Bleasdale is “one of the most historic wineries in Australia... in 2015 celebrating 165 years of continuous winemaking by the direct descendants of the founding Potts family.” (Halliday). Among many major awards, they’ve won the Jimmy Watson Trophy and they recently made the 2023 Shortlist for the Halliday Wine Companion's Best Value Winery. Winemaker Paul Hotker, a “master blender”, was named Halliday’s Winemaker of the Year 2018. This fine red is another example of why Langhorne Creek Shiraz is regarded by many as delivering Australia’s best-value reds, vintage after vintage. Intense aromas of blackberries, plums and Asian spice. Juicy dark fruits define the medium-to-full palate, with clove and liquorice notes dancing up back. Soft tannins.

Usually Mountadama's 'The Red' is a Cab Merlot blend, but in 2018 the switch was made from Merlot to Shiraz as the secondary varietal component. "At this level of ripeness and generosity, the switch from merlot to shiraz is surprising, bolstering mid-palate density. The integrity of this cool site triumphs in the end, with crunchy blackcurrant fruit, fine-grained tannins and gentle acidity holding impressive line and length.” Tyson Stelzer, The Halliday Wine Companion. Sam Kim is a fan too, calling it "Wonderfully ripe and enticing..." 94pts.

Bernoota was the original name of the Lake Breeze homestead and now the Bernoota Shiraz Cabernet is rightfully considered to be one of Australia's favourite Shiraz Cabernet blends. And they don't come much better than Bernoota for the price! Not only is it rich and luscious, filled with blackcurrant, spice and pepper, it has a touch of dark chocolate on the finish. The 2009 is a 60% Shiraz and 40% Cabernet blend and spends 20 months in a mixture of French and American Oak that will see the wine not only be enjoyable now, but develop beautifully in the bottle for a further 8 to 10 years.

Old, extremely low-yielding McLaren Vale vines are responsible for d'Arenberg's Dead Arm Shiraz - a wine of enormous power, intensity and real complexity - an absolute must for any serious wine cellar and d'Arenberg lover. One of the flagships for McLaren Vale for many years, this wine continues to shine with a balanced between tradition and Chester Osborne driven innovation.

Southern France's Languedoc region is a treasure trove of good value, well-ripened reds. And the grapes are often almost identical to those of the southern Rhône – here we're talking about Grenache and Syrah, although there are plenty more like Carignan and Cinsault that also shine. Thanks to the sun-filled Mediterranean climate, varied soils and drying wind, the Languedoc is an excellent region for making really appealing, warm-fruit wines. Using a blend of Grenache and Syrah, this appealing red combines juicy blackberry and raspberry fruit with ripe tannins, long sweet spice and liquorice notes. With its soft, velvety texture, this goes with just about anything – from pizza and pasta to grilled meats. It's great on its own too and top choice at a barbecue.

Andrew Margan grew up in Sydney but his parents planted a vineyard in Pokolbin, Hunter Valley in 1965, next door to the Tyrrell’s winey HeI was lucky to have legendary wine grower Murray Tyrrell mentor him. After working for a while at Tyrrell's, and in France, Andrew Margan and wife Lisa established Margan Vineyards in 1996. Today it incorporates 2 of the 2nd generation, Alessa and Ollie, as viticulturist and winemaker respectively. Andrew continues to oversee the viticultural and winemaking side; Lisa, the tourism and restaurant. The quality of the estate's output is extremely high, both with traditional Hunter varieties, Shiraz, Chardonnay and Semillon, and with the new and pioneering, such as Albabrino and Barbera. The Hunter has several sub-regions and Broke Fordwich, where the estate lies, is one of them. It was designated, registered and protected as a GI (Geographic Indication) region in 2003, the second in Australia to do so. This is an excellently balanced Single Vineyard Shiraz.

Aromas of violets, black berries, cloves. The palate shows mulberries, blueberry, choc-mint biscuits. A touch of malbec brings some brown earth and provides a rustic edge to the tannin. Still very soft and juicy, delicious and youthful drinkingwhich was the aim, even from older vines.

The Morrison Shiraz vineyard, for which the wine is named, is situated directly across from Kilikanoon's winery in the Clare Valley sub-region of Leasingham. The Cabernet Sauvignon with which it is blended lies on the opposite ridge, a spectacular vineyard which glistens gold in the morning sun. Basket pressed into new and seasoned French oak barrels for 16 months. It is silky and fragrant, with hints of mint and pepper and "It's in very good shape... 94pts" (Mike Bennie, Halliday Wine Companion).