The purity of its fruit, the intensity of its flavours and its ageing potential are characteristics of this Killakanoon 1865 Attunga. Shiraz cropping at less than one tonne per acre, the berries were tiny, thick skinned and yielded low levels of extraction from basket pressing after fermentation. Twenty seven months maturation in new French oak hogsheads and bottling the wine unfined and unfiltered has preserved the vineyard's unique terroir and varietal character.

The Kirrihill Regional Range Shiraz is a bright and lively Shiraz with lifted aromas of blackberry and white pepper. Rich, generous and spicy, this exuberant young red that has a left a trail of gold medals and trophies is great to drink now and as its inherant value-for-money it is brilliant.

Knappstein Shiraz displays rich, ripe, plum and berry flavours with fine velvety tannins. Medium term cellaring will be rewarded.

Kilikanoon...one of the Clare’s absolute best and one of our absolute faves. Ridgeline isn’t just a marketing term for this shiraz. The grapes are sourced from a few rows at the very top of the hill on their Morrison’s Vineyard, overlooking the town of Watervale. There’s a smidge of new oak used here, but the majority is older barrels to the tune of 15 months. This provides a bit of texture and structure while still letting that fruit sing. We found dark cherry, plum, dried herbs and licorice all wrapped up in a savoury blanket with a lengthy finish and ripe tannins. Another hit from a producer that seems to know no other way.

PENFOLDS Special Bin 111A Shiraz, Clare Valley, Barossa Valley It is a tradition at Penfolds to experiment, research and develop new wines. The large number of mostly one-off, bin-numbered wines produced, beginning in the 1950s, initially shows a company diversifying away from its core business of fortified wines. In the 1960s, the primary aim was to make show wines, but the program also resulted in the development of current-day staples like Bin 707 and Bin 389 and, more recently, of Bin 407, RWT Shiraz and Yattarna Chardonnay. In effect, the first two Special Bin wines were the then-experimental 1951 Grange and the control wine Max Schubert made alongside it so he could see what the wine would be like matured in a single, old 4500 litre cask rather than the new, 300 litre American oak barrels in which he put the real Grange.That wine is now forgotten, but, said Schubert (in 1979): It did... set the guidelines for the production and marketing of a whole range of special red wines which have been sought after, vintage by vintage, to this day. Schuberts successors, the late Don Ditter, John Duval and Peter Gago, continued the tradition, making small-batch wines (1000 dozen or less) for comparison with existing styles, to try out something new in the way of varietal or regional combinations or simply to spotlight a brilliant parcel of fruit. Some may be forgotten in time, but others are considered among the greatest Australian wines of all time.

Medium red with a purple hue in the glass, Jim Barry The Forger Shiraz opens with a brooding array of purple fruits with a hint of violet lift then countered with notes of cinnamon and sweet oak char. The palate is packed with the rich brambly fruit which follows on from the nose. Fine, chalky tannins give the wine a plush, velvety texture that fills the length of the palate. The Forger has a rich, lingering, persistent finish and is ideal for cellaring.

Tony and Lita Bradys spectacularly individual Wendouree Shiraz has remained true to its origins since Alfred Percy Birks planted vines in 1893. It is considered by many as one of Australias greatest Shirazes. The vineyard is tiny, with low-yielding, beautifully formed old vines, many from the original plantings. Low input viticulture, laissez faire winemaking and maturation in about 1/3 new oak allows the wine to speak of place. These are dense, strongly flavoured wines with beautifully intense varietal fruit, massive concentration and a hallmark muscular sinewy tannin structure. The overall mass of fruit sweetness complements the toughness of the wine. Wendouree Shiraz will age for a long period of time maintaining prominent tannin structures but evolving further complexity and interest.

Ripe plums, spice, compote, and fresh ripe blackberries on the nose. A lively, strikingly astute entry on the palate, with flavours of fresh, ripe berries enhanced by hints of spice and clove. The flow is calm and even with effortless tannins.