Elderton is one of Australia's great Shiraz producers, year in and year out. Brimming with ripe juicy blood-plum and chocolate flavours, this is almost like Black Forest cake in a bottle!

Dog Point from Marlborough in New Zealand have quickly established themselves as quality Marlborough producers with their range of Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir. This Chardonnay has lovely texture due to lees stirring and balanced oak influence. Hints of citrus still remain to produce a Chardonnay of versatility.

Though part of the Barossa, the Eden Valley is a slightly cooler climate than the neighbouring Barossa Valley, so generally produce Shiraz that is slightly more elegant in style. That said, the Eden Hall Shiraz is a wine that is not only rich, vibrant and full of life today, it will also hang in for the long haul.

Martinborough is considered by many as the home of Pinot Noir - not only in New Zealand but the 'New World' in general. It is hard to argue when wines like this are produced. Pinot Noir superstar, Larry McKenna, hand-crafts a wine that is overflowing with perfumed black, red and green fruit flavours that are all in harmony with the mid-weighted palate. Textured oak and fine-grained tannin give a nod to the fact that this wine will age gracefully for a decade or more. A stunning benchmark.

Château Rayne-Vigneau produce both a dry and sweet white wine on the estate with the sweet style taking all the accolades in recent years. Great vintages like the 2009 can produce a wine of sheer opulence and concentration. Layered honey, apricot and orange zest are all tighly packed in a Sauternes that is a perfect match for intense cheeses and flavoursome desserts.

Gary Farr is still one of Victoria's true Chardonnay maestro's and his Chardonnay By Farr is another example. Taken from the original By Farr vineyard, this is a clearly a wine of true clarity and finesse. Flavours of melon and hints of spice with wonderful oak integration mean this wine is simply delicious upon release, but handle some careful medium-term cellaring.

Every so often there are parcels of wine that generate tremendous excitement amongst the winemakers at Schild Estate. They set this aside to make Prämie, the wine that defines the best of the vintage and the land on which it was grown. Intense primary fresh plum flavours show again on the palate, where they hold their presence all the way through to roll out soft and pillowy at the finish. A firmly present, but fine tannin framework provides just enough focus and lift for the fruit to ensure added complexity, but retaining vibrancy to the mouth flavours of this Shiraz.

There is no doubting the quality of Northern Tassie Pinot. This is a fine example from the Tamar Valley has elegance, length and varietal flavours of plum and cherry balanced by a touch of oak and light astringency.

Spinifex Esprit is a Grenache Mataro blend that has a vibrant, youthful and fresh palate driven by a tangy herb infused line of red fruit red currant, sour red plum, pomegranate and marjoram that gains warmth and depth turning to tobacco, game, cedar and darker fruit to close. Pulpy, fleshy fruit is drawn long with plum skin acids and stony tannins.

A classic Fromm Vineyard Pinot Noir, a multi-layered wine, very concentrated without appearing big or heavy, with positive tannin support. At its best it shows a masculine charm with a distinct terroir-related identity, aging superbly.