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.

The Adelaide Hills make elegant yet solidly structured Shiraz. A number of individual parcels and rows on the Wicks estate vineyard are separately picked according to ripeness, treated to the rigors of hand plunging and pumpover, followed by a gentle press into a selection of seasoned and new French oak barriques for a term of age before the final, artful assemblage. A beautifully proportioned style of Shiraz, fleshy of red currants and dark indigo plum, juicy and plump yet chiselled and refined, wrapped around a framework of nimble brambleberry tannins and lithely spiced, nutmeg cedar oak.

A stellar achiever around the national wine show circuit, Wicks have claimed significant trophy triumphs for the excellence of their Pinot Noir. After a long family history of orchard farming and viticulture in the Adelaide Hills, priority was given to the establishment of choice clones Pinot Noir along the scenic slopes at Woodside. Treated to the traditional old world regimens of hand plunging and open ferment, its fine, soft tannins in support of sweet rhubarb and lifted cherry, pastoral savouryness and sasafras spice, all the way to a brightly lit, apple cranberry peacock's tail in full bloom.

From a splendid site in the northern alpines of Adelaide Hills, planted to closely husbanded Nero d'Avola vines, on an auspicious block of quartz clay alluvial soils at Kersbrook. Yields are very low, precious parcels of fully ripened grapes, redolent with freshness of fruit character, defined by their discerning regional eloquence. Unico Zelo take a great interest in the viticulture of Italian varietals, essentially dry grown and ecofriendly to native Australian fauna. A profuse, spicy food friendly style, judiciously dry, supported by toothsome licorice tannins.

Unico Zelo take delight from recycling and breathing life into wayward old sites. Exocarpos is crafted from the fruit of a long neglected Nebbiolo vineyard in the scrublands of Gumeracha, one of the first ever planted to Adelaide Hills. A dozen different clones have been treated to a traditionalist old world style of vinification, extended macerations and eighteen months in a selection of well seasoned larger format oak fudres. Defined by its fleshyness and black cherry olive savouryness, supported by supple yet structured, long elegant tannins.

A matrimony between two illustrious winemaking families, Croser and Bizot, a pact between people of passion who know their Pinot Noir and take an artisanal, no expense spared approach. The east facing slope of Heysen Vineyard in Piccadilly Valley, populated with the meticulously husbanded Pommard clone, is closely cropped and rigorously thinned to optimize excellence of the harvest while reducing yields. Parcels of hand picked fruit are pressed into traditional one tonnes open top fermenters, followed by a course of age in an extravagantly high proportion of new French oak barrels.

From superb vineyard sites in the slightly warmer sub regions of Adelaide Hills, specifically Hahndorf and Kuitpo. Each vintage, Starvedog Lane strive to produce intensely flavoured and finely structured wines that profile the best of the Adelaide Hills cool climate, it's great aspects and free draining soils.

Back to back Max Schubert Trophies Winner, Gold & Trophy Royal Melbourne for Best Other Varieties Red. It seems the 2006 Shiraz Viognier can't go anywhere these days without bringing a trophy home! Starvedog Lane knows from good grapes, it's the combination of styles that gives Starvedog Lane it's characteristics, offering plenty of the kind of flavours that make a really good wine. A hero of the Adelaide Hills, proving yet again what a great champion the Starvedog Lane wines are in the area of innovative wine styles.

A very complex blend, skillfully handled through a combination of old and new world winemaking techniques to ensure that the distinct aromas and flavours of the individual varietals were preserved. Following a meticulous selection of fruit from unique sites, the winemakers at Starvedog Lane were inspired to release a wine that defines the hallmarks of emerging varieties in Australia. With access to premium Tempranillo, Nebbiolo, Barbera and Sangiovese fruit from good vineyards in McLaren Vale, the 2005 Starvedog Lane Ibrido was created.

Shiraz grapes in the Adelaide Hills ripen slowly and evenly resulting in spicey, intense expressions in the fruit. Shaw + Smith is a star performer, sourced from the carefully managed warmer sub-area of Macclesfield which provides structure and richness. The cooler climes of Balhannah yield a truly exciting new wave Shiraz with loads of clean pepper, spiceyness, concentration and palate weight to match. A brilliantly structured wine with great concentration of fruit flavours, a modern Australian expression with less reliance on oak, vibrant and bright.

Pinot Noir is the most temperamental of wine grape varieties and remains the ultimate challenge for many makers. Shaw + Smith have accepted the challenge, albeit in a highly exacting, small batch way. Site selection, the right clonal mix, miniscule yields and fastidious vineyard management are essential to success. A single vineyard wine from vines planted at a density of 2780 per hectare, to a select mixture of Burgundy's highly regarded 777 clone, as well as MV6, the backbone to many of Australia's finest editions of Pinot Noir.

