Elderton's Command Shiraz is one old school Barossa Shiraz. Named because of the special treatment the quality fruit 'commanded', this is a Shiraz of foreboding concentration. The fruit for this 'Excellent' Langton's classified Australian icon comes from the century old Elderton vineyard located on the banks of the Para River and is matured in a mixture of French and American oak. This allows the wine to retain its driven power while also giving the wine a level of complexity and balance unique to this region and producer. Elderton's Command can be enjoyed by lovers of ripe and rich fruit early, yet will reward the truly patient with a wine of true beauty when left alone to mature for a decade.

Coming from one of the best vintages in recent Barossa history, the Old Block from St Hallett shows what careful vineyard management can do for a wine. Rich, dark and conerntrated but with seamless tannin intergration.

Yalumba has always had a passion to keep exciting barrels or small batch wines separate from the blending table, regardless of quantity. This is where the Steeple Vineyard Shiraz was discovered. Sourced from antique vines within the Yalumba Steeple Vineyard on the Barossa Valley floor, this Shiraz is a strong expression of terroir, with a dynamic scent, energetic freshness and cooling earthy tannins.

The Penfolds Bin 150 Marananga Shiraz is a relatively new addition to the Penfolds stable, sourced from the Barossan sub-district, Marananga. Simply a revelation, this wine is an inky, black beast in the glass with lashings of dark chocolate and coffee accented fruit, yet this years offering shows a lingering, soft structured finish that will see the wine cellar very nicely.

The Torbreck Descendant has a powerful nose of blackberry and tar complemented by floral lavender and a violet lift. Full-bodied and concentrated with ripe silky tannins and plenty of extract this wine has a great future ahead.

Serious, dark and gestural, this shiraz sourced from a single vineyard in the northwest corner of the Barossa Valley is not for the timid. The Vantablack of the shiraz world. Dark and dense. Ink even, until the calligraphy begins gesturing across the canvas of the mouth. Fabal’s red soil aerates brushstrokes. Minerality gives structure. The paint dries slowly and lingers in the air.

Each cask contains 1.5 litresAlcohol content 13.8%Vol.Variety Red WineNumber of Serves at 50mL = 30 (Lasts 1 Month)Resveratrol concentration: 400mg/L (as measured by the Australian Wine Research Institute)Consume 1-2 x 50mL per day.

It’s no secret that Shiraz is the core strength of the Barossa. It has; is, and always will be quintessential to our region. This is due to the dedication of generations of Barossans. With this, I pay the highest respect to the great wines of the 80’s and 90’s; the wines that showed the world how great the Barossa is, in the hope the new generation of winemakers and grape growers don’t forget the thing that gave them the opportunity to do what they do and love now.

The Glaetzer family have been part of the Barossa winemaking scene since 1888 and now Ben takes over the reigns and produces Shiraz of the utmost intensity and concentration. Named after the ancient Egyptian god Amon-Ra who was the champion of the poor and troubled and was central to personal piety, the temple of Amon-Ra is believed to be the first to plant a vineyard to produce wine for the citizens of the temple. This incarnation is rich, full-bodied and viscous to the palate, yet with sublime oak integration and a balance on the back palate that is quite lifted allowing it to be paired with many meals and a prime candidate for medium to long term cellaring.