Awards & Reviews95 Points - Sam Kim 94 Points - James HallidayDescriptionDescriptionIntense spice, berry and chocolate aromas with integrated oak notes. Full Bodied and bursting with a complex mix of flavours of mocha, vanilla and intense red berry flavours. Great middle palate sweetness with well integrated American oak.Drink now to 15 years.

Select parcels of premium McLaren Vale Shiraz were chosen from 4 different vineyards (Connors Farm blocks 4 and 7, Vassarelli, and Farmilo) each crushed separately. Following extended barrel fermentation over 18 months, the four parcels were blended to create this superb wine.Tasting NotesOur Reserve McLaren Vale Shiraz is deep crimson in colour with a bright purple rim. Dark plums and spice leap from the glass and the palate is rich and smooth with blackberries, milk chocolate and toasty French Oak characters. CellaringDrinking beautifully now, alternatively it will age well from careful cellaring over the next 5 to 10 years. Alcohol14.5% - 8.6 Standard drinks Food PairingCharred fillet steak served with chat potatoes and a red wine jus.

Kay Brothers Amery Hillside Shiraz is big, rich and uncompromising in the traditional McLaren Vale style. Intense fruit a good measure of oak and beautifully balanced overall - a Shiraz to live for a decade or more.

Bekkers Syrah Grenache McLaren Vale The Syrah is sourced from red clay-loam over siltstone rock in Clarendon (which they now own) and Grenache from sand over orange sandy-clay in the much vaunted Blewitt Springs. Picked by hand, vinified with 15-30% whole bunches and cold soaked for 5-6 days before natural fermentation and basket pressed to aged French oak 500L puncheons. Deep inky purple with a nose of lavender, violets, blueberry, blackberry, Indian spices and a palate of leafy blackcurrant and a long, soft, silky texture.

In 1912, horse fanatic Joseph Osborn sold his stables and horses and bought the family the d'Arenberg estate in premium McLaren Vale. Joseph chose McLaren Vale as it has some of Australia's oldest vineyards, and with an array of soils and the cooling affect of the nearby ocean, it's ideal for vines. Winemaker today is sixth generation Chester Osborn. He continues the family tradition of treading the grapes by foot part way through fermentation. It certainly ensures plenty of dark colour, character and richness in the wines. You'll always spot a d'Arenberg wine with its bold red stripe on the label.

Old, extremely low-yielding McLaren Vale vines are responsible for d'Arenberg's Dead Arm Shiraz - a wine of enormous power, intensity and real complexity - an absolute must for any serious wine cellar and d'Arenberg lover. One of the flagships for McLaren Vale for many years, this wine continues to shine with a balanced between tradition and Chester Osborne driven innovation.

Wirra Wirra's flagship Shiraz has won many accolades over the years, including the 'world's best Shiraz'. It's loaded with distinctive McLaren Vale blueberry and chocolate characters, supported by plums, violets and spice, and tannin structure destined for 10 more years in the cellar.

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.