Two Hands is a winery that rarely puts a foot wrong, and the 'Gnarly Dudes' is no exception. The Gnarly refers to the gnarled old Shiraz vines this wine comes from. The nose jumps immediately out of the glass with hints of Asian spice, blackcurrant, rasberry, black pepper, anise and the slightest waft of perfumed violets. The palate gives up a generous hit of black cherry and liquorice. With great complexity, heavy tannins and a brilliant long length, this is a wine that will greatly reward a few years in the cellar.

Located in the High Eden sub-region of the Barossa, Mountadam was originally established in 1972 by the late David Wynn for his winemaking son Adam. Since 2005, it has returned to being a family owned and run winery, with David and Jenni Brown overseeing its success. With Phil Lehmann, the son of Peter Lehmann, as chief winemaker, they are going from strength-to-strength. High Eden’s chilly heights lead to harvests up to a month later than those in neighbouring Eden Valley. The result is gorgeous Shiraz like this, full of blue fruit and peppery acidity.

Deep red with purple hues. The nose is complex with chocolate, coffee and raspberry aromas balanced by lifted liquorice, leather and a hint of white pepper. The palate is rich and full bodied with prominent raspberry flavours, alongside beautifully balanced oak with hints of vanilla. 2018 was a high-quality vintage in Barossa, with good yields and excellent flavours and colours in reds. The growing season started off well, thanks to winter 2017 rainfall being around 10% higher than average. Spring rainfall however, was lower than usual and drier soils, combined with warmer than average October and November days meant the vines grew quickly; flowering well and setting a good number of bunches. January and February were warm and dry, with very warm temperatures in February slowing the pace of ripening. The Indian summer of March and early April proved perfect for finishing off ripening before vintage, capping off a very good year.After picking, the grapes were fermented in a combination of five tonne concrete and seven tonne stainless steel fermenters for 7-12 days. The wine was then racked off into a combination of French and American hogsheads and matured for 22 months. One of the largest landholders in the Barossa, Grant Burge wines is a bastion of well made, value for money wines. Drawing on depth of experience in the region, Grant Burge and his wife Helen established the brand in 1988 and have developed a formidable range of wines across a broad spectrum of price points. The history of the Burge family and their long association with winemaking in the region can be traced back to March 1855, when noted tailor John Burge immigrated to the Barossa from Hillcot, near Pewsey in Wiltshire, England with his wife Eliza and their two sons. John worked as a winemaker at Hillside Vineyards and his love of viticulture was passed onto his son Meshach, who continued the tradition making his first wine in 1865, while becoming a prominent community leader. Meshach married Emma in 1883 and they had eight children. First-born Percival established the Wilsford Winery near Lyndoch in 1928. Percival had two sons, Noel and Colin, and Colin and his wife Nancy had one son, Grant. Following in the footsteps of his father and forefathers before him, Grant carried the winemaking tradition into the 21st century. Grant Burge Wines came under the ownership of the Accolade Wines' family of brands in 2015. Since then, the winery has flourished both nationally and internationally.

HEAD Old Vine Shiraz, Barossa Valley The hand-picked fruit comes in small parcels from up to 100-years-old vines. Theres a little whole-bunch fermentation prior to 12 months in a mix of old and new barrels. There is a measure of Old Vine Grenache to lighten up the classic Barrosa Valley Shiraz richness.

Zephyrus is a Shiraz Viognier blend typically showing floral perfume and fleshy spicy black berry fruit. The wine is named as a homage to Zephyrus, Greek God of the west wind. Grapes are sourced from a vineyard site situated on a plateau on the north-western edge of the Barossa Valley, which captures the cool westerly winds. The two varieties are harvested and co-fermented together for colour and aromatic lift. Extended maceration and plunging of the cap for structure is followed by maturation in hogsheads for 18 months.

Bright, deep garnet. Spice laced, smoky, savory notes dominate when the bottle is first opened. With air aromas transit through black tea, charred meat, green pepper corn, wood smoke and suede, to roasted nuts, red and black cherry and high transient notes of citrus oils and jasmine. Restrained and relatively closed on the palate initially. Mid-weight, with a keen balance of both flesh and bones fruit and structure - tangy dried herb edged fruit opens up to polished, fresh black fruits. Focused and pure, has great line.

A rich, classically styled, medium to full-bodied Shiraz with ample richness, a softly textured supple mouthfeel, and lifted flavours of ripe dark plum, liquorice, dark chocolate and toasty vanillin oak gliding across the palate.

Head Wilton Hill Shiraz Barossa Ranges Wilton Hill is comprised of an old vine vineyard, perched atop the Barossa Ranges as it encroaches on the Eden Valley. The soil, a complex polyglot of sandy loams, limestone and ferrous ironstone over a substrata of mottled quartz. The geology is arguably more intrinsic to the makeup of the wine than the variety, or maker Alex Heads deft hand. This is top- drawer Barossa Grand Cru speaking. Make no mistake! Think a swirl of dark fruits, aromas of iodine, lilac and violet, punctuated with a swab of tapenade-encrusted tannins. Dig deeper and there are scents of smoked meats, thyme, lavender and mocha, trailing across a peppery trail of freshness that tows this full-bodied wine long. Sumptuous gear that is ready for an aggressive decant, or extended time in the cellar.

When it comes to the quality and price ($320 a bottle!) of this outstanding Shiraz, the term Super Premium is an understatement. The story of this winery began in, you guessed it, 1847. After the proclamation of a land grant by the Governor for the historic Rowland Flat property, Bavarian immigrant Johann Gramp planted what was the first commercial vineyard in the Barossa Valley. 1847 winery now encompasses some 200 acres of premium estate vineyards. “There's a bright, spicy crunch to the best of '17 Barossa shiraz. This is a refreshingly medium-bodied style laced with red cherries, greengage plums and a hint of black pepper. Tangy acid line and a fine tannin grid carry a finish of impressive persistence... 95pts” (Halliday Wine Companion, Tyson Stelzer).