Smoky, earthen, peat-like, and terrifically well textured - there's so much going on in this wine. It's like a wild parade. You could describe it as having a 'brooding complexity'. It's challenging, but excellent quality. DRINK 2012-2018; 95 Points and 5 Star Value; Campbell Mattinson and Gary Walsh, The Big Red Wine Book 2010/11, June 2010

2008 takes one of the country's most carefully assembled Syrahs to a new level. It's propelled not so much by the complexity of star anise, wood spice, field mushrooms, pepper and blackcurrents nor the floral violet lift so much as its profound line and length and other-worldly texture. 97 Points; Tyson Stelzer , Wine 100, April 2010

Yes indeed, oh my, what a drop. This wine did it for me. Fine fruit top notes underscored with tannin/acid all running along a curved line in harmony; 94 points; The KROW Issue 25, February 2010

A very polished rendition of Rhone-inspired Syrah, this oozes fragrant lift and has a flurry of musky perfume across fine-grained tannins and bounces juicy through the middle, finishing with plum skin grip. 93 points; WBM, December 2009

Gee, this is a lovely cool-climate shirazer, syrah (same thing, different language). It's beautifully fragrant, elegant and smooth, with a long, persistent finish. The flavours meld beautifully - blackberry, dark cherry and licorice, with a late hit of spice. Ideal for a Christmas gift or to knock over on the big day. Rick Allen, Manly Daily, December 2009

A RHONE-like shiraz, first in De Bortoli's 'estate' range made from fruit off its Yarra Valley vineyard. Whole bunch fermentation in warmer temperatures and use of older oak casks has worked wonders. There's dynamic spice, licorice and blackberry on the nose, fine tannins and a long finish. Widely available. Jeff Collerson, The Daily Telegraph, December 2009

With plenty of talk about Yarra Valley syrah, this is a brilliant cool-climate example from 2007 winner Steve Webber. Compact, pure dark fruit spiced with smells of juniper and green pepper, make way for a plush, chewy and delicious mouthful of wine. Matt Skinner, The Sun Herald

Trophy - Best Red Wine of Show; NSW Small Winemakers Show 2010
Trophy - Best Boutique Wine of Show; NSW Small Winemakers Show 2010
Trophy - Best Shiraz 2008 or 2009 - NSW Small Winemakers Show 2010
Top Gold - NSW Small Winemakers Show 2010
Gold - Hunter Valley Wine Show 2010
Gold - Hunter Valley Wine Show 2011

Deep crimson with purple hues. Intense spice and pepper on the nose combine with rich berry aromas. Rich fruit flavours of black cherries combine with firm tannins to provide a full-bodied style with great length on the palate. A well-balanced wine, consistent with the classic Hunter Valley style of Shiraz. Careful cellaring will see this wine develop beautifully over the next 7 – 10 years.

The historic Steven vineyard was planted in 1968. Ever since the red volcanic soils have produce some of the Hunter Valley’s most outstanding wines. This 2009 vintage is a classic Hunter Valley shiraz, with great fruit, spice and elegance. A medium bodied shiraz that will drink well as a young wine but will reward those patient enough to stash it away for another 10 years.

A deliciously pure shiraz, the bouquet fragrant, the palate fresh and lively, fruit, oak and tannins seamlessly woven together. From the 40-year-old Steven Vineyard on precious red soil, and picked at precisely at the right time. Rating: 96 Points; $40, Drink 2024 Tasted Aug 2010; James Halliday 2012 Wine Companion

Clean fresh fruit like cherry, cranberry and boysenberry gilt with violets and vanilla, a light earthiness and aniseed. Medium weight with vibrant beautifully pitched acidity, fine light tannin and terrific length of flavour. And if ever there was a lighter 'line and length' style of Shiraz, then this is surely it. I had it open for three days and it barely shifted. Beautifully made too - Praise the Puncheon and Boo the Barrique! Classic Hunter. Rated : 95 Points Tasted : Aug10 Alcohol : 13% Price : $40 Closure : Screwcap Drink : 2015 - 2029+ The Wine Front Sep 2010 · Gary Walsh

Old vines, historic vineyard, new label, the beginning of an exciting single vineyard focus for De Iuliis. Outstanding violet perfume, liquorice, coal, medium-bodied restraint, vibrant fruits and textural structure. 95 Points; Tyson Stelzer, WBM, July 2011

A child of the terroir and vintage. Notably, the grapes were grown without irrigation and as always the wine was made with great care to avoid loss or modification of the natural flavours through winemaker intervention, or in pursuit of a particular style. It speaks about the essence of cool climate Syrah – as grown in Martinbor- ough – and it is also about Syrah from a concentrated vintage. The fruit was harvested in three parcels – between late April and early May – in perfect condition and without raisining or surmaturité. It has a notably intense rubellite colour and a level of richness on the nose which almost has to be spooned out.

