Without any formal qualifications in viticulture, Yelland Papps began making wine for family and friends, they soon realised that their destiny lay amongst the wonderful old vines of Barossa Valley. They also realized they held a passion for the future stars of the Barossa, varieties such as the pastoral Carignan, the proof is in a glass of Yelland & Papps Vin de Soif. Old vines Mouverdre and Grenache with the exciting addition of Carignan, very much new Barossa in an old world way. Redolent of soil, coffee and kirsch, jasmines and violet, supported by refined tannins and judicious oak.

The strapper is a reliable, behind the scenes member of a horseracing team in thoroughbred parlance, a face you're unlikely to see in the limelight of spring carnival. The Strapper GSM is not the showy type either, rather it's a favourite tipple of the winemakers themselves, when they're not imbibing in a chilled riesling or icy ale. Yalumba are very excited about this old world style of Barossa, a third of Shiraz is sandwiched between the understatedly fragrant perfume of Grenache and the earthy, rustic tannins of Mataro, a well bred, strapping and savoury wine.

Few Australian winemakers have had as much experience with GSM as Yalumba. Their learned team are always very excited about this old world style. Parcels are collated from good Barossa vineyards, separately picked and vinified in small batches, before being aged in a selection of large and small oak vats, puncheons and barriques. All parts are encouraged to mellow and integrate, while creating texture and infusing complexity. Layered and supple, spiced red and black berry fruits are drizzled with moreish chocolateynerss, long and lingering on a finish of velvet textured tannins.

Yabby Lake begin with a commitment to listen to the land. To grow only the right varieties, the right clones on the perfect sites, row by row, vine by vine. Hand picked grapes and a measure of whole bunches from a single estate vineyard at Teurong are sent to traditional open top fermenters for a fortnight of vinification. Batches are pressed into 500Litres French oak puncheons for malolactic and a year of age. A perfumed, spicy style, concentrated yet silky over a length of structured tannins, bright fruit characters throughout, wonderful elegance and depth of flavour.

An assemblage of Shiraz and Rousanne from the finest vineyards south of Mt. Barker, harvested throughout the cooler temperatures of early morning at closely timed passes amongst the vines to create a Syrah of structure and complexity. Each site contributes a uniqueness and influence adding a different personality to the final wine. An elegant, medium weighted Syrah with abundant spice and graceful tannins, co fermentation with portions of the Roussanne grape adds another layer of texture and depth to this emerging Mt Barker style.

Gold Label is an ever evolving proposition, as emergent and resurgent genres in wine serve to enthuse the impassioned team at the House of Blass. As a prolific award winner, Gold Label inspires Wolf Blass to produce a beautifully perfumed, piquant style of Shiraz, endowed with a chewy palate of complex Rhonesque fruit. Viognier contributes lift without dominating, bringing winsome aromatics and Fleurs blanches, apricots and Frais des Bois.

Witchmount are fortuitously positioned within the temperate microclimes of Sunbury, just the right confluence of conditions to yield a style of Shiraz Grenache that's so evocative of the chilly Mistral winds which stimulate vineyards along Vallée Rhône. An equal balance of parts, Grenache is included as whole bunches, Shiraz berries are destemmed, treated to traditional open top ferments and six months gross lees maceration for exceptional richness and integration. A decidedly juicy, cherry flavoured accord of dark licorice tannins, bucolic herbaceousness and sylvan, pastoral grace.

The topical old world accord of Grenache and Shiraz was the first style of wine to be made after the re-establishment of Wira Wirra in the 1970s. It is occasionally released as a special limited edition when the vagaries of vintage permit, the aim being to construct a likeness of McLaren Vale, as it was decades ago, when the requisite accompaniement to such a wine was meat and three veg. Wirra Wirra Original is equally satisfying today alongside paparadelle and porcini, offal and pistachio ballotine or five spice crackling pork.

By the sixth generation of a heritage Barossa winegrowing family, crafted to the highest standards and never meant to be distributed unbranded. The topical Rhône Valley mix of Shiraz, Grenache and Mourverdre, treated to an old world style of vinification which would have been familiar to the winemaker's Silesian ancestors. Assembled from choice parcels, picked off an endowment of old vine blocks in the ancient hamlets of Seppeltsfield and Marananga, guaranteed to please, arrives fully labelled without any delivery fee by the dozen, anywhere in Australia.

From the very beginning, Two Hands have been very well received by a healthy stream of accolades. Notable reviewer Robert M. Parker anointed Two Hands as the finest negociant operation south of the equator. Grenache, Mourverdre and Shiraz, Barossa through and through. Buoyant raspberry, red cherry characters with a restrained savoury palate, grainy tannins and delicately integrated oak. A serious food wine that shows what a wonderful marriage these three varietals make judiciously balanced with harmony in mind.

