Clairault 2009 Estate Chardonnay

There are some pretty exciting chardonnays out there at the moment, but this shines as one of the best of the new-style wines that are all about pure fruit flavours. savoury complexity and linearity. This is a million miles away from the blousy, oaky chardonnays of a few years ago. It's a wine with all the bells and whistles: 100% new French oak barriques, whole bunch pressing, lees stirring and partial malo mean it has plenty of mealy, nutty interest along with good acid structure but it is still the pristine Margaret River fruit, with nectarine and peaches and cream flavours, that is the star of the show. www.clairaultwines.com.au. $39.

The Idiot 2009 Shiraz by Philip Shaw

Purity of fruit is the key to the success of this easy-drinking cool-climate shiraz from Philip Shaw's 20-year-old Koomooloo vineyard outside Orange in Central Western New South Wales. It's a wine designed for enjoying with food and friends, without too much thought, but it has already won three trophies at the Royal Sydney Wine Show - a tribute to Shaw's ability to craft wines that are crowd-pleasers. Ideal for pairing with lighter dishes, it is vibrantly fruity with lashings of peppery spice and a nice soft palate. The alcohol is pretty low, too, at 13.7%. A really lovely wine. www.philipshaw.com.au. $20.

Medhurst 2010 RedShed Pinot Noir

Former Domaine Chandon chief winemaker Matt Steel is producing some impressive wines under the Medhurst label - using quality fruit from the Yarra Valley vineyards owned by former Southcorp CEO Ross Wilson and his wife Robyn. There is nothing too serious about this bright, attractive, easy-drinking pinot, but it is a wonderful wine for drinking without thinking. Designed for enjoying in its youth, it has some vibrant fruit, nice texture and plenty of youthful exuberance. An ideal picnic wine. $19.50. http://www.medhurstwines.com.au/.

Simonnet-Febvre 2008 Petit Chablis

Wines like this are the essence of pure chardonnay, offering fresh, tangy fruit along with steely minerality. This is a beautiful wine for the price with classic oyster shell, floral and sea spray aromas. It's on the lighter side of the scale when it comes to weight but has plenty of length and zesty lemony intensity, along with oodles of acid on the finish. You'll find it at Dan Murphy stores. It's uncomplicated. lean like a whippet and tightly wound but offers fantastic drinking at the very moderate RRP of $18.95. Brilliant with seafood.

Capital Wines 2009 Kyeema Vineyard Reserve Merlot

This is a wine made in extremely limited quantities - my bottle was numbered 0097 - so you'll need to be quick if you want to snap up some of what is one of Australia's best merlots. This a long way removed from your standard monochromatic merlot with lashings of ripe berry/plummy fruit in harmony with some quality oak. Sure it is smooth and soft, as we expect our merlots to be, but it also has some impressive and sophisticated layers of flavour on the palate, integrated tannins and the potential to age for several years. The alcohol level is just 13.3% despite all those rich flavours - a credit to the team at Capital Wines, a small family company that's been making a pretty big splash recently. www.capitalwines.com.au. $46.

Wickhams Road 2010 Yarra Valley Pinot Noir

A decent quality pinot noir for around $15? "You've got to be dreaming," as Darryl Kerrigan once said in The Castle. Well here is a terrific little pinot, indisputably varietal and very drinkable, from the entry-level label of the Hoddles Creek winery which features no fewer than three regional Victorian pinots (Yarra, Mornington Peninsula and Gippsland). There's plenty of red berry/dark cherry characters, medium body and lots of length. You won't do better for the price. www.hoddlescreekestate.com.au. $15.99.

Yalumba Y Series 2010 Pinot Grigio

Wine snobs may scoff - but this is an absolutely fantastic drink for the price, as are many of the wines in the Yalumba Y Series range. It ticks all the boxes when it comes to an everyday drinking wine; it is fresh and vibrant, crisp and clean, determinedly varietal, has some compexity added from wild ferment and lees ageing and is dreadfully easy to drink. I believe lively, zingy grigio is more likely to find favour with mainstream drinkers than the more textural - and demanding gris - and it is wines like this, with 13% alcohol and tropical fruit and shortbread biscuit characters on the palate, that can lead the way. The good news is that you often find it for several dollars cheaper than the RRP - which makes it a ridiculous bargain. I'm recommending this to anyone who cares to listen. $13.