INSIDER'S PICK: 2017 POWELL & SON 'RIVERSIDE' GRENACHE/MATARO/SHIRAZ BAROSSA (Wine Spectator 93points) $22.99

Even though we will not be doing the public tasting portion of the Insider's Pick until further notice, we will still be offering the wine for purchase with the usual 10% discount on Thursday and Friday. The wines will still be ones we highly recommend, and the tasting notes will still be our own. We will be returning to doing just the one wine on Thursdays and Fridays until further notice. We hope you are able to come by and get some wines to enjoy.

The next few weeks will provide PLENTY of time for discussion about Thanksgiving wines (watch for our yearly 'Turkey Picks' email coming out early next week), so this one is all about knocking out that chill in the air that just dropped in this week. Too often the opinions of Australian wines are colored with the same brush, that they are all 'critter labels' and mass marketing brands that taste the same and have no subtlety or character. David Powell, the senior of the two Powells, represents everything that's right about the wines, a long time proponent of saving older vineyards at a time in the 80s and 90s when many sites were being ripped up for grazing cattle. His first winery, Torbreck, was at the head of the Aussie wine movement in the early 2000s with their exquisite lineup of wines made from some of the most prestigious ancient vineyards in the Barossa. After an unfortunate dispute with his partners forced him to leave Torbreck, David restarted his wine career with his son Callum at his side with their first vintage in 2013, still sourcing wonderful properties and still creating tremendous gems. Polished and warm red fruits and dark cherry tones on the nose with a hint of toasty oak that is mostly absorbed now and gets quickly replaced with dark spice tones as it opens up. The Mataro and Shiraz (misprint on the back label has Grenache named twice, but definitely 10% Shiraz) adds some dark tones and some acidity to the velvety lush fruit on the palate, a little touch of cocoa to the cherry tones of the Grenache. At their best, Powell & Son make some of the iconic wines of the Barossa; at their most affordable here, they deliver greatness we can all enjoy.

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