Take home an impressively rich, smooth and easy-drinking Victorian Shiraz. A moreish all-rounder.

Sam Trimboli has been creating bestselling wonders for us for nearly 20 years, so when we asked him for an exceptional Shiraz the great man was happy to oblige. Once again this 2018 'Special Reserve' is made with Shiraz sourced from premium vineyards owned by many of Australia's leading independent growers.

This old vine Barossa Shiraz is the top-of-the-line Angas King offering. Made only in the best years from premium fruit drawn from a single Barossa vineyard, it’s a truly memorable drop. Gnarled old vines yielding minimal fruit made this an intensely flavourful wine, but also a rare one. As Winepilot’s Ray Jordan says, “2018 turned out to be a very good year in the Barossa. This captures the region, the season and the variety as well as you could expect. It’s concentrated and powerful, and yet there’s a high degree of elegance. Dark, plummy, spicy notes with a little roasted coffee, and just a lick of oak on the finish… 95pts”. Sam Kim (WineOrbit) calls it “wonderfully ripe and inviting, featuring aromas of blackberry, cake spice, vanilla, toasty oak, and mocha. On the palate, it is concentrated, with outstanding weight and rich texture. With a beautifully structured profile and polished tannins, it fills the mouth with delicious flavours, leading to a long and satisfying finish. 96pts”. Drinking spectacularly now, it will cellar well as long as 2040.

Shiraz and Grenache blend beautifully in many of the warmer parts of South Australia. This AAA is Paxton's 9th release, crafted similar to a Rhone-style wine yet it is packed with Au's Terroir. Bright with juicy red berry fruits and spices on the palate with well integrated oak and tannins, giving this wine a remarkable lengthy finish.

This irresistible black beauty is made from fabulously intense Shiraz and Grenache grapes grown on the craggy hillsides of France's Roussillon region. Look up from the vines and you will see ruins of castles perching precariously on rocky peaks. This inhospitable landscape and these ancient strongholds were home to medieval Cathars who lived in awe of evil god Rex Mundi ('King of the World'). He corrupted the faithful with promises of earthly pleasures and the forbidden delights of mortal flesh. Don't even try to resist, just sip and enjoy this lusciously ripe, juicy marriage of liquorice scented Shiraz and lush, silken Grenache. Gloriously easy to quaff on its own, it also goes well with barbecued meats, Cajun chicken or lamb chops.

Barrel Monkeys Shiraz sums up the very essence of RedHeads – an innovative winery in the heart of wine country, inspiring the brightest young talents to craft mind-expanding wines that really set a pace. Smooth, luscious rich and velvety, this McLAren Vale beauty is lush with spicy blackcurrant fruit and smoky liquorice notes.

When you open a Blackstrap, you know you’re heading into seriously dark, rich, red territory. It’s from McLaren Vale, so it shows all that inky, chocolatey, deep black fruit richness the region is known for. A good dose of oak tempers the richness, and fine tannins smooth it out even further, so it’s drinking well now. But it’s definitely an ultra-velvety, mouthcoating, lipstaining, rich and powerful red that you need to approach carefully!