95pt Great Value Adelaide Hills Shiraz – “an excellent example of what the Adelaide Hills can do with Shiraz… its “flavours reaching to all corners” (Halliday). From a cellar owned by Ben and Clare Anderson, with vineyards planted at 600m – wine quality and the panoramic views are very impressive. In The Halliday Wine Companion, Campbell Mattinson calls this 95pt 2022 Shiraz: "… both warm and rich, its flavours reaching to all corners, but then it's spicy and meaty too. It's an excellent example of what the Adelaide Hills can do with Shiraz. Sweet cherries, an array of roasted nut and deli meat characters, plum-filled depths and rounds of black pepper, cloves, anise and gum leaf. It's complex, full bodied, structured and moreish. 95pts. Great value.”

Another very attractive release from the hugely dynamic Zonte's Footstep. An Adelaide Hills Shiraz with TWO Double Golds "...offering excellent drinking. 92pts” (Sam Kim, Wine Orbit). He adds that it is: “Sweetly fruited with complexity, the wine exhibits aromas of black and blueberry, star anise, floral notes, and hazelnut on the nose. The palate is equally satisfying with a plump mouthfeel backed by fleshy texture and supple tannins, offering excellent drinking. 92pts” (Sam Kim, Wine Orbit).

From Kilikanoon’s Clare Valley heartland – this cuvée makes use of fruit from several ‘Settlement’ blocks in Leasingham originally given to soldiers returning from the World Wars. Warm days and cool nights yield Shiraz of terrific power, elegance and length. The use of multiple blocks and careful oak ageing, adds complexity for a rich, satisfying premium Kilikanoon Shiraz full of black fruit and peppery notes.

The Pike brothers established Pikes winery in the Polish Hill sub-region of the Clare Valley in 1984, renovating an old stone shearing shed to house their winery and cellar door. Neil is the veteran winemaker (he’s done 38 vintages in Clare); Andrew the seasoned viticulturist (he spent 22 years working for big names like Wynn’s Coonawarra and Southcorp before establishing Pikes). Together they turn out formidable wines that earn plenty of show medals and critical acclaim. Their richly textured 2017 'Wilfred's Block' really is magnificent. A definitive Australian blend of inky, slatey Cabernet and sumptuous, spicy Shiraz, it’s a contemplative wine – the layers of flavour will reveal themselves slowly – and perfect for winter sipping. It will cellar well until 2032, but is still drinking beautifully now. Decant, pour into big glasses, and savour with good food and good friends.

Attractive stone fruit and citrus aromas with complexity from maturation on fermentation lees. The palate is fine and long with persistent flavour supported by oak structure and length. Will drink well over the next 5 years.