While normally associated with Grenache and Shiraz blends, Mourvèdre recently has begun to stand on its own two feet as a stand-alone wine. Quite evocative in nature, Chapel Hill's Mourvèdre is a dark and brooding red with wonderful hints of spice and violet tones. Walking the line between medium and full-bodied, this wouldn't be out of place next to either a thick cut steak or a plate of picked Mediterranean vegetables.

Round yet fine and detailed, this medium bodied wine is brimming with lovely fruit density. Notes of red current, cassis, black cherry, and plum lead the charge, supported by secondary notes of bay leaf, graphite, wet clay and chocolate. Starting early, tannins are savoury in nature and run long through the palate complimented by lovely accents of ash and coal dust. Dense and chewy through to the finish, this wine has excellent length.

McLaren Vale and Shiraz - the perfect match. Steve Maglieri is the icon behind the Serafino name and his Shiraz is a typically wonderful full-flavoured and full-bodied red with the black and red fruits you can handle. A rich and voluptuous palate with a silken, textured finish that is a perfect match to big, rich beef dishes or a robust lamb ragu.

Another impeccably good offering from Chester Osborne combining rich and voluptuous McLaren Vale Shiraz with lifted fragrant Viognier. d'Arenberg is one of the pioneers of this style, the 'Magpie' continues to go from strength to strength.

Mark Lloyd of Coriole planted Sangiovese in his McLaren Vale vineyards in the mid 1980s and in 1999 he famously won the inaugural Australian Sangiovese Awards – a precursor to the Australian Alternative Varieties Wine Show, where this delicious 2016 Sangiovese won Gold! It has beautiful bright spiced cherry and plum fruit, with a savoury touch of herbs and spice. It's a terrific food wine - try it with your best Italian pasta dish.

McLaren Vale is home to some of Australia's biggest reds and here's a prize example from the bestselling 'Black Pig' - a cassis-rich Cabernet with wall-to-wall black cherry and bramble tones and a delicious lick of menthol.

Michael Fragos grew up in McLaren Vale, and spent 14 years at Tatachilla before taking over at Chapel Hill in 2004. A three-time ‘Bushing King’, Michael has also been named best winemaker on the planet! James Halliday notes that his “wine quality is unfailingly excellent” . This one has an expressive nose of blackcurrant, bay leaf cigar box and chocolate. The palate is medium to full-bodied, beautifully structured, with a powerful complexity, fine-grained tannins, velvety texture and long, long finish.

"Coriole has earned its reputation as one of the blue-blood producers of McLaren Vale” (James Halliday). "What Coriole does better than any other McLaren Vale maker is to fashion wines of such balance and finesse ... equipped with the structure, balance and layers of fruit to unfold slowly” (Jeremy Oliver). We're not arguing with these fine critics! Clark Hill, named after the land on which the Coriole estate was built, is an impressively rich blend of lush Cabernet planted in 1988, and spicy Shiraz planted in 1969 when Coriole was set up. Savour subtle lavendar aromas and a melee of plum, cassis and redcurrant flavours lifted by elegant, exotic spice.