Here we are with yet another embarrassment of riches.

There are wines from all over to talk about, but the new Vintages release also features good stuff from Santa Barbara, Calif., an emerging region that's worth exploring since we can taste what they're doing.

To accommodate both, I'll review the world today and Santa Barbara next week.

For starters, how about an amazing Australian red?

NUGAN ESTATE 2006 McLAREN PARISH VINEYARD SHIRAZ ($26.95, code 72603). It has already won all kinds of praise at the international value awards. It has both structure and finesse and fantastic mouth feel and depth. The wine starts with violets, moves to baking biscuits, sweet plum and strawberry flavours, with a young but ripe tannic backbone.

I'm also a big fan of McMANIS FAMILY VINEYARDS 2006 SYRAH ($17.95, code 658104). Think big. No, bigger. Bigger still. This is one of the most muscular, intense wines I've tasted in a long time. A blend of Syrah and Petite Sirah out of California's hot, central River Junction area that reflects the climate. So ripe and full it gives a sweet impression; fresh and dried black cherries, prunes, blackberries, dark chocolate, fruit leathers, vanilla cookies, spice. A lot of wine for the money.

MASI BROLO DI CAMPOFIORIN ($24.95, code 976092). An even more upscale twin of the general-list Campofiorin. Beautiful northern Italian, silky and elegant yet with fine structure; look for red berry, black olive and subtle mineral undertones.

IRONY 2004 CABERNET SAUVIGNON ($19.95, code 25106). The fruit is drawn from specific areas of California. Great first impressions, with a floral and spice approach, then plum cake, crabapple, black cherry and vanilla notes; the circle closes with a spicy finish.

SANTA CAROLINA 2006 RESERVA DE FAMILIA CABERNET SAUVIGNON ($19.95, code 684597). Excellent value in a high-end line from Santa Carolina in Chile. Pure Cabernet flavours abound: cassis, coffee bean, blackberries, cracked pepper, a twist of black licorice. Let it breathe two hours if drinking now.

PEREZ CRUZ 2006 RESERVA SYRAH ($24.95, code 589812). Consistently fine Chilean producer whose wines all have an unpinning depth and complexity. I get cherries and elderberries, with a still-brisk tannic spine that suggests a couple of years patience.

PEREZ CRUZ 2006 COT RESERVA ($24.95, code 670547). Cot is the old name for Malbec, and while that grape is best known in Argentina, it does well here, too. Herbaceous, tannic, showing blueberries and blackberries.

Let's look at some white wines, too.

BORGO CONVENTI 2007 PINOT GRIGIO ($16.95, code 13276). The estate itself is in the northern Friuli area of Italy, but the ownership is the famous house of Ruffino in Tuscany. Fresh, clean, refreshing wine with excellent body and extract, and flavours of green apples, herbs and almond blossoms.

BERINGER 2006 NAPA CHARDONNAY ($27.95, code 84988). Beringer is the oldest continuously operating winery in California, and consistently makes delicious wines. This is a classic style: opulent, rich, plump, smoky, with sweet golden pear and pineapple fruit, layers of brioche and vanilla and butterscotch behind that.

HENRY OF PELHAM 2007 OFF-DRY RESERVE RIESLING ($15.95, code 557165). We've talked before about '07 being super in Ontario.

Here's more proof. Gorgeous, floral, intense Riesling with charming balance now (i.e. drink it up). Residual sweetness gives it a light, juicy, biting-into-a-fresh-peach feel, along with tangerine and pineapple notes.

CHATEAU DES CHARMES 2006 LATE HARVEST RIESLING ($19.95 for 375 mL, code 432930). I think apple tart when I taste this wine (and that's not a bad dessert pairing, either). Sweet, obviously, but with good balancing lemon acidity, and the fruit comes across as apricots, baked apples, butter-sauteed pears.

ANGOVE'S 2008 NINE VINES GRENACHE/SYRAH ROSE ($11.95, code 695049). Some folks think roses are only for summer, but I think they work well all year round, just as white wines do. Here's a pretty, bright pink Australian that has loads of fruit, but finishes dry, showing off cherry and raspberry character.

OSBORNE FINO QUINTA ($8.95 for 375 mL, code 87247). An outstanding dry Spanish sherry, best drunk chilled as an aperitif. Elegant and light, and dry, with typical almond and sea salt impressions.

dkislenko@ thespec.com

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