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M. CHAPOUTIER Ermitage Le Pavillon, Hermitage Rare and highly sought-after, M.Chapoutiers brooding Ermitage Le Pavillon comes from a parcel of vines anchored on the granite soils of the Bessard commune lower down on the Hill of Hermitage. Le Pavillon refers to the ruins of an old stone-house located just below the vineyard on the famous Hill. The Syrah grapes are hand-harvested and entirely destemmed before undergoing vinification in concrete tanks. Following an extended maceration the wine is matured in a mix of approximately 30% new and 70% seasoned French oak casks for 18-20 months.

Castillo Ygay Tempranillo from the famed Rioja region in Spain was one of the stars of the show at the recent Dan Murphy's Wines of the World Expo! Complex roasted chestnut/mocha/dark berry/leather fruit with superb richness, underlying savoury nuances and ripe chocolaty tannins. Although matured for 31 months in American oak, the oak and fruit integration is sublime.

There are minuscule volumes produced of the Cirsion by Bodegas Roda (the name of the thistle which is Roda's logo) which is made from grapes specially selected for the suppleness of the tannins they deliver. Parcels selected are from low-yielding older Tempranillo vines of 45 years and more, from four vineyards. Choosing the plants with the softest tannins, this makes the wine very attractive and supple early on, but it still has great ageing potential.

Certified biodynamic, the Cullen Vanya is 97% Cabernet Sauvignon complemented by 3% Petit Verdot. Aged in new French oak of which 50% was new for a period of 19 months. Totally opaque dark red black colour with a dark red hue. Intense but beautifully refined the nose offers up aromas of blackcurrant and mulberry laced with cedar and tobacco characters followed by hints of cigar box, faint bay leaf and spice. Medium weight the palate is the perfect marriage of richness, elegance and power delivering sublime flavours of blackcurrant, ripe mulberry and dark cherries seamlessly integrated with cedar, tobacco and spice characters. Exquisite finesse with exceptionally fine grained, polished tannins. Very long after-taste of blackcurrant, ripe mulberry, cedar faint tobacco, cigar box and spice that seems to sail on forever.

Graveyard Vineyard is the jewel in the Brokenwood crown, responsible for the company's flagship wines. The vineyard was planted with Shiraz vines in 1970 - extremely heavy clay soils, yields are low, but fruit flavour is intense through employment of meticulous vinification techniques. Strong lifted aromas of sweet earth and dark cherry greet the olfactory senses. Oak features, but will soften and integrate given some patience. Initial flavours of dark chocolate and ripe plums are beautifully lashed to ripe tannins lending an edge of cedar.

The Hoffmann Vineyard wine is the result of close collaboration between winemaker Ringland and his friend, grape-grower Adrian Hoffmann, whose vineyard holdings occupy key sites in the Ebenezer sub-region of the northern Barossa. Robert Parker himself calls Ringland an international grandmaster of Shiraz. 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. Its 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.