Exciting Updates
what's new in november?
november 2025
It’s been another strong month for our wines, with several new awards and glowing reviews coming through in November.
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Take a look below at the highlights from across the portfolio.
red hut - albariño
92/100 - Ken Gargett
Kiwi Albarino is a style not commonly encountered, but this is a most enjoyable example from the Gisborne region, specifically the sub-district of Hexton Village. Maturation was for three months on lees.
Lemon yellow in colour, this is pleasingly fresh with notes of dried herbs, citrus, a hint of lime and lavender, grapefruit and florals with a flick of mandarin towards the finish. Well balanced and full of flavour, it is a wine of medium length. The creamy texture is a highlight. Quite delicious now and should continue to be over the next three to six years.
red hut - pinot gris
91/100 - Ken Gargett
Pinot Gris from the Awatere Valley sub-district of Marlborough in New Zealand, the fruit was destemmed before a cool fermentation in stainless steel, with 10% in a large oak vat to assist with complexity and texture. Maturation was for two months on lees.
Pale yellow/bronze in colour, this is a most aromatic example of the variety. Notes of crisp nashi pears are very much to the fore. Textbook Pinot Gris. There are notes of apples, citrus but especially those pears, all well supported by a minerally undertow. A fine line of acidity, the wine is medium length at best, but should pick up a little more in the coming years. Enjoy the wine over the next two to four years.
red hut - chardonnay
93/100 - Ken Gargett
The Hawkes Bay region in the North Island of New Zealand has proved to be an excellent source of quality Chardonnay. This example is specifically from the sub-district of Roy’s Hill. The grapes were whole bunch pressed into French oak barriques, 35% of which were new. Maturation continued in barrel for eleven months with regular lees stirring.
Straw/yellow in colour, the nose reveals tropical notes with stonefruits, cashews, gunflint, spices, dried herbs, peaches and a flick of grapefruit. This is finely crafted and well-structured, with a line of zesty acidity and serious persistence. Enjoy this any time over the next five to six years.
red hut - pinot noir
93/100 - Ken Gargett
Central Otago in the nether regions of the South Island of New Zealand has proved itself one of the world’s great Pinot Noir growing sites (not to mention one of the most gloriously spectacular winegrowing regions on the planet). This example specifically comes from the Lowburn sub-district. Fermentation saw 20% whole bunch inclusion and the wine spent a year maturing in French oak barriques, 25% of which were new.
Crimson garnet in colour, this is a bold style of Pinot Noir, hardly unexpected from this region. There are notes of cassis, bay leaves, spices, raspberries, kirsch, blackcurrants and a hint of aniseed on the nose. The structure is seamless and the wine has exemplary length, through to silky tannins. Delicious drinking now and over the next half dozen years.
MARETTI ITALIA - SPARKLING PINOT GRIGIO
92/100 | 4.5 stars - Wine Orbit
Pristine and elegantly scented, the bouquet shows green pear, nectarine, crunchy apple, and jasmine nuances, leading to a finely textured palate that's creamy and linear. Elegant and harmonious with a lengthy, juicy finish.​
maretti italia - pinot grigio 2024
92/100 | 4.5 Stars - Wine Orbit
Delicate and inviting, the bouquet reveals ripe pear, green apple, wet limestone, and white flower aromas, followed by a brightly expressed palate offering pristine fruit flavours with crisp acidity, making it highly enjoyable. At its best: now to 2027
maretti italia - rosé2024
92/100 | 4.5 Stars - Wine Orbit
Charming and inviting, the bouquet presents ripe strawberry, fig, apricot, and lemon peel aromas, followed by a refreshing palate that offers youthful fruit flavours with a fine texture and well-pitched acidity, making it mouth-watering and delightfully drinkable. At its best: now to 2027.
maretti italia - Sangiovese 2024
91/100 | 4.5 Stars - Wine Orbit
It's elegantly fragrant on the nose, showing sweet cherry, strawberry, olive, game, and floral notes, followed by a finely expressed palate that's juicy and supple. Well supported by bright acidity and delicate tannins, finishing succulent and pleasingly dry. At its best: now to 2029.
