PIERRE JEAN VILLA Esprit d'Antan Syrah, Collines Rhodanienn

This wine, a Piebald, meaning black and white, is a co-fermentation of the blackest Syrah grapes, with a hatful of the purest white Viognier. Deep in colour, the wine is almost black, yet is also vibrant and bright. The nose is perfumed with apricots, spice and liquorice; a pretty, fragrant wine with a sweet juice and velvety palate. The finish is elegant with savoury spice and a fine tannin length and persistence.

Clarendon Hills is the living vision of one of the world's greatest Shiraz winemakers, Roman Bratasiuk. The dream was realised in 1990 and is now home to some of the most outstanding and hard to get single vineyard wines in Australia. The Astralis is the flagship wine in the Clarendon Hills portfolio, and while this vineyard is not treated any differently to the others, it garners the most worldwide attention due to its incredible expression and timeless elegance. From an Easterly aspect and planted on a 45 degree ascending slope, Australis has phenomenal varietal length and will repay the patient cellarer for more than 15 years.

Bottled unfiltered, this fragrant Syrah delivers sleek, spice-tinged, wild berry fruit, a gentle tannic structure and a long, bright and flavoursome finish.

Deep red-purple in colour showing dark plum, clove, sarsaparilla root, brambly fruit on the nose and palate, lifted by a touch of fresh sage. An elegant full -bodied wine with flowing cranberry and rhubarb flavours, subtle fennel/liquorice and a hint of minerality. Breathtaking poise that finishes rich with lingering, fine tannins.

"Replacing the Petit Chapelle cuvee and first made in 2015, the 2016 Hermitage La Maison Bleue is smoking good. Black fruits, charcoal, powdered rock, currants and chocolate notes all give way to a big, concentrated, impressively structures barrel sample that has tons of potential. I expect the tannin will have integrated by the time this is released, but a few years of bottle age still recommended." - Jeb Dunnuck

Its fair to say Luke Lambert hasn't looked back since 'relocating' his Syrah to the Tibooburra vineyard. This southwest sloping site lies in the southeastern corner of the Valley, near Gembrook, and might be the coolest microclimate of the Yarra. The site is expertly managed by Greg Kerr, the grower who planted the vineyard in 2001. The soils here are considered very unusual for the Yarra, comprising a seam of black volcanic topsoil over yellow clay with a smattering of granite rock throughout. Furthermore, the quality of the clonal material in Tibooburra supplies Lambert with deeper and darker Syrah fruit that also has more depth and structure. This is what drew him to the site and a good chunk of the reason the Syrah has become a touchstone example of cool-climate Yarra Shiraz.