Clare Valley’s Jim Barry is a name known around the world – a byword for quality and wine expertise. A founding member of Australia’s First Families of Wine, the Barry family celebrated the 60th anniversary of its winery in 2020, the year it also scooped the title of Halliday’s ‘Winery of the Year’. Over three generations the Barry name has been famous throughout the wine world and synonymous with the Clare Valley. Jim Barry bought his first vineyard here in 1959, and even helped the Taylor family open their winery a decade later. Son Peter took over Jim Barry in 1985, and today brothers Tom and Sam, with sister Olivia, have raised the bar even higher.Their range includes flawless Riesling (think Florita), unique Assyrtiko – a Greek white grape Peter introduced to Australia in 2016 – and exciting reds, including the iconic $350+ Armagh Shiraz. Tom (Gourmet Traveller WINE’s Young Winemaker of the Year 2013) and the impressively bearded Sam continue to push boundaries in style and flavour. "Clare Valley Shiraz is about brightness of fruit. The Eastern Ranges vineyard is one of the Clare Valley’s highest Shiraz vineyards and produces medium bodied Shiraz with bright red and purple fruit and lots of energy and freshness" says winemaker Tom Barry.

The Clare Valley's dynamic Claymore Wines celebrates a love of wine, music and football (of the round ball type). Their labels celebrate some of the winemaker's favourite albums and songs. Who are you is a deceptively attractive 93pts blend (65% Shiraz and 35% Mataro) taking an old school work-horse variety (Mataro) to pump up the volume on classic Clare Valley Shiraz... this is classy, complex and finely crafted. "... with plump mouthfeel backed by silky texture and beautifully melded tannins, offering excellent drinking. 93pts” (Sam Kim Wine Orbit). Ray Jodan, Wine Pilot agrees: "The seductive appeal is evident immediately the vibrant burst of red fruits leaps from the glass. A spicy and slightly savoury edge sits snuggly with the plump plummy cherry flavours of the palate. There’s a delicious, sweet fruit character on the finish. It’s a super combination that provides such excellent drinking in the short to medium term".

Released from the cellar, Annie's Lane Shiraz has matured into a beautifully rounded and expressive wine. The vibrant red and purple tones have softened slightly, while the cassis aromas have deepened into dark berries and dried herbs. On the palate, rich plum and black olive characters are now more savoury and complex, complemented by integrated oak and a gentle hint of dark chocolate. The once youthful vibrancy has given way to a smooth, medium-bodied wine.

Longviews Shiraz has all the hallmarks of a cool-climate style - spicy, savoury with crunchy berry fruit. The Barbera provides a juicy, cherry-like brightness and taut acid backbone that gives the wine wonderful structure.

Tucked away nicely in the Adelaide Hills, Sidewood Estate have made an art form out of crafting some of the very best single vineyard cool-climate wines available in Australia. Owen and Cassandra Inglis purchased the boutique property in 2004 and immediately set about making their vision become a reality. Their Sidewood Shiraz displays that vision to perfection. Attention to detail is the key here which enables flavours of red cherry, currants and dark plum to shine through along with hints of cinnamon and spice. The texture is beguiling and gives promise to a wine that will age for up to a decade.

This wine is generous and rounded at first with juicy, deep berry compote fruits then yielding to a tightly woven frame of firm yet generous tannins. There are alluring, coconutty oak and fine dark chocolate characters, with a deep, soft centre of ripe berry fruits. Elegant acids and light, long tannins carry the palate to deliver a lingering finish.

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.

Clare Valley icon producers, Taylors, have hand-selected small parcels of Shiraz fruit from their premium vineyards in the region to produce a Shiraz of real concentration and beauty. Winemaker, Mitchell Taylor brings this full-bodied red to life with bold, ripe fruit and plush, firm tannin. Will comfortably cellar the next 5 years, yet will reward those who can't wait that long to enjoy intensity of this wine with a robust meal.

The Aberfeldy vineyard is located only 5 kilometres from the town centre of Clare and was planted way back in 1904 by the Birks family of Wendouree fame. This single vineyard Clare Shiraz is rich and full bodied with hints of mulberry, blackberry and vanilla. An impressive wine with great cellaring potential.