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elephant in the room - tempranillo 2025
90/100 | 4.5 Stars - Wine Orbit
Attractively fruited and immediately appealing, the wine shows sweet plum, dark cherry, olive, and subtle spice aromas on the nose. It's juicy and silky in the mouth, offering a supple texture and fine tannins, making it fabulously drinkable. At its best: now to 2029
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sweet caroline - Pinot Grigio 2025
90/100 | 4.5 Stars - Wine Orbit
Youthful and elegant with notes of ripe pear, Gala apple, and green tea on the nose. It's finely expressed with bright fruit flavours and delicate texture, making it charming and delightfully appealing. At its best: now to 2027.
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MARETTI - prosecco
93/100 | 5 stars - Wine Orbit
Delightfully fruited and elegantly expressed on the nose with rockmelon, ripe pear, crunchy apple, and subtle savoury notes. The palate displays a beautifully rounded mouthfeel with fleshy texture and bright acidity, offering excellent drinking.​
east of eden - shiraz 2024
93/100 | 5 Stars - Wine Orbit
It's immediately appealing with notes of dark plum, blueberry, rich floral, clove, and hazelnut. It has a beautifully balanced palate with a lush mouthfeel, fine-grained tannins, and a long, delightful finish. At its best: now to 2034.
sons of eden - 'freya' riesling 2025
96/100 | 5 Stars - Wine Orbit
It's alluring and delicately fragrant on the nose, with lime cordial, crunchy apple, lemon pith and green tea aromas, followed by an elegant yet concentrated palate that delivers outstanding focus and drive. Mouth-watering and energetic with an ultra-fine finish. At its best: 2028 to 2040.
sons of eden - 'Kennedy' GSM 2023
94/100 | 5 Stars - Wine Orbit
This wine has an impressive nose, featuring aromas of dark berries, rich flowers, and mixed spices. On the palate, it offers succulent fruit flavours with excellent weight, complemented by a smooth texture and polished tannins. The wine is beautifully rounded yet wonderfully structured, leading to a persistent, flavoursome finish. At its best: now to 2035.
sons of eden - 'pumpa' cabernet sauvignon 2024
95/100 | 5 Stars - Wine Orbit
Expressing gorgeous fruit purity and finesse, featuring aromas of dark plum, blackcurrant, violet, thyme, and toasted almond. It's both refined and powerful on the palate, showcasing excellent fruit intensity along with a supple texture and finely woven tannins. This is a wonderful rendition of the variety, demonstrating great harmony and structure. At its best: now to 2036
sons of eden - 'remus' shiraz 2022
97/100 | 5 Stars - Wine Orbit
The bouquet is immensely seductive and inviting with blackberry, bouquet garni, cedar, cured meat, and rich floral notes. The palate is powerful with finesse, exhibiting remarkable weight and depth. The mouthfeel flows seamlessly, complemented by finely integrated tannins. This wine beautifully combines exceptional fruit purity with enticing complexity, leaving a long and gratifying finish. At its best: 2028 to 2042.
sons of eden - 'romulus' shiraz 2022
92/100 | 5 stars - Wine Orbit
The wine features a beautiful balance of delectable fruit flavours and intricate complexity. On the nose, it displays aromas of blackberry, baking spices, violet, cocoa, and fine oak. The palate is powerfully concentrated, offering both richness and elegance, highlighted by a plush texture and refined tannins. It is superbly structured and seamless, leading to a persistent and captivating finish. At its best: 2028 to 2042​
sons of eden - 'cirrus' sv riesling 2022
97/100 | 5 Stars - Wine Orbit
Exquisite and poised, the wine displays vibrant notes of crunchy apple, lime/lemon peel, and wet limestone, leading to a brilliantly focused palate that showcases remarkable concentration and balance. It's refined and elegant, with excellent structure, finishing with stunning tension and energy. At its best: 2028 to 2042
sons of eden 'zephyrus' shiraz 2022
96/100 | 5 Stars - Wine Orbit
A terrific expression of the variety, showing dark fruit intensity, rich floral, warm spice and toasty oak aromas on the nose, followed by a graceful palate offering outstanding weight and silky flow. Plump and mouth-filling with harmony and structure, finishing splendidly long and sturdy. At its best: now to 2037.
take it to the grave - Shiraz 2025
93/100 | 5 Stars - Wine Orbit
Upfront and instantly appealing, the wine shows blackberry, sweet cherry, rich floral, warm spice, and roasted nut aromas. The palate delivers excellent weight and succulent fruit intensity, beautifully structured by silky texture and polished tannins, making it highly enjoyable. At its best: now to 2032.
