Grosset Gaia Cabernet is one distinguished CabernetBring it on! By Gaia standards, its plump and plush with sweet fruit, rich dark chocolate and tannin presence. Gaia is always a wonderful long-term cellaring option, as is the case with the '08, but this vintage the added bonus of up front fruit enables immediate enjoyment.

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.

Yarra Yering is not only a Victorian icon, but a true Australian wine treasure. The Underhill Shiraz is sourced exclusively from the 1974 planted block of Shiraz at the western-most extremity of the vineyard. Drawn from soils with a higher clay base which has resulted in a wine of a more masculine bent offering darker fruits and spice with chewier tannins and a savoury undertone.

Mixed dark berry fruits on the palate, vibrant acidity and fine grain tannin lead into a long, persistent finish. Great drive and depth of flavour, a touch of earthy complexity, and a seamless structure.

The Col Cross Story Somewhere in McLaren Vale youll find a very special block of old vine Shiraz. If you search for it, an olive grove to the west and an ancient chapel will be your guide. The shallow soils overlying a bedrock of limestone and the gentle sea breezes consistently provide us with fruit of exception quality. Dense, classic Shiraz characters of blackberry and dark cherry mesh seamlessly with spicy anise and cedary French oak. A concentrated palate of generous dark fruits and black cherry, the old vines contribute complex spices, cinnamon and nutmeg. A full bodied mouth filling wine that is perfectly balanced by a lingering structural finish.

The actual date of the first Bin 0 Shiraz is lost in the annals of time. But what is certain is the descriptor Bin 0 on the wine label has been in use for over 100 years. Bests Bin 0 Shiraz is produced from the four original Shiraz plantings in the low yielding blocks of the historic Concongella vineyard at Great Western. This includes 19th Century and mid-20th Century plantings of Shiraz, which result in very low yielding vines that produce intense flavours. The fruit is hand selected, sorted and fermented in small batches and matured in the finest barrels in the underground cellar.

Colour is dark kirsch. Lifted dark cherry aromas with notes of liquorice and dark chocolate. Flavour packed with kirsch, prunes, dark chocolate and liquorice. Rich and muscular, like Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Planted in 1946, the old Walton Grenache block is a monument to the history of the Clare Valley. Dry-grown bush vines were planted in terra rossa soils, allowing excellent drainage at elevation and with an aspect which captures the late summer sun. This wine is a pure expression of Clare Valley Grenache. Aromas of strawberry, dark cherries (almost Cherry Ripe), cedar-spice with hints of sandalwood. The palate is silky smooth and vibrant, redolent with red cherries, red plums, blood orange and chocolate. The finish is long, expressive and youthful. Plenty behind it to cellar into the medium term and possibly more. "Youthful, vibrant red in the glass. Exotic aromas of five spice, cola, blueberry, dried herbs and red cherry. Flavours are mid-weighted, rich and fleshy. There’s plenty of red and blue fruit drive, supple and caressing tannins and bouncy, zingy acidity keeping all in check. Lovely, expressive grenache here, layers of flavour and a decent whack of complexity... 95pts" (Aaron Brasher, The Real Review).

The Penfolds Bin 150 Marananga Shiraz is a relatively new addition to the Penfolds stable, sourced from the Barossan sub-district, Marananga. Simply a revelation, this wine is an inky, black beast in the glass with lashings of dark chocolate and coffee accented fruit, yet this years offering shows a lingering, soft structured finish that will see the wine cellar very nicely.