Every now and then, in life and in wine, we are presented with unique opportunities to express ourselves and create something truly remarkable. When these rare opportunities arise, we need to capture, nurture and develop them so that their potential is fulfilled. So when Torbreck were given the opportunity to work with one of the most famous vineyards in the Barossa Valley, they were determined to use all their experience to ensure the resulting Shiraz was truly remarkable.

Originally an Apricot Orchard and re planted with Shiraz vines in 1974. Hence the name Apricot Block. Totally opaque black crimson colour. Superb pronounced nose , with flavours of plum., spice and black pepper. The palate is mouth filling flavours of plum, blackberry. pepper and dark chocolate. Fine grained tannins perfectly balanced. Very long aftertaste. of black pepper , plum and blackberry.

The Glaetzer family have been part of the Barossa winemaking scene since 1888 and now Ben takes over the reigns and produces Shiraz of the utmost intensity and concentration. Named after the ancient Egyptian god Amon-Ra who was the champion of the poor and troubled and was central to personal piety, the temple of Amon-Ra is believed to be the first to plant a vineyard to produce wine for the citizens of the temple. This incarnation is rich, full-bodied and viscous to the palate, yet with sublime oak integration and a balance on the back palate that is quite lifted allowing it to be paired with many meals and a prime candidate for medium to long term cellaring.

Barossa Valley legends, Rockford, tend their hand here to producing one of the world's unique wine styles, a sparkling Shiraz. Inspired by a sparkling Burgundy Rocky O'Callaghan found in his father's cellar at Seppelt when he was a child and when working with Colin Preece in Rutherglen, the man who responsible for the grand style. Rockford take this truly Australian wine to a new height with the 2011 discorged Black Shiraz that will live for quite sometime in your cellar and will reward those in spades who have the patience.

Head Wines was started in 2006 by Alex Head. It focuses on single site Rhône varietals from the Barossa and Eden Valleys in South Australia. Head Red is a barrel cull from Barossa vineyards including 'The Blonde', 'The Brunette' and The Contrarian single vineyard Shiraz wines. It allows a pre-view of the vintage quality to come and keeps the quality of the Single vineyard wines as high as possible. The wine receives 12 months barrel age in predominantly older French hogsheads allowing the vintage and terroir to show clearly. Bottled unfined and unfiltered.

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.

Two Hands Ares Shiraz is a wine that showcases the very best parcel selection that Michael Twelftree and Richard Mintz can get their 'Two Hands' on. A wonderfully powerful, rich and dense Shiraz from the Barossa Valley, the Ares Shiraz is matured in 100% French Oak, not a common practice in the Barossa. With the full-bodied nature of the wine, the extra bottle age makes the Ares Shiraz a perfect bottle to open now.

Back in 1998 Chief Winemaker, Chris Hatcher, decided it was time to take Wolf Blass into the modern world and the result was a single varietal Shiraz that was 100% aged in French Oak, unlike their famous flagship the Black Label which is a blend and aged in American Oak. A wonderful contemporary version of Wolf Blass that is a cavalcade of rich blueberry, blackberry and complex elements of dark chocolate and warm spice. Superbly long on the palate with an obvious hint to a long future in the cellar.

Though part of the Barossa, the Eden Valley is a slightly cooler climate than the neighbouring Barossa Valley, so generally produce Shiraz that is slightly more elegant in style. That said, the Eden Hall Shiraz is a wine that is not only rich, vibrant and full of life today, it will also hang in for the long haul.

The Penfolds Bin 150 Marananga Shiraz is a relatively new addition to the Penfolds stable, sourced from the Barossan sub-district, Marananga. Simply a revelation, this wine is an inky, black beast in the glass with lashings of dark chocolate and coffee accented fruit, yet this years offering shows a lingering, soft structured finish that will see the wine cellar very nicely.