If you love your big, bold and brash Barossa Shiraz, then look no further. Michael Twelftree and Richard Mintz produce wine of utmost power and strength. Their Gnarly Dudes is a perfect example. Bold black and blue fruits dominate with a healthy smattering of oak to hold everything in place. Sumptuous!

The Jim Barry McCrae Wood is a fine example of the bold Clare Valley Shiraz style. Intense and concentrated, it is well worth putting away for five years at least!

Tucked away nicely in the Adelaide Hills, Sidewood Estate have made an art form out of crafting some of the very best single vineyard cool-climate wines available in Australia. Owen and Cassandra Inglis purchased the boutique property in 2004 and immediately set about making their vision become a reality. Their Sidewood Shiraz displays that vision to perfection. Attention to detail is the key here which enables flavours of red cherry, currants and dark plum to shine through along with hints of cinnamon and spice. The texture is beguiling and gives promise to a wine that will age for up to a decade.

The Savaterre vineyard is elevated at 430m above sea level and is farmed along organic principles. No pesticides are used. An incredibly complex, lifted, lively and intense nose. Exotic aromas of smoked meats, dried red rose, allspice, clove, dark plum, dark cherry ,blackberry, mulberry, mandarin, violets, sandalwood, bay and funky undergrowth. This aroma really revs me up, it continues to evolve as time goes by. This wine is alive! Complexity, poise, sinewy acid, fine tannins wrapped around a sleek core of pristine dark fruit. A wine thats slightly reduced and smelling of undergrowth now that transforms in the glass and continues to seduce. This is Terroir. This is Savaterre.

The trailblazers of the Adelaide Hills have created another outstanding wine. A superb expression of modern cool-climate Shiraz; Shaw & Smith is elegantly spicy and brimming with supple red-fruit flavours matched by fine tannins. An absolute ripper.

Shadowfax have a knack for producing unique wines of great character and complexity. Premium parcels of Pinot Noir were carefully selected for their aromatics and texture. This is wine of grace and intrigue, each layer of complexity only revealing itself ever so gradually. A joy to drink.

Every so often there are parcels of wine that generate tremendous excitement amongst the winemakers at Schild Estate. They set this aside to make Prämie, the wine that defines the best of the vintage and the land on which it was grown. Intense primary fresh plum flavours show again on the palate, where they hold their presence all the way through to roll out soft and pillowy at the finish. A firmly present, but fine tannin framework provides just enough focus and lift for the fruit to ensure added complexity, but retaining vibrancy to the mouth flavours of this Shiraz.

Old vine Barossa Valley Shiraz doesn't get much better than this. The Kaesler name was reborn by winemaker and visionary Reid Bosward in 1997, breathing new life in the over 100 year old vineyards. A Quirky name matched with unrivaled concentration make The Bogan Shiraz as must have for all big Australian Shiraz lovers.

Sandro Mosele's Kooyong Massale Pinot Noir has gamey, wild berry and forest floor aromas offer richness and complexity on the nose. Sappy, sour cherry flavours with well judged oak are framed by silky tannins and bright acidity. Outstanding!

Though young guns on the Margaret River scene, Amelia Park have made an astonishing impact, producing some stunning wines from the renowned region. Their Reserve Shiraz represent the very best parcels of fruit from the vintage; they are identified early on and kept aside, matured in French oak for 18 months then carefully blended prior to bottling. Aromas of cherries and dark berry fruit, with hints of mocha and spice. The palate shows excellent weight and length with velvety tannins to back up the finish. A great red for the cellar, which will benefit from maturation for 10 years plus.