The Malleea (an aboriginal word for 'green paddock') is a very fine exapmle of the classic Australian Cabernet/Shiraz blend. The 2008 is rich, dark magenta in colour, with ripe plums, spice and vanillin oak on the nose. The palate is like a complex fruit cake with layers of fresh berries, black olives and hints of chocolate.

Penfolds Bin 389 is the classic South Australian red! Often referred to as 'Baby Grange' or 'Poor Man's Grange', Bin 389 was the wine that helped to build Penfolds' solid reputation with wine drinkers around the world. A magnificent blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz from the very best regions and vineyards available to Peter Gago and his team, the robust nature of the Cabernet grape give structure and body to the wine while the opulent Shiraz fruit provides suppleness and intensity. A true icon of Australian wine first created by the legend himself, Max Schubert, Peter Gago is quoted as saying 'Through thick and thin, across all vintages, Bin 389 always delivers - benefitting from over half a century of practice!

Named after the famed Johann Gramp's grandson, Hugo, this is the very best Cabernet Sauvignon in the stable. From the very best sites in the region of Coonawarra, this wine shows classic regional mint and blackcurrant on the nose with a silky supple palate, elegant fruit characters, toasty oak and long, fine tannins.

From a 37-acre vineyard, Château Pavie Macquin is stunningly situated on the clay-limestone plateau of Saint-Émilion on the right bank of Bordeaux. 2010 has produced a formidable wine: a blend of 70% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, this is a top release of the harvest year and a highlight from St-Émillion in 2010. Tannins, restraint and inward concentration are motifs, this is a wine for the patient, sophisticated collector who wishes to embellish a cellar with pedigree wines that need time and maturity to come to the fore.

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.

This Levantine Hill Estate Cabernet Sauvignon is redolent with blackberry, blackcurrant and cocoa-rich chocolate on the nose. Followed by the supple, balanced middle palate evokes truffle, bramble and earthy complexity on the palate. An outstanding example of site and region, its chewy, satisfying tannins are beautifully integrated with fleshy fruit characters, hedonic spice and lingering, persistent length.

A stylish blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, with a touch of Shiraz and Petit Verdot, from low yielding vineyards have produced another wine of elegance and class. Blackberry, mint and tobacco flavours are framed by fine tannin. The Shiraz adds some supple softness and the Petit Verdot adding aromatic lift. Another triumph!

The 2018 Tapanappa Whalebone Vineyard Merlot-Cabernet Franc is a ripe complex wine, with intensity as well as strength and is a “true expression of the unique Whalebone Vineyard terroir”. Aromas are leafy and floral from the Cabernet Franc and rich plum pudding from the Merlot. The slight mint and fresh earth of the Whalebone terroir is melded with the cedar of the oak and the olive aroma of the tannin. The flavours reflect the aroma and the fruit is immediately sweet and ripe, graduating to a refined tannin and balanced acid finish.

This hand made wine is both complex and rewarding having no filtration prior to bottling to preserve the rich plum and spicy fruit flavours. All fruit was estate grown and sourced from low yielding, hand pruned and picked vines.

Nestled in Victoria's Grampians region, Mount Langi is one of Australia's most isolated wineries. Trevor Mast had tamed the cool climate and unique terroir to produce iconic reds of exceptional quality, such this brilliant Shiraz, The Mast. Jammed full of black fruits, spice and bramble, the purity and persistence of this luscious wine will surely be a favourite for any cool climate Shiraz lover.

First Creek are really winning over a lot of new fans, especially wine drinkers who may have previously not given the Hunter Valley its fair dues. In the glass: Deep garnet to purple. On the nose: Black and blueberry fruit, and spice. On the palate: Medium to full-bodied with luscious texture and soft tannins. Showing black cherry, blueberry and vanilla alongside red liquorice notes. Long and moreish.