McWilliam's Mount Pleasant Maurice O'Shea Shiraz continues lead the pack of great Hunter Valley Shiraz. A lovely return to old form, this Maurice has a striking purple hue to it in the glass. To the nose aromas of liquorice and spice with hints of cedar will beguile. Layers of complex flavours dance across the palate including savoury, spicy dark fruits like dark plums and cherries. A classic of classics.

One word - legend. Jack Mann served Houghton for a remarkable 51 consecutive vintages. His determination to create wines of intensity, elegance and regional character have inspired a generation of Australian winemakers to achieve great things. Simply one of this country's greatest Cabernets, this wine is not just single vineyard fruit, the selection process is so rigorous that often it is just a few rows from the Justin Vineyard. Such is the reverence for that great man - Jack Mann.

Château Léoville-Barton is one of the oldest Château's in Saint Julien with the Barton family still owning the estate some 175+ years since they took stewardship of the property. Always a finely perfumed wine is produced with rich and powerful tannin that gives way to beautiful fruit and richness of flavour with aging. This is especially the case when speaking of the remarkable 2009 vintage which is being classified as one of the very best of the past 100 years. Take advantage of such a vintage with wines like Léoville's that won't break the Bordeaux bank.

While many seek out the Basket Press Shiraz, it would be a disservice to ignore this opulent and concentrated Barossa Cabernet from Rockford. The Rifle Range actually has a lovely elegant and structured bent to it, some real class. A core of blackcurrant that is complimented by savour touches that lift the wine to some extraordinary levels.

Immensely complex and powerful, this wine is from classic old vine Shiraz from the Barossa. Dense, concentrated fruit characters of blackberry and ripe plum are knotted around delicious vanillin oak.

Made from fruit grown in ultra close planted vineyards Bass Phillip wines are eerily like Pinots from Burgundy. Fully mature now, the wine has lovely spice and earthy characters ready to be enjoyed now.

Château Lascombes was a small property by Bordeaux standards up until 1951, which then grew to beyond its means until the most recent ownership change which has seen better fruit selection and a creation of a second label to produce an estate wine of purity and concentrated flavours. Using the talents of Dr Alain Reynaud and Michel Rolland the wines continue to impress in recent years, namely this spectacular 2009 vintage which is proving to be one of the greatest vintages in the past 100. Even at this early stage the Lascombes looks superb with balance between power and opulence treading a near perfect line.

Barossa Valley legends, Rockford, tend their hand here to producing one of the world's unique wine styles, a sparkling Shiraz. Inspired by a sparkling Burgundy Rocky O'Callaghan found in his father's cellar at Seppelt when he was a child and when working with Colin Preece in Rutherglen, the man who responsible for the grand style. Rockford take this truly Australian wine to a new height with the 2011 discorged Black Shiraz that will live for quite sometime in your cellar and will reward those in spades who have the patience.

Teusner Albert Shiraz is made from old vines in the northern Barossa; rich black fruits and tarry cassis with smoky undertones, the finish is long and luscious. Could easily be cellared for the medium term.