Dalwood Estate has emerged from the old Wyndham Estate site, with vines that are part of Australian wine history, but with some newer varieties and blends emerging as well.Medium red purple. Blackberry, blood plum and English breakfast tea on the nose. Medium-weight with a juicy mix of black fruit with hints of dried herb and tea leaf, long savoury tannins and generous flavour persistence. A great food wine.

The intensely perfumed, sumptuous and seductive Brokenwood Graveyard articulates the very best of Hunter Shiraz. It is arguably the Hunter Valley's greatest red wine of the contemporary era. The east-facing Graveyard vineyard, first planted out in 1968, was once earmarked in 1882 as the Pokolbin cemetery but this did not eventuate.Young elemental Graveyard typically shows ginger bread, blackberry aniseed fruit, plenty of savoury oak and floral herb garden notes. The opulent gamey French polish characters develop with time bringing a rich palimpsest of aromas and flavours.

"Out of the three traditional red grape varieties of the Barossa, Shiraz, Grenache and Mataro. Mataro and Shiraz have always been my favourites. Shiraz for its bold richness and Mataro for its savoury spice and earthiness. This single vineyard is nestled at the base of the Barossa Ranges in the Krondorf sub-region, it is planted in rich red loamy clay. It is sun struck during the day and is soothed by the cool air falling from the hills at night. The vineyard even though is young in Barossa terms, shows an intensity and complexity usually reserved for older vines. This wine to me is more than what’s in the bottle, it represents the on-going history of my region, the complexity of family and the chance of being able to create something I truly love."

Picked from a wide cross-section of vineyards across the far reaches of the Hunter Valley. Whole-bunch pressed, directly transferred to French puncheons (40% new) ; a barrel selection was made with deliberate mlf; then matured 9 months with fortnightly batonnage. As complex as they come, but has retained focus and freshness. Alcohol: 12.5%. Closure: screwcap. Date tasted: Mar 2023. Drink: 2023-2028. Price: $48. Rating: 95/100.

David Hook's Shiraz is medium bodied, some vibrant characters of spicy red berries and soft rounding tannins with hints of vanilla oak on the palate. Ripe fruits richness with a lengthy finish. A great number to have handy when friends drop by.

Champions of cool-climate New South Wales, Logan have produced a Merlot with balanced fruit sweetness with true complexity. There is plenty of smooth, rich and voluptuous fruit on offer while fine-grained tannin and structured acid add a further dimension to this luscious wine. One could certainly argue that this is the perfect food match wine.

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.

Tyrrell's Vat 8 is the archetypal blend of tradition and modernity. With a strong history in both the Hunter Valley and Hilltops regions, Tyrrell's are able to showcase the very best in modern Australian winemaking. The Vat 8 consists of a majority Hunter Valley Shiraz the lends beauty, flavour and ripeness and a small parcel of Hilltops Cabernet which supports the Shiraz with power and structure. Elegant and pristine early, this is a wine that will enjoy some time in the cellar to further develop it already obvious complexity.