The perfume of jasmine overlays blackcurrants, sweet pipe tobacco, hints of white pepper and maybe even a touch of honeycomb on the nose. The palate has a smooth entry and manages to be both juicy but elegant and refined, as well as with clarity of expression in spite of its concentration. Black fruits are followed by flavours of leather and cigar box sweet tobacco giving rise to an impression of firmness. This wine is somewhat in the mould of the ’03 wine – if your preference is for light or delicate wines, it is not for you.

2009 was a great year in the Canberra District. The warm vintage and lower than average crop combined to produce concentrated, dark and powerful fruit with impressive perfume and structure. The result of power and intensity is that the wines from 2009 will reward if not demand some careful cellaring. Alcohol: 14.0%   

Eden road only manage a paltry 1200 bottles of this unique single vineyard in Murrumbatemen, itself the heart of the marginal wine producing region surrounding Canberra. This 100% Shiraz comes from a unique terrior; at 640 meters asl and with granite based soil it produces cool climate high-grown fruit of individual purity and minerality worthy of a single vineyard offering. 20% whole bunch fermentation brings pretty aromatics and fruit-tannin structure while maturation in old French barriques adds softness and mouth feel while preserving the purity of fruit.

Another stellar '09 shiraz that needs time to settle into shape. It's thick and dense, showing complex black fruits and spice, some earthy accents and nicely paced, integrated oak. The palate rolls out sheets of fine ripe tannins carrying dark-plum and black-cherry flavours, with spice twisted through and finishing brightly balanced. Give it time. Nick Stock, Great Wine drives | Canberra District, Gourmet Traveller Wine, April/May

Vivid colour; a heady mixture of spice and black fruit perfume, showing truffle, roasted meat, char and spice; the palate is densely packed, chewy and serious in nature, yet over time reveals a silky, soft and intriguing combination of spice and fruit; beautifully detailed, with rapier-like acidity drawing out the finish, this wine is another example of just how good Canberra district can be. Rating: 97 Points; Drink By: 2025 Price: $60.00 Date Tasted:17 Dec 2010 James Halliday Wine Companion 2012

Eden Road signifies the journey of life on a road towards a vision of Eden. At Eden Road Wines, their vision of Eden includes creativity and excellence in their wine making and generosity and honesty in the way they do business. As wine makers, their vision is to make modern and delicious wines that exceed the expectations of their friends who drink Eden Road wines.

As a next-generation Australian wine maker, Nick Spencer is crafting his own vision of modern Australian wines made from traditional varietals and blends. Nick enjoys leading his team out onto the boundaries of new and old world wine making practices, always keeping in mind the ultimate enjoyment of wine lovers. Eden Road Wines believes that two regions and four varieties expresses their values and identity as an Australian wine company, offering wines made from shiraz and riesling grown in the Eden Valley of South Australia and from pinot noir and chardonnay grown in Tumbarumba, New South Wales. One region is arguably the best part of Australia’s great wine making heritage and the other region is the place they believe Australia’s future classics already originate.

Attractive dark fruit, spice and cassis aromas. Followed by an elegant, fine, seamless palate with intense spice, crushed berries and subtle hints of cedary vanillan oak

The Elderton Command Shiraz has established an enviable reputation since the first vintage in 1984. It is truly one of Australia's best and most highly regarded Icon wines. Accolades have come from the world over for vintages such as the 1992, which was chosen by the influential wine critic Robert Parker in his U.S. magazine the "Wine Advocate” as one of the world’s top 80 wines. The 1995 Command was awarded 95 points by “Wine Spectator” and placed in their top 100 wines, the 2000 was awarded 97 points by the same magazine and placed 27 in their top 100 and the 1996 Command won the trophy for the best Shiraz in the world at the London International Wine and Spirit Competition, which Elderton’s principal - Lorraine Ashmead believes ratifies her plans, aspirations and expectations to produce a great wine of the world.

