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On the palate it is very vigorous, rich in extracts, with lively and pleasant tannins that are rounded through a skilful use of wood. A powerful, tantalizing wine with a great ageing potential.

Chris Ringland Hoffman Shiraz 2006 is a wine for the connoisseur. The palate is complex, with flavours of smoke, liquorice, blueberry and toasty oak on a savoury, super-ripe and gentle structure. For the 2006 vintage, the wine was then aged in new French oak for five years, before blending in preparation for bottling. It's impeccably aged and drinking beautifully now or until 2020.

McWilliam's Mount Pleasant Maurice O'Shea Shiraz continues lead the pack of great Hunter Valley Shiraz. A lovely return to old form, this Maurice has a striking purple hue to it in the glass. To the nose aromas of liquorice and spice with hints of cedar will beguile. Layers of complex flavours dance across the palate including savoury, spicy dark fruits like dark plums and cherries. A classic of classics.

A classic Hermitage, M.Chapoutiers Ermitage Le Méal typically shows ripe red berry fruits, powerful tannins and velvety texture. Le Méal, is an old French word meaning the best. The fruit is sourced from a single east-facing vineyard anchored on chalk and alluvial gravelly soils on the Hill of Hermitage. The Syrah is hand-harvested and de-stemmed before undergoing vinification in small concrete vats. Maturation takes place in a mix of new and seasoned French oak barrels for 14-18 months.

The Hoffmann Vineyard Shiraz is a tête de cuvée (literally ‘head of the blend’) style. Key parts of the vineyard, with vines between 60 and 100 years old, are picked at different stages of ripeness, resulting in five separate two-tonne grape parcels ultimately filling 20 barrels. The final wine is a selection of the best four barrels. The annual make will never exceed 200 dozen. It’s an ‘essence-of-Shiraz’ style – uncompromisingly rich and concentrated. The first vintage was 2006 and the wine has begun building a track record that will inevitably match that of the Barossa Ranges wine. Right now, you need to decant it 12 hours (or more) before serving to allow the fruit to come to the fore.

Deep purple with violet hues. Alluring aromas of mulberry, blue and black berries, red plum and fresh vanilla bean are carried by nuances of crushed lavender, flowering herbs, bay leaf and black pepper. The palate is wonderfully structured, revealing intense flavours of red berry fruits, dark plum and Swiss chocolate, and finishing rich and textured, with fine-grained tannins and extraordinary length.

2021 Maison Blue , Barossa Valley Shiraz Vintage Conditions The region received good early rains in autumn 2020 to replenish some moisture in the profiles, coming off some driest back to back seasons ever experienced. Winter rains were average and those vineyards that supplemented with irrigation to get moisture to depth set the vines up for spring growth and Spring rains were above average. Temperatures in November were above average without any significant weather events paving the way for a fantastic fruit set. January 24th was the only day Barossa Valley experienced temperature above 40ºC, not surprisingly, the subsequent mild conditions meant bunch and berry size remained average, achieving a great balance between quality and quantity. A vintage that can be described as almost “perfect”, not only ideal sugar ripeness but also physiological ripeness for quality wine production. Vineyard Selection This fruit is sourced from a single vineyard located the heart of Marananga on the renowned western ridge of the Barossa Valley, where the soils are predominantly red-brown loams over red clay, amidst shattered ironstone and quartz. The Shiraz from this vineyard has made Penfolds Grange seven times. Winemaking Daily sampling and tasting of the Shiraz grapes ensured that they were picked at optimal flavour ripeness. The Grapes were hand harvested and were destemmed and crushed into a single 5 tonne open top fermenter where twice daily pump overs were conducted to ensure maximum extraction of colour, flavour and tannins from the grape skins. At the conclusion of fermentation, the wine was pressed to a combination of 100% new American oak hogshead barrels for 19 months. Tasting Evaluation Colour: Brilliant, dense, purple core with a crimson rim. Aroma: Intense aromas of plum, blueberry, blackcurrant, and juniper berry interwoven with wafts of coconut, vanilla bean, liquorice and mocha chocolate. Palate: Fruit flavours of black plum, black cherries and raspberry coat the surfaces of the mouth with density and length. Complex notes of graphite and lead pencil add further complexity. Fruit core is framed by spicy, savoury oak playing a support role. A wine that will only get better with age. Enjoy now over the next 25 years.