little giant - SV cabernet sauvignon 2023
90/100 - Ray Jordan
This is a plush and generous cabernet, yet it's still built on those fine, elegant lines that are typically Coonawarra. It has nice black currant and slightly savoury characters with sweet fruit balanced by a subtle and defined use of oak. Medium weight with good intensity and length.
little giant - SV Shiraz 2023
93/100 - Ray Jordan
This was sourced from a low-yielding dry-grown old vine block in the Barossa and displays excellent, intense fruit concentration. After small open fermentation, it was then matured in bigger format oak, so the result is a wine that displays and retains its generous, plush dark fruit characters with just that little bit of oak adding some balance and further complexity. As a sweet, juicy fruit character with fine chalky tannins supporting through to the finish. An excellent wine in the medium term.
red hut - sauvignon blanc 2025
Dan Daily
There's just something seriously savvy b about October. Maybe it's because this white wine - and especially this one - is fruity, herby and fresh, kind of like a stroll on a perfect srping day. The palate is dry and lively, bursting with green apple, lime zest and tropical, citrusy flavours. A subtle leesy touch adds a silky softness, while crisp acidity and a mineral edge add intrigue and give it a long finish. Having a couple of bottles chilling in the firdge for those october sips just feels so right. Pour it alongside a nice hunk of fish and some seasonal green veg, and consider your midweek sorted.​
elephant in the room - chardonnay 2023
Dan Daily
Not every night needs to be fancy. In fact, some shouldn’t be. Some nights are all about carbs, butter, cream and pure comfort. You know the type: that not-strictly-Italian pasta that sparks joy and makes a midweek feel a little brighter. Think creamy carbonara, chicken boscaiola – any pasta that would make an Italian shake their head. A recipe so gloriously Australianised it’ll never grace a restaurant menu, which means you get the guilty pleasure of making it at home. For those meals, we go with Elephant in the Room Chardonnay. Big oak, bold flavour, plenty of personality and just enough subtle fruit to cut through all that creaminess. Happy Wednesday, my dudes.
elephant in the room - 'buttery' chardonnay bagnum
Dan Daily
We've said it once, we'll say it again: bagnums are the new magnums. If you're still drinking your wine from a bottle, then unfortunately you're behind the curve or the times or however that particulat maxim goes. Either way, bagnums are the ultimate weeknight hack. Why? Because they last way longer than bottles, thanks to that handy resealable seal. So, if you've got a cracking wine like Elephant in the Room 'Buttery' Chardonnay staring at you from the fridge, and you want a cheeky glass tonight, go for it. The rest will stay fresh for your weekend plans. and the weekend after and event the weekend after that. Also, it's a bit of a fan favourtie, with its touch of oak, buttery notes and extra depth. It's still freshg chardonnay at heart, but those oaky notes give it some good weight on the palate making it a pretty perfect for any meal you throw at it.
tread softly spirit - pink gin
Dan Daily
Here’s another Aussie pink gin that’s kicking goals, this time from the Tread Softly team. Crafted in Victoria, this gluten-free spirit delivers a vibrant aromatic profile dominated by juniper and finger limes, with layered notes of pink peppercorn, hibiscus, cinnamon, lemon myrtle and nutmeg. Sounds pretty damn tasty, if you ask us. But there’s more going on with this one that’s worth celebrating. For every six bottles sold, an Australian native tree is planted, and the brand recently celebrated its one-millionth tree, cementing Tread Softly as an eco-conscious choice for contemporary gin lovers. We’ll drink to that!
take it to the grave - pinot noir 2025
92/100 - Ken Gargett
The team was aiming to produce an expressive, good value and quality Pinot Noir with this wine. Not from the most traditional region for this variety, but they have done an exceptional job. Maturation is in a mix of new and older French oak.
Ruby/crimson hue, this is a savoury, herbal style with notes of cherries, mushrooms, raspberries, spices, animal skins and florals on the nose. There is good focus, a line of fine acidity and a lingering finish with satiny tannins. Should provide pleasure over the next four to six years.
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thanks for sticking around
Awards are great and all, but they’ll never beat the simple joy of opening a good bottle with good company. That’s the real win for us.