Proudly, a wine style that hasn’t succumbed to the dictates of fashion or commerce. St Henri is rich and plush when young, gaining soft, earthy, mocha-like characters as it ages. It is matured in old, 1,460 litre vats that allow the wine to develop, imparting minimal, if any oak character. Although a small proportion of Cabernet is sometimes used to improve structure, the focal point for St Henri remains Shiraz.

One of the benchmarks of Barossa Shiraz, Peter Lehmann's Stonewell is a classic example of the rich concentrated old vine style. While bold on the palate, there is always an inherent complexity to the Stonewell that enables it to be compared with all of the great Australian wines produced today.

Back in 1998 Chief Winemaker, Chris Hatcher, decided it was time to take Wolf Blass into the modern world and the result was a single varietal Shiraz that was 100% aged in French Oak, unlike their famous flagship the Black Label which is a blend and aged in American Oak. A wonderful contemporary version of Wolf Blass that is a cavalcade of rich blueberry, blackberry and complex elements of dark chocolate and warm spice. Superbly long on the palate with an obvious hint to a long future in the cellar.

Coming from one of the best vintages in recent Barossa history, the Old Block from St Hallett shows what careful vineyard management can do for a wine. Rich, dark and conerntrated but with seamless tannin intergration.

Alain Graillot has proved beyond a doubt that it is possible to make rich wines from the gently sloped alluvial plain where the Isère River meets the Rhone. His concentrated reds demonstrate all that is exciting about the Syrah grape: black fruit, intense aromaticity, pepper and spice complexity underpinned by crisp acidity and fine tannins. Graillot works organically, harvesting fruit by hand and fermenting in whole bunches. He chooses to age his wines in used barrels, one to three-years-old, purchased from Burgundy’s best estates. His Crozes-Hermitage is difficult to resist young. Despite the tannins that inevitably come from the inclusion of whole bunches in fermentation, Graillot wines are seldom hard-edged, overly tannic, or in need of extended cellaring. In fact, they are often flat-out delicious very soon after release. That being said, their track record for rewarding patient cellaring is exemplary. La Guiraude is a tête de cuvée, a barrel selection made only in vintages where it is felt there are some barrels that exhibit particularly intense and age-worthy personalities. Not necessarily a ‘better’ wine than the Domaine Crozes, it is typically more powerful and in need of longer cellaring.

THE STANDISH WINE COMPANY Lamella Shiraz, Barossa The Standish Wine Company produces a number of small-volume, single-site wines from various parts of the Barossa and Eden valleys. This one is 100% Shiraz from Hutton Vale Farm in the Eden Valley. Dan Standish is a sixth generation Barossan and seven generations of the Angas family have worked Hutton Vale. The Lamella is a transcendent Shiraz of great density and purity, yet also has a feeling of elegance maintained through careful and sensitive winemaking. Dan Standish is an important figure in the Barossa. He founded The Standish Wine Company in 1999 and in 2000, after leaving Torbreck (then soon to have two Langtons Classified wines), he co-founded Massena, another label that has played an important part in redefining modern Barossa Valley.winemaking.He has also made wine in Californias Napa and Sonoma valleys, the Rioja in Spain and the Rhone Valley of France. His aim is to showcase some of the Barossas finest sites with seductive wines that combine power and finesse. He has built a reputation for being able to make wines with a distinctive X-factor.

Penfolds RWT Shiraz is a big juicy Barossan Shiraz refined by the use of older French oak barrels. 1998 is considered to be one of the classic vintages of the modern age. Drinking wonderfully now but with many years still to come in its development, this is a great addition to any cellar.

A classic Australian blend of Cabernet and Shiraz. Typically rich, dense, with red berries complexity and dark chocolate notes. Full-bodied. Defnitely a long palate. A classic for good reasons.

With a name that directly translates from French as 'The Soil', the Le Sol Syrah (Shiraz) pays homage to the terroir that creates this rich and evocative wine. With the trademark Gimblett Gravels stony soil, with exhibits amazing refinement and breeding while not relinquishing body and complexity.