Aromas of blackcurrant, spices and dark chocolate. Full, flavoursome ripe dark berries, soft silky tannins and a long dry finish. Now, more than ever, it’s so important to support local Hunter Valley producers. Please pick up a bottle from around the state & help us to help them.

The palate is expansive and gently fruity, with excellent fruit clarity and softness. Overall, the wine is beautifully lemony and full-flavoured. Multi-vineyard sourcing, including from the Soldier Settler vineyard in the Broke Fordwich subregion. Hand-picked fruit, cool-ferment and early bottling to preserve freshness. Alcohol: 11.5%. Closure: screwcap. Date tasted: Feb 2024. Drink: 2024-2029. Price: $48. Rating: 96/100.

Put a quadruple Gold, 96pt Hunter Valley Shiraz Cabernet on your table. It’s from Hungerford Hill’s always impressive Bryan Currie, and boasts: “Incredible depths of dark, delicious fruit flavours make this wine easy to love. The shiraz imparts a beautiful plushness to the blend while the cabernet provides structure. Bright and harmonious, with ripe, chewy, integrated tannins. Excellent balance and even flow. Good ageing potential. 96pts. (Toni Paterson, The Halliday Wine Companion).” Shanteh Wale, WinePilot adds that finds it “A well balanced wine in almost every vintage I have tried…93pts” and Huon Hook calls it “Very tidy red wine.93pts” in The Real Review.

De Iuliis (De - uli - iss) wines are known for their trademark regionality and commitment to showcasing the very best the Hunter Valley has to offer. Their Shiraz is a fine balance between power and subtlety. Spice driven aromas with mild hints of the berry fruit to come on the palate. Blackberry, raspberry and dark cherry come to the fore and are in harmony with the round, soft tannins.

Graveyard Vineyard is the jewel in the Brokenwood crown, responsible for the company's flagship wines. The vineyard was planted with Shiraz vines in 1970 - extremely heavy clay soils, yields are low, but fruit flavour is intense through employment of meticulous vinification techniques. Strong lifted aromas of sweet earth and dark cherry greet the olfactory senses. Oak features, but will soften and integrate given some patience. Initial flavours of dark chocolate and ripe plums are beautifully lashed to ripe tannins lending an edge of cedar.

Bimbadgen Ridge Shiraz Cabernet Merlot is a medium bodied wine that combines the firm fruity characters of Shiraz with the length and finish of Cabernet and soft fleshy Merlot.

First Creek are really winning over a lot of new fans, especially wine drinkers who may have previously not given the Hunter Valley its fair dues. In the glass: Deep garnet to purple. On the nose: Black and blueberry fruit, and spice. On the palate: Medium to full-bodied with luscious texture and soft tannins. Showing black cherry, blueberry and vanilla alongside red liquorice notes. Long and moreish.

Stylish Shiraz with dusty tannins and brooding berries. This wine displays sweet, plump fruit with a touch of white pepper on the nose. A seductive savoury style that matches nicely to lamb, pork and beef dishes.