The Littles think that Sangiovese is a 'wonderful Italian grape', praising it for the ability to make wines that are 'highly concentrated in flavour yet have a lighter, more approachable structure than Cabernet or Shiraz'. This Sangiovese from the Creyke Vineyard in the Hunter Valley straddles that invisible line too - there's lots of berry flavour here, and a real 'pass the red pasta' savouriness that makes it both juicy and life-affirmingly dry.

Ian and Suzanne Little are anything but little. This husband and wife super team have lived a fascinating wine life, now culminating in their Hunter Valley project for the last twenty-five years, The Little Wine Company. Suzanne is the winemaking figurehead here, tracing her experience back to Katnook Estate in the late 1980s. Suzanne, who has degrees in economics, law and wine science, became really famous working for the (now forgotten) Rosemount Estate in the 90s when Rosemount was the #1 wine brand in the country. Then in 2000, Suzanne left Rosemount to join forces with her winemaking husband, Ian (also a trained biochemist and brewer), to develop The Little Wine Company. Together, they are exploring grapes that don't fit the usual Hunter Valley stereotypes, including Albariño, Barbera, Tempranillo, Vermentino and Pecorino.