2005 followed a vintage that many thought would rank highly in the decade and the chances of an ‘odd year’ standing over such a vintage seemed remote. But with a wet winter providing the sustenance and a mild, dry summer following, Elderton fruit showed excellent development, particularly old vine harvests. The vintage was later than normal with the last pick of the Command block being on April 11th. This long ripening period, partnered with cool submerged-cap ferments in the winery, has allowed the fruit to shine through (over the 30+ months of oak maturation) and is testament to the power of flavour produced from our oldest Shiraz vines. Winemaker - Richard Langford

2005: Elderton’s flagship is the single vineyard Command Shiraz, a wine with serious aging potential, and one with which all other South Australia Shiraz must be compared. The opaque purple/black 2005 Command Shiraz was aged in French and American oak puncheons (500-liter barrels). It offers up a sexy/kinky bouquet of wood smoke, lavender, leather, game, mineral, black raspberry, and blueberry pie. Voluptuous on the palate, complex, and dense, it demands a decade of cellaring after which it should offer hedonists much pleasure through 2035. Elderton’s portfolio includes a number of notable values that are listed at the conclusion of this report. 97 points Drink: 2009 - 2035 $US99; Jay Miller in Robert Parker's The Wine Advocate # 181 Feb 2009 
 
Good wine this and better than the 2004 edition - the oak seems better integrated and folded in, although it’s still a little in your face. I tasted it alongside the 2006 Henschke Mount Edelstone, of which I’m not allowed to say anything until release date in hmmm sometime soon. I forget. April I think. Lots of toasty roast coconut and coffee oak but tasteful with blackberry, minty aniseed flavours, a bit of coal and dark chocolate - all a bit Bounty Bar-esque - but ever so tasty and it’s not as charry and overt as last years model either. In the mouth plenty of fresh blackberry and raspberry fruit with chocolate and nutty coconut flavours mingling with more savoury characters. The tannins are smooth and silky and the wine feels fresh and dynamic, offering excellent length with a coconut and coffee twist on exit. You know, it’s of a certain style, but gee it’s impressive. Really like it too - world class level at its particular game. No doubt. Rated : 95 Points Tasted : Feb09 Alcohol : 14.5% Price : $95 Closure : Screwcap Drink : 2010 - 2022 Gary Walsh; The Wine Front

Firm in texture, with beautifully poised blackberry, licorice and pepper flavors that seem to hover weightlessly over fine tannins, lingering enticingly on the long, expressive finish. Best from 2011 through 2017. 1,400 cases imported. –HS  Score: 94 Release Price: $99 Wine Spectator

Cork closure. The first wine from our joint venture with Chapoutier (previously Nantua Vineyard and now mainly grafted to Shiraz).  The nose has more of the graphite and mineral characters.  The palate is long and racy with emerging black pepper and very fine mouth coating tannins.

Screwcap. A highly expressive nose of violets and graphite, with a wild briar character. This is the first Giaconda Shiraz with a small Viognier component - which adds an interesting extra dimension. It has an elegant structure but still retains it's latent power. An ethereal palate with refined tannins. Only the second release of the Estate Shiraz, it is showing great promise and has developed outstanding depth while still holding great refinement. Rick Kinzbrunner
 

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Screwcap. The nose is profoundly deep with scents of herb, red fruits and coffee. A firm and more refined, tightly structured palate reflecting a cooler vintage. Exotic Rhône like characters of wild herbs are developing as a counterpoint to the evident dark fruit. This continues the traditional Warner vineyard style and should offer good aging potential. Rick Kinzbrunner
 

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Original Wooden box. The nose is profoundly deep with scents of herb, red fruits and coffee. A firm and more refined, tightly structured palate reflecting a cooler vintage. Exotic Rhône like characters of wild herbs are developing as a counterpoint to the evident dark fruit. This continues the traditional Warner vineyard style and should offer good aging potential. Rick Kinzbrunner
 

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Wine Advocate #161 (Oct 2005)  Robert Parker 95 points  Drink 2005-2020. A profound offering fashioned from 93- to 140-year-old vines, the 2003 Old Vine Collection Shiraz boasts extraordinary elegance and precision along with a deep, black raspberry and cassis-scented nose, beautiful sweetness, a peppery, spicy purity on the attack, full body, superb ripeness, decent acidity, and a long, heady, supple finish. It should drink well for a minimum of 10-15 years.

