Excellent colour and mid-density. Being 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 29% Shiraz it is more of the classic Aussie blend Cabernet/Shiraz. Lifted dark fruit and cedar notes on the nose. A rich mouthfeel from the McLaren Vale Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz. Fine tannins with the oak very much in the background ensuring great drinkability.

The Beechworth terroir has a distinctive fruit character of pear/peach fruit. The oak has minimal impact by using older French oak and mainly puncheons. The warm year has meant less citrus lift but has bran meal notes from the wild ferment and extended lees contact. The palate is quite rich with zesty acid line through to the finish. Drinking well now but will improve with further bottle age. Maybe leave the 2012 and 2013 for a couple more years and enjoy this in its place. Enjoy with Seafood to light meats.

The intensely perfumed, sumptuous and seductive Brokenwood Graveyard articulates the very best of Hunter Shiraz. It is arguably the Hunter Valley's greatest red wine of the contemporary era. The east-facing Graveyard vineyard, first planted out in 1968, was once earmarked in 1882 as the Pokolbin cemetery but this did not eventuate. First made in 1983, Graveyard Shiraz is a meticulous classification selection of the best parcels, mostly from the oldest plantings. After vinification in open-top stainless steel vats, it finishes fermentation in barrel. Maturation takes place in a combination of French and American oak barriques for a period of around 14 months. Young elemental Graveyard typically shows ginger bread, blackberry aniseed fruit, plenty of savoury oak and floral/herb garden notes. The opulent gamey/French polish characters develop with time bringing a rich palimpsest of aromas and flavours.

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.

Lifted cassis and tobacco aromas with some fine oak in the background make this wine very appealing. A medium to full-bodied Cabernet Sauvignon with sage notes, and fine, long tannins from both the fruit and oak on the palate. Lovely acidity and a cedar finish describe a Cabernet Sauvignon that will age for many years.

Vibrant aromas of dark cherry, mulberry, and red berries with a hint of spice and subtle oak. The palate is medium to full-bodied, featuring fine tannins, bright acidity, and a long, savoury finish of elegance and balance.