For all those who fell head over heels for the astounding Chris Ringland CR Shiraz in the past few years, the news has just gotten even more exciting with the release of Chris Ringland Reservation Shiraz. Concentration doesn't even begin to describe this truly luxurious Barossa Shiraz. When harvested, the fruit displayed intense jammy, plum and prune aromas which were simply crying out for some extra maturation. After which the wine has now begun to show off a wonderful array of warm spicy notes with that trademark mouthfilling soft tannin and gentle acidity. With the capability to cellar for another 5 to 8 years, this is the Barossa Shiraz you have to own!

The Hoffmann Vineyard wine is the result of close collaboration between winemaker Ringland and his friend, grape-grower Adrian Hoffmann, whose vineyard holdings occupy key sites in the Ebenezer sub-region of the northern Barossa. Robert Parker himself calls Ringland an international grandmaster of Shiraz. The Hoffmann Vineyard Shiraz is a tête de cuvée (literally head of the blend) style. Key parts of the vineyard, with vines between 60 and 100+ years old, are picked at different stages of ripeness, resulting in five separate two-tonne grape parcels ultimately filling 20 barrels. The final wine is a selection of the best four barrels. The annual make will never exceed 200 dozen. Its an essence-of-Shiraz style uncompromisingly rich and concentrated. The first vintage was 2006 and the wine has begun building a track record that will inevitably match that of the Barossa Ranges wine. Right now, you need to decant it 12 hours (or more) before serving to allow the fruit to come to the fore.

Chris Ringland Shiraz has been one of Australia's most loved wines over the past few years with its immense concentration of bold, forboding fruit. Chris Ringland, the man behind such famous names as Three Rivers Shiraz, creates a wine that is made from mature Northern Barossa vines and shows dark mass of concentrated black and blue fruits, laced with sweet mocha and wrapped in a smooth, velvety texture. Not for the faint of heart, the CR Shiraz is improving vintage on vintage.

Chris Ringland's Barossa Ranges Shiraz is steeped in the Barossas post-colonial story and the high art and science of winemaking. Typically deep in colour with intense dark berry, paneforte, espresso roasted chestnut aromas, it displays a plush and concentrated palate with blackberry, mocha, paneforte spicy flavours and dense fine chocolaty tannins. Despite the opulence, flamboyance, richness and concentration, the wine has superb percussion and freshness. The wine is a small vinification of around four to five hogsheads or 1500 litres. The "unusually thick skinned" Shiraz is entirely sourced from Chris Ringland's dry-grown vineyard on the edge of the Barossa Valley, but technically in Eden Valley, along Flaxman's Valley near Randall's Hill. The wine is "painstakingly hand-made" in open fermenters and regularly pumped-over to extract colour, flavour and tannins. After draining and pressing through a traditional basket press, fermentation is completed in 100% new French oak hogsheads. A period of up to 50 months oak maturation follows to achieve optimum complexity and balance between oak and fruit. The extraordinarily high release prices (higher than Penfolds Grange), limited production and reputation make Chris Ringland Barossa Ranges Shiraz the stuff of legend.

Chris Ringland Sealed Shiraz gives rich and intense flavours which resolve into jammy black fruits. It give a deep red-black colour with aromas of plum jam, milk chocolate and sweet vanilla ice cream infused custard cream.

The Chris Ringland Dry Grown Shiraz 2007 smells of mineral oil, leaf litter, stones and dust. Despite it's weight and density, it is lively and vivid. This is a very powerful Shiraz with great structure, it could be cellared for 20-30 years and mature gracefully.

Chris Ringland is one of the most admired and talented winemakers on the planet, but these days, he calls the Barossa Valley home, knowing it like the back of his hand. He has sourced top-notch Shiraz from the vineyards in the northwest of the Valley for this richly flavoured, finely balanced wine. Look for blackberries, plum pudding and dark chocolate. More flavour in this half-bottle than in most twice the size.

Chris Ringland Hoffman Shiraz 2006 is a wine for the connoisseur. The palate is complex, with flavours of smoke, liquorice, blueberry and toasty oak on a savoury, super-ripe and gentle structure. For the 2006 vintage, the wine was then aged in new French oak for five years, before blending in preparation for bottling. It's impeccably aged and drinking beautifully now or until 2020.

Chris Ringland Shiraz 2005 represents an outstanding expression from the vineyard. The vine is powerful, voluptuous and ripe, yet the tannins are plush and mature, with moderate acidity. This vintage will have great longevity potential.