Turkey Flat are still the luminary, having taken charge of the great Aussie Rose revival. The winemaking team take the task of making Australia's best Rose very seriously, dedicating an entire vineyard to ensure the continuity of style. An auspicious cepage of Grenache and Shiraz, Dolcetto and Cabernet Sauvignon, slightly drier than most of her siblings, a princess in pink, displaying a complexity and balance that's very rare indeed, a winning style that's enjoyed around the nation by the most discerning Rose enthusiasts.

The Turkey Flat vineyards are unique, in that the estate can trace their first plantings back to early settlement in the 1840s. The site was acquired by Gottlieb Ernst Schulz in 1865, a successful butcher who established a thriving business. His descendants are still there to this day, working amongst the vines. Butchers Block is fashioned to a crowd pleasing style, Mourvèdre provides the backbone, Shiraz adds flavour, Grenache brings rustic spice and dark morello fruit. Balance is essential, each grape plays a role, yet nothing competes for your attention.

Two thirds Grenache, the balance in Mataro, picked off the Tscharke estate vineyards at Marananga. Preserving the integrity and retaining the eloquence of each variety is essential to the finished wine, both parts are encouraged to enunciate their uniqueness of character. A course of whole bunch ferments adds textural richness and introduces complexity, a separate term of age under seasoned oak permits the wines to mature and evolve as individuals. A seamless assemblage that's highly articulate of Barossa, as both parts express their personal charm.

On a highland farm, the array of barns, stables and outbuildings is known as a steading. Steading GSM has long been David Powell's favourite wine within the Torbreck stable because of the old, gnarled bush vines that produce its core. Grenache, Mataro and Shiraz grown to ancient sites at Moppa and Marananga, Seppeltsfield and Ebenezer, Gomersal and Greenock, perform brilliantly in their own right. When assembled however, their strengths coalesce into a wine of remarkable structure and bucolic grace.

Torbreck founder David Powell is a frequenter of fashionable wine bar Les Juveniles whenever he's in Paris. Conversely, the proprietor of Les Juveniles spends time with Powell whenever he's wine trekking around the Barossa. A delightfully fruit forward accord of Grenache, Shiraz and Mourverdre, crafted from fruit grown to old and very old Barossa vineyards, judiciously fashioned to an early drinking Rhône Valley styling, principally for the enjoyment of bohemians and artistes, épicuriens et bon vivants.

So named by the Tin Shed winemaking team, the wild bunch, after a few drinks and a think tank, a melting pot of flavours achieved through an assemblage of Shiraz grown to choice vineyards scattered throughout the cool ripening climes of Eden Valley, with a few good barrels of Barossa fruit for funk and spice. Eden Valley ensures a measure of appetizing perfumes and good structure, Barossa contributes palate weight and richness.

Spicey Shiraz from cooler climes combined with the lovely plummy notes of the Grenache grape which thrives in warmer regions. Three Vines expresses wild floral notes and a firmer textured finish courtesy of the Sangiovese. A Rose that's food-friendly and bountiful with chummy pink characters of fresh cherries and currants, made savoury with a touch of dry tannin to the finish.

Half Grenache with the balance of Shiraz and Mourvedre, grown to some fantastic old vine stock, most are a century of age, treated to a spell in well seasoned barrels. The oak influence is minimal, serving to complex and mature the wine rather than to impart flavour. So marked must be the profile of fruit to make the cut for Avatar, that initial classification of the components takes place immediately after vintage. Well balanced and round, a wine of earthy, savoury complexity, displaying ripe fleshy fruits, bramble and licorice spice.

Te Mata are New Zealand's oldest winery, family owned and operated, they produce world class efforts, from fruit exclusively grown to estate vineyards in the Ngatarawa Triangle of Hawkes Bay. Originally planted in 1990, the Bullnose Vineyard's old red iron soils are Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand accredited, they yield precious harvests of Te Mata's finest Syrah.

A complex assembly of Grenache and Carineña grown to the Denominacio d'origen Priorato, espoused by an equally stirring addition of Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon. Priorat is a long forgotten winegrowing area, highly salubrious in its time, it was ravaged by phyloxera and abandoned in the nineteenth century. The rocky, steeply sloped, mineralite soils have been rediscovered by Don Lewis and Narelle King, who take time out from their operations in Victoria once a year to vinify the parched and precious fruit of Merum Priorati.

Giovanni Tait was a cooper who migrated to Barossa Valley in 1957, he took up work with B. Seppelt and Sons, where he took a hand in the élevage and maturation of the most memorable vintages. Tasteful and judicious use of oak remains an essential component of the winemaking traditions at Tait, none more so than the topical Rhone styled blend of Grenache, Mourverdre and Shiraz. Tait source fruit for the Wild Ride from choice sites on the southern Finders ranges, treating each parcel to an individual regimen of oak, a mere thousand cases are produced.

