Deep and bright colours with a purple hue, the Optimist Shiraz also offers aromas of lifted satsuma plum, raspberry, violet flower, with a hint of cherry oak. The palate is bursting with bright fresh blue fruits, a rich middle palate with lots of satsuma plum and dark cherries. A long fine tannin structure throughout gives an excellent backbone to this food friendly style of Barossa Shiraz. Awards: • Trophy

Leconfield regularly produce fine full flavoured Shiraz. This release from McLaren Vale shows spicy berry-like varietal character with some minty-chocolately regional hints balanced tannins and well judged oak.

The Bishop has the fingerprints of Ben and his father Colin all over it. Ripe, rich, concentrated and supremely complex, the Bishop is the wine for all those full-bodied red fans out there. Ripe liqueur cherries on the nose compete for attention with vanilla, mocha and coffee aromas while the palate is full of sweet berry fruit flavour and a soft, luscious finish that seems to persist for an age. While exuberant and lively when young, the Bishop is known to handle medium term cellaring extremely well and reward any with the patience.

The Shiraz grapes for The Struie come from old vines in the Barossa and Eden Valleys. The Eden component brings floral spicy aromas that are supported by more brooding notes of tar and chocolate from the Barossa. The palate is luscious and silky, and this is a Fine Wine favourite.

Made by Ben Glaetzer from top quality mature vineyards in Langhorne Creek and Limestone Coast. A perennial star that seems to produce vintage after vintage with effortless ease. Always offering an expansive bouquet of liquorice, cedar and floral notes with the palate proving to be explosively rich and full. Simply delicious!

Barossa vignerons used to call their vineyards 'gardens', such was the care they were (and still are) given! The Three Gardens a classic Rhone blend that draws on the complementary character of Shiraz, Mourvèdre and Grenache.

From the wizards at Langmeil comes a wine of stunning character, truly reminiscent of the Barossa region. Delicious, rich aroma of blueberries, raspberries and Satsuma plums fills the nostrils with hints of mocha, Anzac cookies and briary spice. The palate is bright, juicy fruit lives up to the aroma and is balanced nicely with sweet oak, briary and peppery spice and youthful, firm tannins. The palate is quite full with a long, velvety, fruitful and spicy finish.

Old vine Grenache, Shiraz and Mataro are blended in this elegant wine from South Australias Barossa. Raspberry, violets and rich red fruits play on the palate and make is just right for roast chicken with lots of vegetables.

Intriguing aromas of rose petals and a summer pudding of lifted red fruits, berries and a hit of cinnamon and Asian spice. The palate is opulent, with intense red berries balanced by soft velvety tannins and supple oak with great balance from the acid reknown in Barossa Grenache. 'The cold, wet 2011 vintage hit the Barossa Valley particularly hard, wiping out huge tracts of vineyards. Dandelion's blend, then, came as a delightful surprise a tender, juicy, seductive drop that made the bottle seem too small. It's a blend of grenache (85 per cent), shiraz (10 per cent) and mataro (aka mourvedre or monastrell). The back label hints at how winemaker Elena Brooks and the Dandelion crew saved the day, "handpicking selected bunches" (that is, avoiding the rotten ones) of the three varieties for co-fermentation and ultimate success. What a moreish wine this is'. - Canberra Times, 15 May 2013, by Chris Shanahan.