Tired of the same old varieties and want something a little bit different in your glass? Or ever find yourself staring at a wine list unsure what a Mourvedre (Moo-ved-erah) or a Malbec or a Gruner Veltliner (grew-ner velt-lee-ner) tastes like? We’ve got you covered with this selection of 4 unconventional varieties from 4 different producers that serves to highlight that something new does not have to be expensive. 

The StarDozen consists of the following:

3 bottles      Moppity Atrius Shiraz Grenache Mourvedre 2022
3 bottles      Bleasdale Second Innings Malbec 2021
3 bottles      Eldorado Road Dreamfields Fiano 2024
3 bottles      The Pawn Pawn Grüner Veltliner 2023

Moppity Atrius Shiraz Grenache Mourvedre 2022
This wine really is ridiculously enjoyable. Stump up and buy yourself some, because it’s a ripper. It’s wild with both aroma and flavour; it’s both savoury and sweet-fruited at once; it carries inflections of roasted nuts; and it finishes with a confident flourish. This is a modern, mid-weight, fine-tuned pearler. Alcohol: 13.5%; Price: $35.00; Closure: Screwcap; Rated: 95 Points; Campbell Mattinson

Bleasdale Second Innings Malbec 2021
Three gold medals at second tier shows, silver at Perth Royal Wine Awards and Royal Adelaide Wine Show. Bleasdale is Australia’s foremost maker of malbec, investing it with rich, velvety plum and blackberry fruits, supported with amiable tannins. For the record, matured for nine months in French puncheons (10% new). Drink to: 2031; Price: $22.00; Date: Feb 2023; Alcohol: 13.5%; Rating: 95 Points; James Halliday; The Weekend Australian Magazine

Eldorado Road Dreamfields Fiano 2024
Pressed to stainless steel, fermented in French oak with a mix of wild and cultured yeasts, 5 months in oak on full lees. All hail North East Vic fiano, a grape that, vintage after vintage, shines. So aromatic – spring flowers, white peach, citrus, baked apple – and so concentrated across the middle palate, but also juicy and fresh. A leesy, nougat, almond meal texture builds, but it is the persistence of the finish that nails it so convincingly. Date: Dec 2024; Alcohol: 13.6%; Price: $35.00; Drink by: 2029; Rating: 96 Points & Special Value Star; James Halliday Wine Companion

The Pawn Pawn Grüner Veltliner 2023
Austria's most significant white grape it is widely planted in the regions of Niederösterreich & Burgenland, but now has found a new world home all across the Adelaide Hills in South Australia. 

This wine has a delicate bouquet of grapefruits, lime and citrus pith with hints of ripe yellow nectarine & white pepper. palate Flavours of spice and bright green apple complement a somewhat textural wine with tightly woven acidity & a dry, refreshing mineral finish. This 'broadness' of acidity, livens your whole palate and enables food flavours to be superbly carried. A true food wine.