PIERRE JEAN VILLA Esprit d'Antan Syrah, Collines Rhodanienn

The 864 range features exceptional wines from specific and single blocks, produced in small quantities and released in only the best years. An Oakridge 864 wine is terroir-driven, made to demonstrate the importance of time and place with every bottle, and always a tribute to tradition. The 864 Syrah is sourced from the Oakridge Vineyard, Close Planted Block. This vineyard is east-facing at 120 metres above sea level. Planted at 5,200 plants per hectare in the grey alluvial loams of Coldstream using the R6VW28 clone and cropped at 6.7 t/Ha. The wine is vibrant purple in appearance with a ruby hue. Opulently fruited on the nose, with aroma of dragonfruit, blueberry and plum leading to notes of cassis. Elements of black olive, green pepper, bunch spice and toast add complexity. The palate is expansive, textural and concentrated with a generous core of blue and purple berried fruits, long chains of plush velvety tannins are intricately woven within the fruit providing length and supportive structure. A subtle line of acid keeps the wine on point, never wavering. Pure, succulent and refined from start to finish.

BROKENWOOD WINES HBA Vineyard Selection Shiraz, Hunter-McLaren Vale A museum release after ten years of cellaring at the winery the HBA Shiraz is an exultant blend. An amalgamation of the iconic Graveyard Vineyard from the Hunter Valley (Classified Exceptional) and the Wade Vineyard from Blewitt Springs, McLaren Vale, where they source their highly rated single vineyard Block 2. Both regions had a warm and dry vintage, allowing the grapes to be picked at full ripeness, providing a beautifully balanced depth of flavour. Expressing sweet earthy notes and dark chocolate on the nose, the oak and fruit integration is seamless on the fine and medium to full-bodied palate, with a refined core of dark fruits and a lengthy finale.

Its fair to say Luke Lambert hasn't looked back since 'relocating' his Syrah to the Tibooburra vineyard. This southwest sloping site lies in the southeastern corner of the Valley, near Gembrook, and might be the coolest microclimate of the Yarra. The site is expertly managed by Greg Kerr, the grower who planted the vineyard in 2001. The soils here are considered very unusual for the Yarra, comprising a seam of black volcanic topsoil over yellow clay with a smattering of granite rock throughout. Furthermore, the quality of the clonal material in Tibooburra supplies Lambert with deeper and darker Syrah fruit that also has more depth and structure. This is what drew him to the site and a good chunk of the reason the Syrah has become a touchstone example of cool-climate Yarra Shiraz.