Church Block first appeared back in 1972 under the watchful eye of Greg Trott who was taken by one of the original vineyards that ran alongside the small Bethany Church, across the road from Wirra Wirra's old ironstone cellars. Over the last 4 decades, Church Block has become one of Australia's favourites with its rich, full-bodied style consisting of swathes of black and blue fruits and a nice, smooth finish that seems to last ever so long for such an affordable red wine.

With its boisterous berry flavours and hallmark tannin structure, this wine hailed us down like a vocal New Yorker at rush hour. We fastidiously selected each barrel for this wine whereby it affectionately became known as the '1st off the rank'. With the lovely palate length and balance that make Cabernet Sauvignon 'king', it is full-bodied yet is no West Coast wanna-be. Made from fastidiously selected barrels, we are quietly confident that it will be the first wine you'll want to jump into at any lineup. Rich plum and blackcurrant flavours swerve into savoury liquorice and cedar notes, followed by a friendly toot of thyme .

Ben Riggs has hand-crafted a delicious Shiraz Cabernet Merlot blend here that pays homage to the three-spiked prickle that can be found in the McLaren Vale region and the fact that it's hard to ignore. This unctuous red blend is also extremely hard to ignore with its seamless varietal integration that produces a wine full of richness and opulence. Ripe, dark berry fruits courtesy of Merlot along with spice elements from the Shiraz and a firm, but balanced structure from the Cabernet all come together superbly.

Now sourcing fruit from premium regions across Australia, this Cabernet blend shows varietal mint on the nose with floral notes in the background. The palate has good weight and texture, the flavours of blackcurrant and herb framed by firm tannins.

Church Block first appeared back in 1972 under the watchful eye of Greg Trott and was taken by one of the original vineyards that ran alongside the small Bethany Church, across the road from Wirra Wirra's old ironstone cellars. Over the last 4 decades, it has become one of Australia's favourites. The 2005 Church Block is showing just what a little patience can do. After six years, the velvet texture is the dominant feature with integrated tannin taking a backseat.

Primo Estate's Joseph Moda is widely acclaimed as one of Australia's greatest Cabernets, and has been so since its inception in 1987. To create this exceptionally concentrated McLaren Vale red, Joe Grilli combines traditional Italian winemaking techniques with his 'Aussie know how' by air-drying the best fruit available to the winery on shaded outdoor racks for two weeks prior to crushing. The 'Moda', or method, is usually associated with Amarone style wines from Italy, but is put to superb use here by the team at Primo to create a brooding, opulent wine. After this intensive process, the wine is then aged in French and American oak for 20 months to further enhance the wine's complexity, flavour and effortless length.

This tightly structured wine displays a bouquet of blackberry, Dutch liquorice, passionfruit and tangerine complemented by hints of lavender and raspberry. The robust palate exhibits black forest fruits, blueberry, tamarillo, blue damson plum, with hints of Kalamata olive and prunes, coupled with cedary cigar box, peppermint and rosemary characters. If consumed early this powerful wine will require lengthy aeration and a rich meat or game dish.

With Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot is included in the wine for which adds a beautiful fragrance and minty undertones resulting in a very generous style.

A lovely approachable wine from the guys at III Associates. Plum flavours drive the wine with a soft, plush mouth feel and intergrated tannins. Lovely toasty oak is also prevalent with nice blending of the Cabernet fruit.

One of the few straight varietals in Australia (Petit Verdot is usually blended with other Bordeaux varieties), the nose displays violets, briary blackberry and a hint of cedar. The palate reveals concentrated spicy plum, cherry and mulberry flavours. Will cellar well.