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Bleasdale's Senior Winemaker Paul Hotker is James Hallidays Winemaker of the Year 2018. The magnificent fruit for Bleasdales Powder Monkey comes from Hotker's finest Shiraz block, directly behind the winery the oldest in Langhorne Creek. Powder Monkey is named in honour of a young Frank Potts who, at age nine, joined the British Royal Navy as a powder monkey diminutive crew members charged with carrying gunpowder during battle. Later, in 1850, an older and wiser Frank Potts would found the first winery in Langhorne Creek.

TWO HANDS Dave's Block Single Vineyard Blewitt Springs Shiraz, McLaren Vale

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.

In the glass the 2010 S has a black core with a deep red rim. There are elegant aromas of red black fruits, and spicy earthy notes with a hint of grilled meats, graphite and controlled oak. On the palate the fruit continues with rich plums, and blueberries and delicate spice and chocolate which all roll on to a juicy palate with fine tannins that go on ... and on. Smidge recommends drinking this wine betwen 2014 and 2030.

It is sweetly fragrant and instantly appealing on the nose showing dark and purple fruit aromas together with tar, game, cocoa and spicy oak nuances. The palate is rich, intense and fleshy, displaying excellent power as well as rounded mouthfeel, wonderfully complemented by velvety texture and silky tannins. Impressively flavoursome and very long on the finish with loads of delectable flavours. At its best: now to 2027

Geoff Merrill Parham Cabernet Sauvignon is a deep red coloured wine with purple hints. It was aged in brand new American oak hogsheads for 27 months. Its complex and powerful bouquet exudes aromas of roast beetroot, dark chocolate, black olive, blueberry, licorice and mint. The focussed yet balanced oak creates depth as it opens up in the glass. The palate is fleshy, full of tannins, structured with tight acidity, and displays flavours of dark blue fruits, black cherry and olive. Enjoy it with runny double brie, white castello, or pork belly.

His upland vineyard raises fruit of rare elegance without losing any of its perfumed intensity. Lithe tannins underlie a strap of lively blackberry, and perfect amounts of sinew, flesh and bright acidity guarantee a highly rewarding decade or two.