pick three bottles each from the Attica cellar, across three price points, that you would genuinely want to drink right now.
What came back was nine wines covering Victoria, South Australia, Germany, France and a 1967 vintage port that has been quietly waiting almost sixty years to tell its story. Here is what they chose.
SENSIBLE
2024 GUM Gaz (Gamay) — Leanganook, Dja Dja Wurrung (Bendigo), Victoria — $85
George McCullough is doing very interesting things at GUM (Grapes Under Management) having started the label in 2022. The Gaz Gamay has a wonderfully intense presence on the nose contrasted nicely by gamay's telltale lightness on the palate. Best served on one of Melbourne's colder nights.
— Primo
2024 Minim (Sangiovese) — Colbinabin, Taungurung (Heathcote), Victoria — $85
For someone who didn't undergo any formal training nor ever plan on being a winemaker, Tim Sproal of Minim wines produces some of Victoria's most enjoyable drops. Keep an eye out for his work with Italian varieties, in particular his Sangiovese, a wonderfully well rounded and supple example.
— Sam
2024 Alkina Estate (Shiraz) — Greenock, Peramangk (Barossa Valley), South Australia — $120
A Shiraz from the Barossa Valley, but vinified in a completely different style. Focused on a genuine exploration of terroir and precision in winemaking, this cuvée reveals a remarkable expression of Shiraz, decidedly of a new kind.
— Guillaume
SWEET SPOT
2023 Schloss Lieser Niederberg Helden Kabinett (Riesling) — Mosel — $150
Thomas Haag left the comfort of the family winery (the very famous Fritz Haag) in 1994 to take over the responsibility of revitalising Schloss Lieser in the middle Mosel. A task that has been very successful. To my mind Schloss Lieser makes the finest GG wines in the Mosel today. This Kabinett from Niederberg Helden has the typical Mosel character of white strawberry and just a hint of sweetness to temper the shockingly high acid.
— Primo
2022 Shaw + Smith (Chardonnay) — Lenswood, Kaurna (Adelaide Hills), South Australia — $240
Michael Hill-Smith (MW) and Martin Shaw are cousins producing some incredible cool-climate examples out of the Adelaide Hills. The wines feel polished while being built on power and elegance. They will live a long life but are very much ready to enjoy now.
— Sam
2023 Pierre Ménard Pluton (Chenin Blanc) — Anjou, Loire Valley, France — $290
The precision of a Chenin, crafted by Pierre Ménard. Its gently stewed white fruits will comfort and reward.
— Guillaume
SPLURGE
1967 All Saints Vintage Port (Shiraz) — Yorta Yorta (Rutherglen), Victoria — $360
The Australian wine drinking public has long lost its love for fortified wines, and is poorer for it. Rutherglen in Victoria's north has been making some of the world's best examples of fortified wines since the 1840s. Originally much of the supply was sent to the gold fields, however by the 1960s the wines were popular all over the world. With almost 60 years in bottle this wine is fully mature and ready to tell its story.
— Primo
2020 Syrahmi Home Block (Syrah) — Tooborac, Taungurung (Heathcote), Victoria — $380
I struggle to hide my affinity for Victorian producers. There is perhaps no producer more exciting than Adam Foster's Syrahmi label based in Tooborac. One of the finest examples of Syrah I have tried in Australia, the Home Block is a relatively new addition to the range for Adam, but if you are looking for something special and exceptionally rare, I could not recommend it enough.
— Sam
2016 Clos Joliette J de Joliette (Petit Manseng) — Jurançon, South West France — $960
A mysterious wine from a wonderful region in Southwest France, a must-try at least once in a lifetime. Its irresistible sweetness and incredible freshness will leave you speechless.
— Guillaume
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