One of the great wines of Australia, Hunter Shiraz is powerful as it is subtle. Everything is in balance: Pure ripe blackberry fruit flavours, some spice and earthy characters and round soft tannins.

Recognised as one of the first vineyards in the Hunter Valley, Audrey Wilksonson has a long and storied history in the region. They continue today to produce wines of region character with fine craftsmanship. Their Hunter Valley Shiraz is a wine in perfect harmony. Majority French oak is used to mature a wine that has flavours of intense cherries and violets overlapping powerful mulberry and that traditional Hunter character of forest floor and earth.

The Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot for this wine is sourced from the Cookoothama Vineyard on the banks of the Murrumbidgee River at Darlington Point in the Riverina. Deep red in appearance with a youthful purple hue. Aromas of plum and blackberry, infused with hints of spice, herbs and dark chocolate. Concentrated flavours of red berry fruits, mocha and spice with ripe silky tannin and well integrated oak.

Audrey Wilkinsons Merlot is a mellow, easy approaching style that is packed with ripe plum aromas and subtle oak. It is matured in French and American oak for 18 months, giving the wine soft tannins and a flavoursome finish.

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.

A perfect marriage of Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon fruits, this is a modern Australian style of red wine. The Cabernet gives the wine structure and length, while the Shiraz imparts it deep plum fruit sweetness, along with dark berry and chocolate flavours. This is a nice and well rounded drink.

Crafted from grapes grown on the best block of 50-year-old Timbervines Vineyard, Margan White Label Shiraz proudly flaunts a brick red colour. Matured in old French oak barriques, the wine captivates you with aromas of tobacco leaf, blackcurrants and cassis flowing from the nose. Its rich & savoury palate is full of white pepper, licorice & blackberry characters, firm tannins, and cigar box notes, subtly balanced by crisp as well as lingering acidity. Try pairing it with smoky pulled pork or venison carpaccio for an enhanced taste.

From a fantastic vintage in the Hunter Valley, the Tyrrell's Wines Shiraz 2014 has been crafted in a distinctive Hunter Burgundy style by red winemaker Mark Richardson. In the glass: Medium density red.On the nose: Black cherry, plum, earth, leather and pepper.On the palate: Unashamedly medium weight and very savoury with a fine, velvety texture showing red and black fruit flavours with earth and spice elements, fine tannins and a persistent finish. A true Hunter Burgundy style.

Australia's first boutique winery, Lake's Folly Cabernets is an Australian wine treasure. More Bordeaux in nature than most, the Cabernets is a wine of pristine purity and elegance. With a sense of place that can be tasted in every bottle across all vintages, Lake's Folly Cabernets is a must have for all serious wine collectors and lovers. The 2010 is a young, robust version that will require some time in the cellar to really show its complex characteristics and refined palate.