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CELLAR DOOR: AUD$480   For anyone just catching up, this emanates from a famous Barossa winery established 75 years ago, the winery has four tiers of O ld Vine Shiraz retailing at AUD $50, $180, $320 and $480 and this is indeed the almost five hundred dollar big daddy of them all, the ultra premium named after Johann Gramps first vine plantings in the Barossa. It will surprise no one that it has elicited the big scores nor the 'hedonistic' and 'decadence' vibes: An embracing wine that captures so much of the Barossa. Comes from selected rows among selected vineyards, after which the best barrels are chosen to create this...

Cellar Door Price 100aud. The new faces behind the Curtis Family Vineyards are Mark, Thomas & Jenna Curtis, with the guidance of their father, Claudio Curtis who lives on the vineyard just outside McLaren Vale. The name Curtis is thought to derive from Curtius, a noble and wealthy family of the First and Second Centuries AD, the Roman Empire era originating from the Latinium people.  This is powerful and substantial with grace and sophistication; the perfumed bouquet shows dark fruit intensity, cake spice, toasty oak and mocha characters, followed by a robust palate offering wonderfully layered mouthfeel with plush texture and...

Cellar Door Price 100 AUD.   "Its wonderfully ripe and seductively complex, showing dark berry, cedar, anise, thyme and subtle cocoa notes on the nose. The impressively concentrated palate offers expansive mouthfeel and silky flow, back by loads of fine-grained tannins. Multi-layered and gratifying. At its best: now to 2035. Price: $100.00; Rating: 96 Points; Sam Kim; Wine Orbit."   The new faces behind the Curtis Family Vineyards are Mark, Thomas & Jenna Curtis, with the guidance of their father, Claudio Curtis who lives on the vineyard just outside McLaren Vale. The name Curtis is thought to derive from Curtius, a...

Deep crimson. Intense blackberry, elderberry, graphite, praline aromas with herb garden notes. Richly flavoured, buoyant and minerally with dark chocolate, dark berry fruits, persistent fine gravelly textures, lovely mid-palate volume and plentiful mocha, roasted chestnut oak complexity. Finishes chocolaty firm with plentiful sweet fruit/ graphite notes. Superb density, texture and balance. Should develop well over the long haul. Drink to: 2023 - 2038; Rating: 97 Points; Andrew Caillard MW. Gold - The Great Australian Shiraz Challenge 2022 Gold - Perth Royal Wine Show Hand picked. Fermented in open tops, largely ambient. Aged in French...

Deep crimson. Classic cassis, blackberry, black olive tapenade, leafy aromas with vanilla, cedar notes. Well balanced powerful wine with saturated blackcurrant, dark plum, praline, brambly flavours, fine grainy/ al-dente tannins, and underlying cedar oak complexity. Finishes leafy firm with plentiful dark fruits and extract. Superb fruit definition, volume and torque. Cellar for a while. Drink to: 2024 - 2040; Rating: 98 Points; Andrew Caillard MW. Gold Medal - Decanter World Wine Awards It seems this vintage of Thomas Hardy is straight Coonawarra (often it's a multi-regional blend). Excellent dark purple hue. It's deep, rich and...

Comes off some pretty old, ungrafted Barossa vines. It's a most elegant and refined wine that shows another side of the Barossa. Largely traditional winemaking with gentle crushing, fermentation in open vats for three weeks and then pressing to Fresh barriques for 15 months. Has a lovely spicy perfume on the nose with races of red berry and light cedar. The palate is almost medium weight in that it is so effortless and stylish. Extends with ease to an exceptionally long finish. Wonderful expression of the Barossa. Drink to: 2024-2042; Price: $90.00; Rating: 97 Points; Ray Jordan

Houghton was established in 1836, just four years after the fledgling colony of Western Australia was founded. It is one of Australia's oldest operating wineries. Houghton is now the tenth-largest red and white bottle brand in Australia, and sources fruit from every major premium grape-growing region in WA, including Gingin, Margaret River, Frankland River and Mount Barker in the Great Southern, and the emerging Pemberton region. A wine of elegance and fruit power, C.W. Ferguson honours the contribution of early Houghton winemaker Charles William Ferguson. During his time at Houghton, Charles established a solid reputation for Houghton...

