It’s fabulously fruited and perfumed on the nose showing Black Doris plum, cherry, mixed spice and rich floral aromas, followed by a concentrated palate delivering considerable weight and persistency. It’s succulent and fleshy with a prolonged satisfying finish. At its best: now to 2036.

This is a smart wine. It feels very harmonious, there's fruit intensity but it's not *too* fruity, there's present oak but it's not *too* overpowering, there's spice and tannin but they're not *too* drying. Everything has been worked into this classy number in thoughtful moderation and the result is a wine greater than the sum of its parts. From the well known, hand-tended, vineyards of the Willunga sub-region of McLaren Vale, picked in the (widely lorded) year of 2021 - it's safe to say we were holding this one to a pretty high standard. Well, this wine exceeded even our lofty expectations. Juicy dark mulberry and black cherry, vibrant spiced plum and chocolate characters are expressed with both intensity and complexity. Subtle, but ever present, oak characters manifest themselves in slight chocolate and vanilla notes along with fine grained tannins and build to a silky, spice driven finish. Happy to sit in the cellar for 15+ years, but why delay happiness right?

The pinnacle of Chapel Hill's best parcels of red come together to form The Vicar, a prestige full blooded McLaren Vale Shiraz of great distinction. Painstakingly chosen from selected single-vineyard McLaren Vale sites, The Vicar is overflowing with ripe mulberry and licquorice flavours interlinked with sublime oak influence from over 80% French oak influence.

The Vicar is one of Chapel Hill’s flagship wines and is an annual vineyard selection of Chapel Hill’s most outstanding and expressive parcels of McLaren Vale Shiraz. The vineyard blocks were harvested and fermented separately in small batch open fermenters. Gentle plunging was utilised for cap management and all of the ferments were left on skins for a range of 13 days to 22 days. Following gentle basket pressing, the free run and pressing fractions were combined. During the subsequent 21-month oak maturation period, the barrels were periodically racked and returned to ensure the integration of the tannins back into the structure of the wine. To preserve purity and character the wine is made with minimal additions and is allowed to clarify naturally without the use of fining or filtration. This is wonderfully opulent Vicar. Inky black and packed with blackberries, plums and dark chocolate with a twist of aniseed. The nose brims with a complex mix of wild herbs, violets, black liquorice and a sprinkle of wild fennel. A powerful wine that flows across your palate unveiling layers of delicious flavours and succulent tannins with an impossibly long finish. Purity in a glass.

The EJ Shiraz is the jewel in Paxton's organic and biodynamic crown. Awarded 95 points in the Halliday Wine Companion 2017, this wine is the result of low yielding vines that are more than a century old. The flavour is elegant and round and the nose offers vanilla, black current and oak.

Kalleske are leaders in organic and biodynamic vine growing and winemaking practices. Their old vine Barossa vineyards are able to produce fruit of the utmost concentration and power. The Eduard is sourced from three dry-grown vineyard blocks that were planted between 1905 and 1960 and which produce extremely low yields. Named after Karl Heinrich 'Eduard' Kalleske who worked the Kalleske vineyards from 1853 until the 1880s. Showing an intense, powerful and full-bodied nose and palate exhibiting dense classic Barossa old vine Shiraz characters. Inky black fruit flavours abound together with harmonized tannins, subtle oak complexity a sturdy structure and great length.

A new label and new take on a classic. The Eileen Hardy Shiraz is juicy, plump and full of life with a magnificent backbone of tannin and spice without being overbearing. A classic in the making.

Katnook Prodigy Shiraz is a wonderful example of great Coonawarra Shiraz. Savoury spice and dark berry fruits with a hint of white pepper. An elegant wine with medium intensity and great length. Amazingly concentrated for current drinking, the Prodigy will benefit for over decade in the cellar.

Old, extremely low-yielding McLaren Vale vines are responsible for d'Arenberg's Dead Arm Shiraz - a wine of enormous power, intensity and real complexity - an absolute must for any serious wine cellar and d'Arenberg lover. One of the flagships for McLaren Vale for many years, this wine continues to shine with a balanced between tradition and Chester Osborne driven innovation.

Paringa Estate's The Paringa Shiraz is a multi-trophy winning wine that has been carefully selected from barrels prior to bottling due to the stand-out quality that was easily identifiable. Sourced from Lindsay McCall's estate, this Shiraz is almost eternal in flavour length and intensity. Flavours of plum, raspberry, redcurrant are accompanied by black pepper, anise and vanilla. Fine grained and in balance tannins complement the extraordinary fruit weight to deliver a wine that will reward careful cellaring.