Nitschke Block Shiraz displays rich, opulent fruit with a fantastic balance of texture. Lifted notes of greengage plums are first to emerge from what is a tightly-wound wine. There is also a warming spice element of subtle white pepper as well as some dark cherry and plum flavours.

Yalumba Paradox Shiraz is an inky, crimson wine full of aromas of mixed spice and crushed black pepper, violets, fennel and hints of blueberries. The palate is like layers of velvet, with great structure showing lush red berries, olives and anise.

Big and beautiful! This Hewitson Mad Hatter Shiraz has dark plums, chocolate and mocha on the nose; it is rich and fills the palate with textured dark fruits with a hints of oak in the background.

Meshach William Burge was Grant's great grandfather and was a central figure in establishing the Burge family in the Barossa Valley. This Shiraz named in his honour is sourced from old vines, some nearing 100 years old, and shows aromas and flavours of complex swiss chocolate, savoury spices and red currant. Grant Burge's flagship shiraz will reward the patient cellarer with 20 years in the bottle in front of it.

One of the benchmarks of Barossa Shiraz, Peter Lehmann's Stonewell is a classic example of the rich concentrated old vine style. While bold on the palate, there is always an inherent complexity to the Stonewell that enables it to be compared with all of the great Australian wines produced today.

A full and fruity Shiraz, Kaesler Old Bastard is fresh on the nose with hints of blackberries, raspberries and blueberries. On the palate, forest fruits, blackberry and mulberry mingle with spices of anise and nutmeg with some coffee and chocolate notes. Tannins are silky and balanced, with a nice acidity. This shiraz will cellar for 20+ years.

St Hallett Faith Shiraz is one of the all time customer favourites at Dan Murphy's Ripe flavoursome concentrated Shiraz from the Barossa Valley with great mouthfeel and length of flavour with fine soft tannins. Drinks nicely now and will age well in the medium term.

An exceptional Barossan Shiraz from the artisan cult producer, Spinifex. The Miette (mee-yet) Shiraz has a delightful balance and charm with flavours of cherry, blueberry and hints of earthy spice, held by finely structured tannins. Succulent, layered and fleshy, the Miette label is a great introduction to the hand-crafted wines from Spinifex.

This is a truly wonderful example of the Octavius. Rising from the glass is a tangle of violets, raspberry, spice and vanilla, drawing the taster towards a palate saturated in raspberry, blackberry, liquorice allsorts and star anise. On the verge of greatness, it should be drunk between 2011 - 2014.

Rockbare's second label, Mojo Shiraz punches way above it's weight in the quality division. Rich and ripe, this versatile wine would not be out of place at the dinner table or at a BBQ.