Exceptionally potent and powerful, initially giving the (false) impression its alcohol is more than 14%. Retasting brings it back into perspective, the two varieties bonded, yet each preserving its varietal integrity and structural architecture. A classic Australian blend of exceptional quality, destined to outlive most who taste it.

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.

There are always captivating florals and spices in the perfume of Mount Edelstone, and in this more toned vintage, sage, pepper, bay leaf, and bark cavort atop the fruit notes. ... When you peek behind the curtain, the fruit is sleek and polished, and the tannins are superfine. The finish is as neat and ordered as any I have tasted, and given its youth and grandeur, this alone offers a fascinating insight into the extraordinary balance across the entire landscape of the palate.

This tiny vineyard of century old vines produces a wine of formidable structure with an intense Cabernet style of mixed fruits and berries.

Yarra Yering Dry Red Wine No.2 Yarra Valley Shiraz One of three wines from Yarra Yering featured in the original 1990 Langtons Classification, Dry Red No. 2 is recognised as the first Côte Rôtie style wine made by anyone in Australia. Its fruit is sourced from 1973 plantings of Shiraz, often backed by small amounts of Mataro, Marsanne and Viognier. A highly collectable and cellar-worthy offering from one of the cornerstone wineries of the Yarra Valley.

Best's Great Western Thomson Family Shiraz is an amazing wine and is without doubt one of the most important wines made in this country, with fruit coming from the original Thomson Family Vineyard planted in1867. These vines are over 140 years old! Hand picked and hand crafted, produced using century old techniques, this is a wine of true beauty, complexity and character. Only 2800 bottles produced.

Wendouree has achieved cult status with its tiny production from ancient vines. Luscious dark berry Shiraz fruits and some meaty characters run through the full-bodied palate with ripe tannins.

From the sculptural, low yielding Hilder Mataro vines - believed to be 145 year old ancestor vines that have survived two world wars - comes Z Wines' inaugural release of a straight Mataro. This biodynamic vineyard is worthy of producing a single varietal fruitful and earthy Mataro. This minimal intervention wine was hand picked, wild fermented, basked pressed and spent only 8 months in high quality oak, including 20% new French oak. On the nose, herbal notes as well as spice, licorice and leather are evident. The dark fruits (plums and ripe cherry) take a back seat, but positively add to the interesting bouquet. Characters from the nose follow through to the palate, which is balanced and structured. The flavours are dominated by savoury herbal and leathery characteristics with background ripe forest fruits. The chalky acidity and tannins are prominent and very much a testament to the high quality fruit. You will find divine length and lingering flavours.

Alain Graillot has proved beyond a doubt that it is possible to make rich wines from the gently sloped alluvial plain where the Isère River meets the Rhone. His concentrated reds demonstrate all that is exciting about the Syrah grape: black fruit, intense aromaticity, pepper and spice complexity underpinned by crisp acidity and fine tannins. Graillot works organically, harvesting fruit by hand and fermenting in whole bunches. He chooses to age his wines in used barrels, one to three-years-old, purchased from Burgundy’s best estates. His Crozes-Hermitage is difficult to resist young. Despite the tannins that inevitably come from the inclusion of whole bunches in fermentation, Graillot wines are seldom hard-edged, overly tannic, or in need of extended cellaring. In fact, they are often flat-out delicious very soon after release. That being said, their track record for rewarding patient cellaring is exemplary.

Small parcels of fruit from old dry grown vines are selected for their intensity of flavour and individual qualities. Complex and concentrated this classic Barossan will continue to develop for a decade at least.