Rated 97 Halliday points. "Deep crimson-purple; whereas the '11 had to fight every inch of the way, this wine displays almost contemptuous ease in the way it has marshalled the layers of black fruits and ripe tannins that soak up the new oak inputs. This will be one of the long-lived, great Black Labels." James Halliday Wine Companion, July 2015.

By the Bend of a Brook is a vineyard planted to produce single block wines, where just about everything from the pruning, weeding & picking is done by the sweat of manual labour and a barking Kelpie. Only this fruit is in the SL Cab Sav. A lighter, fresher style of Cabernet,hand-picked with subtle oak. The wine was made in the Mediterranean style for casual, easy drinking. At a vineyard altitude of 400 metres above sea level the Adelaide Hills allows grapes to develop to full ripeness while retaining fresh cool-climate acidity and elegance.

Production: 2015 Vintage - 100 Cases Oak maturation: New & 2 Yr old French oak hogshead casks for 15 months. Handpicked and gently crushed just after dusk on a cool night. Matured in new & used French oak barrels for 15 months. A Cabernet with dense ripe red and blue lifted fruits and rich cassis and tobacco notes. Some spice mixed with earthy tones. The wine is full bodied and fruit forward with pleasing black fruit surrounding a leafy core. The tannins are fine and focused. Good cleansing acidity with an elegant but savoury finish

The fruit for this wine was sourced from premier blocks on the Taylor family estate in the Clare Valley. This is an elegant wine with immediate flavours of boysenberry, blackberry and then more subtle choc-mint and spice. The palate is bright, vibrant and juicy with a precise fine tannin line. The oak maturation brings depth and length to the palate. The wine is very well balanced with well integrated oak and the finish is persistent and imminently enjoyable.

PENFOLDS Special Bin 111A Shiraz, Clare Valley, Barossa Valley It is a tradition at Penfolds to experiment, research and develop new wines. The large number of mostly one-off, bin-numbered wines produced, beginning in the 1950s, initially shows a company diversifying away from its core business of fortified wines. In the 1960s, the primary aim was to make show wines, but the program also resulted in the development of current-day staples like Bin 707 and Bin 389 and, more recently, of Bin 407, RWT Shiraz and Yattarna Chardonnay. In effect, the first two Special Bin wines were the then-experimental 1951 Grange and the control wine Max Schubert made alongside it so he could see what the wine would be like matured in a single, old 4500 litre cask rather than the new, 300 litre American oak barrels in which he put the real Grange.That wine is now forgotten, but, said Schubert (in 1979): It did... set the guidelines for the production and marketing of a whole range of special red wines which have been sought after, vintage by vintage, to this day. Schuberts successors, the late Don Ditter, John Duval and Peter Gago, continued the tradition, making small-batch wines (1000 dozen or less) for comparison with existing styles, to try out something new in the way of varietal or regional combinations or simply to spotlight a brilliant parcel of fruit. Some may be forgotten in time, but others are considered among the greatest Australian wines of all time.

Tony and Lita Bradys spectacularly individual Wendouree Shiraz has remained true to its origins since Alfred Percy Birks planted vines in 1893. It is considered by many as one of Australias greatest Shirazes. The vineyard is tiny, with low-yielding, beautifully formed old vines, many from the original plantings. Low input viticulture, laissez faire winemaking and maturation in about 1/3 new oak allows the wine to speak of place. These are dense, strongly flavoured wines with beautifully intense varietal fruit, massive concentration and a hallmark muscular sinewy tannin structure. The overall mass of fruit sweetness complements the toughness of the wine. Wendouree Shiraz will age for a long period of time maintaining prominent tannin structures but evolving further complexity and interest.

Crafted to embody our founding vision, The Legacy is the culmination of a fifty-year winemaking journey. Great care has been taken to ensure this wine is delivered as the family intended. The Legacy is the result of experience, patience and a never ending pursuit of perfection. This wine is a tribute to our past and a treasure for the future. The Legacy represents an enduring family journey that honours our history and sets a benchmark for generations to come. Mitchell Taylor, Managing Director & Winemaker.

Medium red with a purple hue in the glass, Jim Barry The Forger Shiraz opens with a brooding array of purple fruits with a hint of violet lift then countered with notes of cinnamon and sweet oak char. The palate is packed with the rich brambly fruit which follows on from the nose. Fine, chalky tannins give the wine a plush, velvety texture that fills the length of the palate. The Forger has a rich, lingering, persistent finish and is ideal for cellaring.

This traditional blend has distinctive varietal characters of plums, coffee and dark chocolate with hints of violet flower. It is a wine of great length with textured soft tannins.