The key to Amon-Ra Shiraz is balancing the extraction, rather than maximizing it. The fruit has such expression that we aim to preserve the characteristics of the vineyard rather than dominate them.

100% Dry-grown Shriaz. All fruit for Glaetzer wines is taken from the small sub-region of the northern Barossa Valley, called Ebenezer. The viticulture used is standard single wire, with permanent arm rod and spur. Many of the very old vines (80-120 years old) have now been trained onto a trellis for ease of pruning, harvesting and for disease and frost control. Age of vines:  50 - 120 years old

Fermented in 1 and 2 tonne open fermenters, hand plunged 3 times daily. A small percentage completed primary fermenation in oak. Matured on lees to maintain fruit profile and animation, minimal SO2. Topped up every 3 weeks. Oak: 20% American and 80% French (90% hogsheads & 10% barriques)

The rich purple colour indicates both youthful exuberance and density. A compelling nose of espresso, truffles, dark plums and blackcurrant with layers of aromatic intensity that remains fresh and lively. The palate is multilayered, with masses of cassis and mixed spice, and a hint of chocolate. Amon-Ra 09 displays an appealing brightness and beguiling purity. This is an Amon-Ra that will be remembered for its true, elegant expression of our Ebenezer terroir. - Glaetzer Wines

Anaperenna is the Roman goddess of New Year. She is also a seamless fusion of fruit from dry grown, low yielding, old and very old vines, some over a century old, all are planted to ancient sites within the elite Ebeneezer appellation in the Barossa's north. A mostly Shiraz wine, the very low cropped Cabernet component contributes intense fruit flavours with a low extraction rate of smaller berries, large seeds and greater skin to flesh ratio. The savouryness of Cabernet combines with the generous Shiraz to give Anaperenna great texture, restrained power and structure

From vines trained to standard single wire, with permanent arm rod and spur. Many of the very old vines (80-120 years old) have now been trained onto a trellis for ease of pruning, harvesting, disease and frost control. Scant vineyard yields of ½ to one ton per acre are central to the intense concentration. Vinified in one tonne open top fermenters and hand plunged three times daily. Completed primary on skins, treated to malolactic in oak, matured on lees to maintain fruit profile and animation, minimal SO2, and topped up every three weeks. Maturation fifteen months in a combination of completely new, mostly French with some American oak hogsheads and barriques, before bottling unfiltered.

Dark ruby colour. An intriguing nose of chocolate, crushed herbs, cedar, blackberries and smoke leads into a tightly focused palate with fine grained tannin and incredible density. The low extraction rate of the Cabernet has imparted savouryness and compelling aromatics of crushed herbs, fresh black fruits and espresso spice. The sheer quality expresses such intensity throughout the palate, the Shiraz components are akin to the outstanding fruit earmarked for the estate flagship Amon-Ra, the primary difference being a slightly more reserved expression, to enable the purity of the Cabernet to be displayed on both the nose and the palate. The finish is fresh and lively with flavours that linger, and linger.

Anaperenna is the Roman goddess of New Year. She is also a seamless fusion of fruit from dry grown, low yielding, old and very old vines, some over a century old, all are planted to ancient sites within the elite Ebeneezer appellation in the Barossa's north. A mostly Shiraz wine, the very low cropped Cabernet component contributes intense fruit flavours with a low extraction rate of smaller berries, large seeds and greater skin to flesh ratio. The savouryness of Cabernet combines with the generous Shiraz to give Anaperenna great texture, restrained power and structure

From vines trained to standard single wire, with permanent arm rod and spur. Many of the very old vines (80-120 years old) have now been trained onto a trellis for ease of pruning, harvesting, disease and frost control. Scant vineyard yields of ½ to one ton per acre are central to the intense concentration. Vinified in one tonne open top fermenters and hand plunged three times daily. Completed primary on skins, treated to malolactic in oak, matured on lees to maintain fruit profile and animation, minimal SO2, and topped up every three weeks. Maturation fifteen months in a combination of completely new, mostly French with some American oak hogsheads and barriques, before bottling unfiltered.