Shaw & Smith make nothing but the best, exemplars exhibiting the finest balance and most exquisite elegance, always offering greater palate weight, character and charm. A low yielding vineyard at Balhannah is at the heart of Shaw & Smith, yielding the most exceptional harvest, year in and year out. Inimitably Adelaide Hills, enhanced by the rich flavours and luxuriant tannins of pampered vines. An intensely currant flavoured rendition of Shiraz, supported by pliant, licorice tannins and seasoned by curls of fragrant tradewind spice.

John Marshall forged his mother’s signature to enlist in the RAAF, he flew Tiger Moths and gained notoriety for his acumen at loop de loops. He is best remembered in vintages of Adelaide Hills Montipulciano, left to the influence of wild yeasts and a course of cold soak, hand plunged until sugar dry on the sixth day of ferment. Batches are pressed off skins to oak barrel for completion of malolactic and a judicious term of age. Unfiltered to bottle, evocative of black cherries, mulberry and redolence of cassis, bursting with the savouryness of sage leaf, olives and delish vinosity.

By the winner of the 2014 Jimmy Watson Trophy! During his time as chief red wine maker at Hardy's, Stephen Pannell became intmate with many of the greater Adelaide region's most splendid sites. A predominantly Syrah wine with a de rigueur inclusion of good Viognier, all picked off a superior low yielding Adelaide Hills vineyard. An outstanding and engaging new world articulation of the timeless Rhone Valley style, elegant and refined, an underlying sense of power and depth of flavour, a delight to share alongside appropriately five star cuisine.

En garde! The illustrious Tim Knappstein has returned with the cut and thrust of Adelaide Hills Pinot Noir. Knappstein hails from a long lineage of great winemakers, he was the first to plant vines at Lenswood in 1981. He still lives amongst the undulating aspects of Adelaide Hills and works with the most dedicated growers. Knappstein has accumulated the experience and skill to put all his efforts to bear on any style of his choosing. Pinot Noir is sourced from some of the eldest and most distinguished sites in the premiere precincts of Lenswood and Piccadilly.

From Pinot Noir picked off choice vines at Charleston and Gumeracha on the Adelaide Hills. Riposte means a quick comeback, reply or retort, in the sport of fencing it is the term for a swift counter stroke. After more than a decade of confusion about the Tim Knappstein name and eponymous wineworks, Riposte was chosen as the appropriate moniker for Knappstein's comeback label. Pinot Noir clones are treated to a minimalist, hands on vinification in the traditional old world way. The Dagger has been finished to a vibrant and rich, earlier drinking style of Adelaide Hills Pinot Noir.

One of the highest Shiraz vineyards near Lobethal in Adelaide Hills, planted to a gentle north facing slope for maximum sunlight exposure. Grapes are treated to a slightly artisanal winemaking, parts of the harvest are separately vinified as a mixture of whole bunches, crushed berries and whole fruit, moved to a selection of French oak barriques for a timely course of age before assembling into the final cuvée. An attractive carbonic lift and soft, textural palate, laden with red berry flavours and juicy dark plum fruits, redolent with the whole bunch derived perfumes and lithe tannin spice.

Rewind the tape twenty years and Rawley Power's voice was being pounded into the ear drums of punk music fans throughout the land. Rawley's strained voice as front man for punk band Anti-Power was also known to true blue fans as the Raw Power Show, as Rawley's voice took hold over the garage crowds whipping them into the original mosh. Twenty plus years on, a different life in full swing as advocate of red flowing liquid. A different life with the same my way approach. Punk singer, punk winemaker, Rawley Power, the creator of this fine drop.

The Peter Lehmann team treat every wine as a piece of art, composed with the assistance of a palette of fruit from more than 140 growers across the length and breadth of Barossa Valley. Many of the independent growers identify Peter Lehmann as mentor of the Barossa and will submit nothing but their finest fruit. Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon are synonymous with the great national icon wines of Peter Lehmann, as he has continued to make a distinguished contribution for decades to the evolution of the Barossa Shiraz Cabernet style

There really was a Thomas Hyland, he was Dr. Christopher Rawson Penfold's son in law. Hyland oversaw the development of what was to become within his lifetime, Australia's first name in wine. Penfold Thomas Hyland honours his passion for wine and entrepreneurial flair. A recent addition to the portfolio, Thomas Hyland is an Adelaide Hills Shiraz with further contribution from good vineyards further afield. A fruit driven, entry level to the Penfold range, accessible and contemporarily styled, underpinned by a touch of new oak to add complexity.

Magill Estate Shiraz is a very important Penfolds single vineyard wine. It is of great symbolic importance, from fruit grown to the remaining original vineyard (5.2 ha) and crafted at the original Penfolds winery at Magill, established 1844 in Adelaide's eastern suburbs. First produced in 1983, Penfolds Magill Estate Shiraz is an elegant, medium-weight style with velvety texture and fine tannins, matured in both French and American oak. It is a sleek, contemporary wine, yet crafted in the old fashioned way in the 120+ year old winery.

