One of the benchmark wines to come out of the Coonawarra, the Penfolds Bin 128 is a delightful cool-climate shiraz. Matured in French Oak, with flavours of white pepper and floral spice, the 2014 Bin 128 is a rich and full-bodied Shiraz.

Bowen Estate Shiraz shared similar firm structure as it's sibling, the Cabernet Sauvignon. It's lifted aromas of ripe black fruits, warming spices and hint of earthy background makes it a welcoming drink with hearty food.

Katnook Prodigy Shiraz is a wonderful example of great Coonawarra Shiraz. Savoury spice and dark berry fruits with a hint of white pepper. An elegant wine with medium intensity and great length. Amazingly concentrated for current drinking, the Prodigy will benefit for over decade in the cellar.

A medium bodied wine generously flavoured with chocolate and dark berry fruit flavours. A perfect accompaniment of everything from pizza to aged cheddar and the winemaker's choice, pecorino.

As with its Caberent Sauvignon sibling the Coonawarra Series Shiraz is made in a ripe, generous style with classic spicy varietal characteristics and definitive structure. Showing great depth of flavour, the palate is host to notes of cherry, mulberry and hazelnut with an underlying cool, mineral line and fine oak tannin. Parker Estate is a wine that's very approachable in its youth but can also be cellared short to medium term.

Pepper Tree have quickly established themselves as one of the showcases of not only the Hunter Valley region, but the other three regions where they source premium fruit from; Orange, Wrattonbully and Coonawarra. Award winning winemaker, Jim Chatto is at the helm of this progressive winery and here he produces a Cabernet Sauvignon of upmost class and complexity. A nice nose of cassis and dark berries with a hint of oak, ripe rich fruit that fills the mouth with blackcurrants and soft tannins.

The nose displays lifted fresh pure red and blue fruits accompanied by subtle spicy cedar oak notes. The palate vibrant fruits of plum and blueberry are supported well by spicy oak. The palate is of medium weight with an elegant structure, round and soft with a fine tannin finish and lingering fruit flavours.

The colour is medium density and purple edged, the aroma is of cedar and spicy cassis Cabernet and the earthy terroir character of the Whalebone Vineyard. The Shiraz plays a role in filling out the middle palate. The core of the wine is sweet but the finish is of gentle savoury tannin.The fruit flavours are sweet at the core but the wine retains the elegance, savory balance and refined but determined tannins, which are hallmarks of the Whalebone terroir.

John Riddoch's first vintage of Coonawarra Claret (1890) was a shiraz-dominant wine. As the region's first wine grower he envisaged that Coonawarra would become one of Australia's finest wine regions. The 2021 Riddoch The Winegrower Shiraz has frangrant blackberry anise aromas, supple tannins and complex graphite tones define the stylish Coonawarra Shiraz. Matured in new and seasoned French and American oak barrels. Drink now or will reward careful cellaring for up to 10 years.

The Author pays homage to pioneering vigneron John Riddoch (1827 - 1901). A true visionary, Riddoch is regarded as one of the founding fathers of Australian wine. An influential figure, he established the Coonawarra fruit colony in 1890 and is synonymous with the region's story. The Author represents the finest expression of the vintage. Dark red in colour with a vibrant crimson hue, the wine shows ripe red berry fruit and plum flavours with hints of spice. Matured in new and seasoned French oak hogsheads, the seamlessly integrated oak intertwines with a core of intense dark fruit. Plush, velvety tannins lead to a long and persistent length of flavour. This has all the hallmarks of a classic Coonawarra Shiraz and will drink well now but will reward patient cellaring for 10 to 15 years.