Victorian accords of Grenache, Shiraz and Mourvedre are sufficiently rare, ideally, an estate must have a heritage which dates back to early settlement before they can consider crafting such a wine. The first nascent plantings at Tahbilk were sown with cuttings from Valley Rhone. Shiraz, Grenache and Mourvedre have taken to the local surrounds and today yield the finest harvests in Victoria. A deeply charismatic wine of provocative sweet and savoury fruit characters, exquisitely balanced over a length of elegant, tensile tannins.

Streicker's Bridgeland property yields harvests of the finest Shiraz. Crafted to traditional winemaking techniques, a regimen of old fashioned plungings and open ferments, into a pure, single vineyard Rhone style Syrah. A mere 250 cases produced each year, vintage 2009 claimed top trophy at illustrious VISY Great Australian Shiraz Challenge, the first time ever for Margaret River. Its big, blooming bouquet of blueberries, violets and allspice, roast game, graphite and tar, a bliss for those who enjoy the garrulous, savoury styles of truly grand Syrah.

And how popular are we? A refreshing red blend demonstrating the affinity between the fruity Dolcetto and a Rhonesque handling of Shiraz. Warburn Estate has created a fashionable Cuvee that's just so quaffable, immediately approachable and handsomely flavoured. Everyone seems to love this distinctive wine, it exhibits dashing plum and chocolate bouquets, and descends onto the palate with characters of fruit cake, ribena and spice. Perfect on summer nights and relaxed luncheons, it really comes into it's own with your favourite foods.

There are a few parcels of Shiraz on the Lubiana property which lend themselves very nicely, to the finely boned styles of Cotes du Rhone. Selection of fruit is the genesis, the manner of vinification plays an essential role. The timing of macerations are cardinal to the extraction of fruit, building velvet texture and infusing fine tannin, ferments for the most part, must be carried out without moving or disturbing the wine as it evolves. A judicious term in fine French oak has trimmed and shaped the palate to perfection, Stefano recommends smoked meats, suckling pig sausages or quail in pancetta and polenta.

The triumvirate of red Rhone grapes from a canon of eminent sites at Ebenezer, Stonewell and Light Pass, treated to a traditional course of open ferments and term of age in seasoned French oak puncheons. Grenache provides the sumptuous savouryness, a hint of leather and gardens in bloom, Mataro contributes fleshy fruits and wild game, Shiraz for structure, ripe plum flavours, fragrance and spice, grippy tannins in support, a layered, moreish finish.

An inspiring varietal mix of Shiraz and Grenache with Touriga Nacional, the traditional vintage port grape. A suite of yeast strains, each suited to a different parcel of fruit, serves to highlight the fresh berry, floral, spicy, earthy aromas contributed by Touriga and Grenache, while the richness and pepper spice of Shiraz builds palate weight and structure. Completely unoaked, Gamekeeper embraces the spectrum of ripe and savoury Barossa fruit, delivering a wine which is so much greater than the sum of parts.

What Spinifex choose to do best is discover isolate parcels of old vine, sometimes overlooked or underloved, at the Cotes du Rhône end of the varietal spectrum. This is no flight of fancy, as the background of the husband and wife team includes many growing seasons in France. Papillon is bottled towards the end of vintage year. Crafted from very old material Grenache, Cinsualt and Mataro, Spinifex hand select the vines and pick grapes, vinifying the parcels with an aim of creating a wine that's all about freshness, fruit and spice, a wine that's bright and alive.

A complex Rhone-style expressing the profound characteristics delivered from great old vine vineyards. Low yielding and hand tended, they deliver a quality of fruit that's worthy of the old world's most prestigious growths. A rich and effusive cépage of Mataro and Grenache, Shiraz, Carignan and Cinsault are matured in selection of large format 500 to to 3000 litres French oak barrels to develop a complex vinous flavour base while preserving fruit freshness, enhance the exciting varietal complexity and preserve the vital tannin edge.

Spinifex appropriate much of their grapes from small family growers, often dealing with passionate farmers who are excited to find a winemaker who is interested in their vineyard and their fruit. A partisan assemblage of Rhonesque varietals, Mataro and Cinsault, Grenache and Shiraz, is formulated into a moreish pink wine by a dedicated couple with a strong French connection, who continue to work vintages in Provence and Languedoc, Bordeaux and La Bourgogne.

Soul Growers source fruit across the Barossa Valley floor, out to the high country of eastern Eden Valley ranges, from vineyards which are living history. Seppeltsfield and Tanunda, Krondorf and Langmeil Roads, Kalimna and Nuriootpa all make contributions. The work is completely manual, traditional techniques with minimal handling. The sacred cépage of Shiraz, Mourvedre and Grenache, has always been an essential tradition of Barossa winemaking, assembling the fruit of some glorious old vines into a seamless experience of heady perfumes, succulent fruit and gently undulating tannins.