Magill Shiraz is a very important Penfolds single vineyard wine of great symbolic importance, the only current edition from the remaining original vineyard at the historic Estate. An elegant, medium-weight style with velvety texture and fine tannins, matured in both new French and American oak, it is a sleek, contemporary Shiraz, yet crafted in the old-fashioned way at the ancient wineworks. Hand-picked, vinified in open fermenters and then basket pressed, Penfolds Magill is an exclusive Adelaide Hills Shiraz from a grand and historical monopole.

The Magill Estate style has evolved over the years. While the early vintages were quite lean and tight, the recent releases have shown much greater fruit definition and palate vitality. The winemakers paid particular attention to flavour development and tannin ripeness for this Magill, and this release triumphs in a show of supple structures and more fruit richness. The aim of Penfolds Senior Winemaker Peter Gago in crafting Magill is to create a wine which expressess the character of the vineyard, and is more elegant in style than most Penfolds reds.

From fruit grown to some of Penfold's most painstakingly husbanded vines, aged in French oak at Cellar 23, under the original Penfold wineworks at Magill, Bin 23 is a bold style displaying clear regionality while showcasing the complexity of many and varied clones Pinot Noir. Rich and silky but not for the faint of heart, a clever balancing act without any attempt to create a Burgundian imposter, Bin 23 is proudly Penfold and unashamedly Adelaide Hills, through and through.

A parcel of the most pristine Adelaide Hills Cabernet Sauvignon tips the scales of this ambitious but remarkably integrated cépage, a generous inclusion of Cabernet Franc contributes savouryness and luscious berry fruit, Merlot, Malbec and Shiraz add complexity and flesh to achieve a well rounded, profoundly enjoyable red wine. Reuben represents a germane accord to a diversity of cuisines, the evocative mix of grapes serve to ingratiate each other as they coalesce into an engaging fusion of exuberance and style.

Bird in Hand is a vibrant and dynamic winery, full of life and passion. Andrew Nugent has assembled the best team and painstakingly selected the perfect terroir. It's the attention to detail and uncompromising passion for quality which have placed Bird in Hand in the very top tier of Australia's finest Shiraz. Nest Egg is an Adelaide Hills flagship, the very best Bird in Hand has to offer, only ever made in the most outstanding vintages. Aged in the finest French oak, Nest Egg evolves elegant, intense primary fruit characters, growing ever more complex and savoury over time.

Adelaide Hills make world class Merlot, genteel, velvety wines, solidly structured, brimming with intense lozenge flavours and resonant with exemplary varietal character. Bird in the Hand are without compromise, the most exacting standards of winemaking. An excruciatingly limited edition, only a few hundred cases are ever made, quality of harvest permitting, from the most superlative parcels of vintage. Vinified and pressed into the finest French oak for eighteen months, its fleshy plum and mulberry palate is draped in a delicate muslin of fine, silky tannins.

Andrew Nugent grew up next door to the ancient Penfold wineworks at Magill. He established a profound reputation as viticulturalist amongst the grand old estates of McLaren Vale, before returning to sow his very own vineyards in Adelaide Hills. Treated to eighteen months in a selection of the finest French oak, Nest Egg's bramble, anise and cherry largess are supported by a caisson of opulent ebony tannins. Only ever made of the finest vintages, growing season 2013 yielded a mere 800 dozen individually numbered bottles of Nest Egg Cabernet Sauvignon.

Zinfandel is the variety America has adopted as its own, the exact origin of the clone is uncertain, though the most likely source is Italy or Croatia. A notoriously thin skinned variety, Zinfandel is mainly planted in warm, dry regions. This begs the question as to why Nepenthe are making Zinfandel in the cool heights of the Adelaide Hills? the simple answer is it works! Nepenthe has been producing Zinfandel since 1997 and are delighted if somewhat amazed at the rich, spicy and exotic styles possible in the cool climes of the Adelaide Hills.

The predominant variety in the blend has always been Cabernet sauvignon; fragrant, bright in colour and aroma, yet tannic and savoury. The Fugue benefits from the spice and zest of Cabernet franc, and the sweet earthiness of Merlot. Malbec adds inky purple colour, spicy, sappy fruit and hugely concentrated tannins. The Fugue will gather momentum as it ages, but is already quite complex.

An unconventional cepage of Cabernet Sauvignon and Tempranillo that works remarkably well as each grape contributes unique characteristics. The result is a fruit driven wine which is approachable and fragrant, yet is well structured with savoury complexity. In making the Tryst, Nepenthe are seeking to construct a wine that complements and enhances a wide range of foods, an easy going, completely versatile dinner companion.