WOLF BLASS WINES Platinum Label Medlands Vineyard Shiraz, Barossa Valley

The initials RWT stand for ‘Red Winemaking Trial’, the name given to the project internally when developmental work began in 1995. Naturally, now no longer a ‘trial’, RWT Shiraz was launched in May 2000 with the 1997 vintage. Its style is opulent and fleshy, contrasting with Grange, which is more muscular and assertive. RWT is made from fruit primarily selected for its aromatic qualities and plush texture. RWT wines are built for the long haul, with the precision, concentration and balance to age for many years.The palate is generous, with voluminous and enveloping tannins, so silken they betray their density and persistence. This sturdy foundation provides a perfect canvas upon which to display the spoils of the harvest, layers of flavours roll over the palate in waves. Varietally correct and true to origin. Blue fruits, boysenberry, plum and mulberry are front and centre, a signature of RWT. A suggestion of crème brûlée and panforte provide a sweet counterpoint to complex notes of exotic spice and cedary oak.

Penfolds RWT Shiraz is a big juicy Barossan Shiraz refined by the use of older French oak barrels. 1998 is considered to be one of the classic vintages of the modern age. Drinking wonderfully now but with many years still to come in its development, this is a great addition to any cellar.

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

St Hallett Mighty Ox Shiraz (Magnum) St Halletts Mighty Ox Shiraz is a new icon for the heritage Barossa label. It is a decadent, classic style of Barossa Shiraz, saturated with black fruit and fit for many decades of cellaring.Fruit for this wine is sourced from several sites in the Northern Barossa, in Ebenezer, Greenock, and Moppa Hills. Bold and strong, it is named for the oxen that were once used to plough the soils of the Barossa. All parcels for this wine are treated individually, then spend 8 to 12 days of warm fermentation on skins. It is aged in American oak. The result is a full bodied showstopper, luscious and driving on the palate. The fruit intensity here is immense, with oak nuances teeming with vanilla and dark chocolate. The finish is incredibly long.

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.

With plenty of blackberry, plum, mulberry and menthol-like fruit and fine, rusty, almost unyielding tannins, this is a strong, firm wine by Wendouree with plenty of lasting power. The Shiraz component derives from vineyard plots that include bush vine material. Parcels of very old vine Malbec bring further distinctiveness. The wine is vinified in open fermenters and matured for 12 months in new and used French oak.

Wendouree Shiraz Mataro is deep in colour, has blackberry and liquorice core and hugely famous tannins. The wines from Wendouree are honourable wines - highlighting the connectivity of winemaker, traditional wine-making practices, regional characteristics and vineyard personality.