Penny's Hill Cracking Black Shiraz continues to be what all McLaren Vale Shiraz should be. Deliciously intense, with all its components looking their best and beautifully synchronised. There's lengthy concentrated blackberry fruit, liquorice and pepper. Superb!

Sitting proudly next to the iconic Woodhenge gate at Wirra is a classic Aussie residence. Originally built after severe storms destroyed the winery buildings in 1940, the then owners, the Sparrows, built this residence with left over materials from the fallen winery. Over the years, Sparrow's Lodge has been home to vintage vagabonds and the occasional winemaker and it is the good times that have been had within its walls that is celebrated in this wonderful, rich, vibrant and full-bodied McLaren Vale Shiraz.

The McLaren Vale can be considered the true home of Grenache blends here in Australia witho some of the oldest vines in the world being dry grown there. Steve Maglieri's Serafino label provides a rich and delicious GSM blend a nose of rose petal and tobacco. The palate flows on with dense coffee and cedar notes that glide across the tongue.

McLaren Vale and Shiraz - the perfect match. Steve Maglieri is the icon behind the Serafino name and his Shiraz is a typically wonderful full-flavoured and full-bodied red with the black and red fruits you can handle. A rich and voluptuous palate with a silken, textured finish that is a perfect match to big, rich beef dishes or a robust lamb ragu.

Serafino is the winery behind industry icon, Steve Maglieri. Arriving in McLaren Vale in 1968, Steve embarked on a career that has seen his wines win multiple awards across the world. His Cabernet Sauvignon contains fruit that is hand selected from multiple vineyard sites throughout McLaren Vale to deliver a wine that is full-bodied and full of richness. Copious amounts of blackcurrant and blueberry fruit await with supreme textural oak balancing the opulence.

Leconfield regularly produce fine full flavoured Shiraz. This release from McLaren Vale shows spicy berry-like varietal character with some minty-chocolately regional hints balanced tannins and well judged oak.

Utilising the winemaking talents of Larry Cherubino and over 40 years of winemaking experience himself, Robert Oatley lends his name to this McLaren Vale Shiraz that has all the hallmarks of an exceptional regional example. Matured for 10 months in French oak and sourced from fruit from around the sub-region of Blewitt Springs, this Shiraz is opulent, fleshy and textured with flavours of blueberries and spice with a lingering, soft finish.

Grenache is Australias signature grape variety and were slightly obsessed with it. Utilising a range of premium vineyards across The Barossa and McLaren Vale regions of South Australia, Thistledown have crafted a wine that captures all that is good about Grenache. Aromatic, deceptively light but with beautiful wild fruit, and slurpy, supple tannins.

Chapel Hill's Michael Fragos loves using The Parson Shiraz to showcase McLarenVale's diversity and varietal character. The Shallow soils over livestone in maritime influenced vineyards between McLaren Vale and Masline Beach and also around Bowering Hill, provide explosive blueberries and liquorice with finesse and a wonderfully framing tannin structure. Up in the foothills of the Mount Lofty ranges, a Kangarilla vineyard offers Indian spice complexities that many higher priced wines would simply love to have. The added length and savoury tannins of this component and the use of some French oak result in a beguiling final release that is extraordinary.

The Nosey Parker simply delivers in spades. Swathes of sweetly spiced blackberry woven with pencil shaving oak, backed up by a rich, powerfully long palate. The Nosey is a very versatile wine in that it is perfectly suited to be enjoyed on its own or is equally at home when paired with rich and flavoursome cuisine.