Penfolds RWT Shiraz is a big juicy Barossan Shiraz refined by the use of older French oak barrels. 1998 is considered to be one of the classic vintages of the modern age. Drinking wonderfully now but with many years still to come in its development, this is a great addition to any cellar.

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.

Coming from one of the best vintages in recent Barossa history, the Old Block from St Hallett shows what careful vineyard management can do for a wine. Rich, dark and conerntrated but with seamless tannin intergration.

One of the benchmarks of Barossa Shiraz, Peter Lehmann's Stonewell is a classic example of the rich concentrated old vine style. While bold on the palate, there is always an inherent complexity to the Stonewell that enables it to be compared with all of the great Australian wines produced today.

The old school of the UK wine market have long loved the wines of Chateau Talbot, and the 2010 would have them purring. Chateau Talbot is a producer that occupies a large (102 hectares) swathe of land under vine in Medoc and makes wines that are set to a more traditional style, including rich wood scents, firm tannins, some rustic charm and a cassis-meets-violet fruit profile. This is a superb release of the wine, reminscent of classic Talbots that are sinewy when young, but still approachable, and for enthusiasts, glorious with cellar time.

St Hallett Old Block Shiraz, first vintage 1980, is a stalwart of the Barossa and a stalwart of Langton's Classification of Australian Wine. A blend of oldvine Shiraz (average age 90 years) from key sites in the Barossa and Eden Valleys, Old Block is one of Barossas finest.

The Torbreck Descendant has a powerful nose of blackberry and tar complemented by floral lavender and a violet lift. Full-bodied and concentrated with ripe silky tannins and plenty of extract this wine has a great future ahead.