Dark ruby colour. An intriguing nose of chocolate, crushed herbs, cedar, blackberries and smoke leads into a tightly focused palate with fine grained tannin and incredible density. The low extraction rate of the Cabernet has imparted savouryness and compelling aromatics of crushed herbs, fresh black fruits and espresso spice. The sheer quality expresses such intensity throughout the palate, the Shiraz components are akin to the outstanding fruit earmarked for the estate flagship Amon-Ra, the primary difference being a slightly more reserved expression, to enable the purity of the Cabernet to be displayed on both the nose and the palate. The finish is fresh and lively with flavours that linger, and linger.

Damien Tscharke grew up in the Barossa Valley among the vineyards at Seppeltsfield and Marananga. In 2001 he began the production of four estate-grown wines based on what he calls the classic varieties (following the contemporary trend of having catchy, snappy names) followed by four wines under the Tscharke brand using the alternative varieties of tempranillo, graciano, zinfandel, montepulciano and albarino. Like the Glaymond wines (made from traditional varieties), these are estate-grown, albeit in very limited quantities. James Halliday

Damien Tscharke grew up in the Barossa Valley among the vineyards at Seppeltsfield and Marananga. In 2001 he began the production of four estate-grown wines based on what he calls the classic varieties (following the contemporary trend of having catchy, snappy names) followed by four wines under the Tscharke brand using the alternative varieties of tempranillo, graciano, zinfandel, montepulciano and albarino. Like the Glaymond wines (made from traditional varieties), these are estate-grown, albeit in very limited quantities. James Halliday

Deep crimson-purple; at this stage the wine is full-bodied, compact and thickly textured, the flavours deep and layered in a black fruit spectrum; the abundant tannins and oak are in perfect balance with the fruit, and a recent vertical tasting put beyond doubt the great future this wine has. Once past its tenth birthday (cork permitting) it will reach its plateau of supple perfection that will last at least another decade. Shiraz. Cork. 14.5% alc. Rating 96 Points; Drink 2025 $129.95 Date Tasted Mar 10 James Halliday Australian Wine Companion 2011

The 2005 Meshach shows great depth and intensity in the dark red colouring of the wine, together with its youthful purple hues. The wine shows intense lift from the glass with a complex array of aromas including; raspberry coulis, Irish moss, old leather, and some subtle confectionary  marshmallow like notes. These aromas are complimented with cocoa powder, milk chocolate, a hint of bitumen, sweeter tar characters and fresh green pine needles. The palate is sumptuous and carries on with flavours of swiss chocolate, savoury spices, raspberry fruit, a hint of toasted oak and bushfire ash. The powerful palate shows a complex combination of flavours, with excellent length and balance; this 2005 Meshach will not disappoint. As with the Meshach’s gone before it, the elegant 2005 vintage should be enjoyed on special occasions and will appeal to the collector in you. Grant Burge Wines flagship Shiraz has an ageing potential upward of 20 years with careful cellaring.

The Shiraz "Alice's Block" receives the same 28 months in used American oak. The riveting nose of smoke, asphalt, earth, truffle, blackberry, and blueberry roars from the glass. Dense, packed, and opulent, it somehow is able to concurrently exhibit finesse and elegance. Amazingly pure and long in the finish, one's first reaction is that it cannot get any better. Remarkably, it does. Greenock Creek Vineyard and Cellars, owned by Michael and Annabelle Waugh, is one of the Barossa's benchmark wineries. Start with a great terroir, add in old vine material, and meticulous winemaking and the results are usually extraordinary.

Alices typical white bread and cream are becoming as regular as clockwork, drought or not.  This vineyard produces incredibly plush, fleshy flavour which this year has been neatly offset with some edgy, spicy oak and the acrid prickle of the dust and stone and pronounced aniseed and licorice tints.  The 08 fig and prune duo are obvious, but they're mere filling in all that spongy white Vienna flesh: there's not much amalgamation happening yet in this dazzling, tantalizing spectrum of aromas.  So the wine's a bit scatty and juvenile and hasn't yet learned some simple grooming.   After all that sniffing, the palate's slinky, and seems to be wrapped like sinew, muscle and chubby fat around a whiprod acid spine.  Like the Seven Acre, the tannins are finer and less obvious than usual.  As far as cats go, this is a rather naughty, plump young Russian Blue.  93+++ points Philip White