RRP 120aud. Opulent, powerful concentrated; this is Barossa with polish. Sourced from low yielding shiraz vines with the fruit treated with kid gloves from the start. Hand picking, whole bunch fermentation, hand lunging and direct pressing to American and French oak. It works wonders. Ripe black fruits on the nose showing black olive and blackberry. The palate is plush with a grainy chalky influence. Rich and chewy with a polished finish. Drink: 2024 - 2036; Price: $120.00; Rating: 96 Points; Ray Jordan.

Cellar Doofr Price A$ 115   The Magarey Lane vineyard, planted in 1989, has supplied grapes to many famous brands such as Reschke, and over the past 30 years, the largely unirrigated vines have matured and are producing wonderfully ripe and concentrated wines.   "Vines for this bottling are 30 years old. Terra Rossa soils and destemmed berries. Matured in a mix of French and American barrels and hogsheads for 18 months with further maturation in bottle. Bilberry, blackcurrants and just picked boysenberry. Fresh potting soil, cassia bark and crushed granite. Clove, mace and allspice. Pencil box and cigar clippings. A muscular...

"Separate parcels hand picked and destemmed, three-day cold soak then open fermented, 11 months' maturation in French oak (25% new). Curious labelling, as the Old Paddock and Old Hill vineyards are 500m apart and quite distinct. The French oak is more obvious than that of its siblings, but it's easily carried by the mouth-watering acidity of its red and black cherry/berry fruits." 97 points. James Halliday Published 06 July 2023

Cellar Door Price 75aud. The Reschke history and its close relationship with Coonawarra began in 1906 with the establishment of a prime Hereford stud in the heart of the region. It is this cattle grazing heritage that is reflected in the Reschke bull logo, and the names of the premium Reschke wines. The ‘Reschke Special Reserve’ is a limited-release Cabernet Sauvignon that has been crafted specifically for friends and family of Reschke. The fruit is sourced from a selection of our very best Estate Grown grapes in the heart of Coonawarra, resulting in the production of a truly exceptional wine. This rich and fruit-driven parcel of...

Cellar Door Price 90 AUD. Since 1952 Schild hands have tended to a selection of Barossa Valley’s most treasured and rare vines, some amongst the oldest in the world. The wisdom passed down through the generations ensures each vineyard’s unique terroir is expressed in their premium collection of wines. Inviting notes of creamy freshly scraped vanilla pods and a melange of dark compote fruit draws the drinker in to discover more. Once in the mouth, flavours of blood plums and blackberries are supported by classic Shiraz notes of coffee bean and subtle pepper spice. There is a depth and chewiness to the palate which hints at the...

Cellar Door Price 80aud. Blewitt Springs sourcing, 12 days on skins, 8 months in French oak. Some of the more delicate varieties and blends suffer from the indomitable oak handling here. But this – dense, burly, rich and brimming with darker fruit tones, licorice strap, smoked meats, clove and alternate spices flowing from attack to finish – relishes it. A unashamedly big wine, of poise, power and precision. Drink to: 2028; Price: $80.00; Rating: 94 Points; Ned Goodwin MW; James Halliday Wine Companion.   Another 2018 McLaren Vale Shiraz from the Ulithorne team – well, why wouldn’t you if you can!...

Cellar Door 150aud. The most distinctive of the Ulithorne Shiraz trio. Whereas the other wines made no attempt to disguise their gentle seduction, this is unapologetically savoury, its superfine tannins not unlike those of nebbiolo. Cloves replace dark chocolate, black berries and black cherries are the Lords of Darkness, or the translation of the Latin name of this wine, 'fruit of the earth'.  Alcohol: 14.5%; Drink by: 2041;  Rating: 97 Points & Special Value Star; James Halliday; Wine Companion.     Ulithorne produces small quantities of red wines from selected parcels of grapes from its estate vineyard...

Cellar Door 150aud. Blewitt Springs fruit. Micro-fermented in new and used French wood after hand harvesting. The right portions of each, judging by a finely hewn bridle of tannins, controlling and directing the fray. As far as warm-climate shiraz goes, this is good. Contemporary in terms of lifted florals and a modicum of tension. Avuncular in terms of weight, power and the armchair you'll need to settle into after drinking it....Alcohol: 14.5%; Drink by: 2034;  Rating: 95 Points; James Halliday Wine Companion.     Ulithorne produces small quantities of red wines from selected parcels of grapes from its estate vineyard in...