Stonehorse is an assemblage of several different sites, some planted as far back as 1961, all are closely managed to yield harvests of the most characterful Barossa Shiraz. Choice parcels are vinified to a style which emphasizes the old world, bucolic virtue of the grapes, as enhanced and complimented by an extended term of barrel age. The oak is designed to support and add structure without compromising early approachability of the wine, a forward drinking Kaesler, to be enjoyed in its youth.

The Kaesler family arrived in South Australia as Silesian pioneers, migrating to Barossa Valley in the 1840s. Some of the original gnarled, dry grown Shiraz vines still remain and provide the backbone for the intense wines produced from the sandy loam soils of the estate's prime viticultural block. Old Vine Shiraz is an assembly of four parcels of old Shiraz vines grown to Kaesler vineyards. A Shiraz that will never be overtly fruity, it is best suited to those who prefer a solid, chewy wine with a savoury style and good solid structure.

A single vineyard Shiraz from fruit grown to the estate's 1893 block, hand pruned and hand picked, yielding less than two tonne per acre. When Kaesler first purchased the property, it was in a derelict state and certain to die if measures to revive the site were not expedited. Many years of over cropping and neglect had taken its toll. A previous regime of irrigation with increasingly salty bore water was slowly poisoning the soil. A thousand kilos of Old Bastard's fruit gives about 680 litres of wine or about 900 bottles, single vineyard expression at its most extreme.

Sourced from old vineyards in Krondorf, Light Pass and Ebenezer, a component of Eden Valley Shiraz has been included to maintain the elegance and purity of style. John Duval's objective with Entity is to construct a wine that's completely true to the grand old vineyards of the Barossa. Subtle French oak was chosen to compliment the ripe dark fruits. Traditional, low intervention winemaking techniques are employed, allowing the wine to be approachable in its youth, but with ample structure and depth of fruit to insure profound potential for development.

A very good friend challenged Dean Hewitson to construct the traditional, full bodied Barossa Shiraz, to be drunk young at lunch or at dinner, without straying from the fundamental Hewitson philosophies of French oak, fine grained tannins, perfect balance and profound expression of fruit. The Hewitson loves a challenge and rose to the moment with a delicious, forward drinking old vines Barossa Shiraz, dressed in the finest French oak. Most definitely full bodied, yet has great balance and poise with it's signature drinkability factor.

The family Hentschke have been Barossa farming since 1842, they know from good soils and settle on nothing but the finest land. Keith Hentschke chose a special site along Greenock Creek, at the intersection of Gerald Roberts and Jenke Roads, in the ancient winegrowing hamlet of Seppeltsfield to plant vines in the early 1990s. They now yield vintages of the most amazing concentration, saturated with the essence of grand Barossa Shiraz, a remarkable intensity of chewy bramble berry flavours, heady jube perfumes and soft, savoury chamois tannins.

A limited release Old Vine Shiraz, from fruit of peerless quality, picked off precious family managed sites around the ancient hamlets of Ebenezer and Tappa Pass. Barossa Valley is unique in the world of wine for its heritage of devoted growers, descended from the earliest Lutheran settlers. They are often blessed by a harvest of the most extraordinary fruit. Henschke are well positioned to take advantage and retain the best of the best, treating the finest Barossa Shiraz to a regimen of timeless and traditional, old world vinification techniques.

An essential part of the process at Heirloom is a close and uncompromising husbandry of some wonderful old vines. Respect for nature's fruits is unequivocal, each bunch of grapes is carefully sorted for excellence and health. Before the wines are made, the harvest stands on its own merit as a bounty of the most exceptional fruit. Open fermented and judiciously aged in the choice of French barriques, its profound nose of sen sen, blackbean and soy, precedes a melty chocolate palate of velvet textures and fleshy ripe plum, seasoned by twists of the pepper mill and curls of cinnamon nutmeg oak.

A single vineyard Shiraz, vinified from hand picked fruit grown to a unique property in Valley Eden, meticulously crafted by a family managed winemaking operation at Moculta. The Hartz Barn wineworks have served the local community as a supermarket since 1885, pointedly known locally as the Henschke General Store. Originally settled by Lutherans, Moculta is the site of two ancient churches, Gruenberg and Gnadenberg. The Hartz Barn vineyard is fortuitously positioned not far from Henschke's legendary Mount Edelstone and Hill of Grace.

The pick of Hanenhof Vineyard Shiraz, a superior site of closely coddled vines at Tanunda on Siegersdorf Road, cropped to a scant 3½ tonnes per acre and ripened to 15° baume before harvest. Prestige is inoculated with choice strains of yeasts to enhance the eloquence of fruit and maximize depth of palate, plunged and pumped over thrice daily, as the fermenting wine is allowed to rest on skins for a week. Batches are racked into a selection of the finest French oak barriques for a course of malolactic and an extravagant two years maturation.

Originally planted during early settlement, the sandy loam soils of Haan Vineyard yield an outstanding quality of Shiraz. Fortuitously positioned along the hallowed mile of Siegersdorf Road, mid way between the ancient winegrowing hamlets of Angaston and Tanunda, the heirloom parcels once known as Hanenhof, have claimed significant trophies at the prestigious London International. A graceful style of opaque fruit characters, savoury and brooding, inebriating for its redolence of Barossa earth, mesmerising for its intricacy, dressed in a veil of refined, satin tannins.

Marschall Groom is the culmination of many years accumulated experience in the construct of Australia's most memorable vintages. The dream became reality following acquistion of a barren property in the Kalimna appellation of Barossa, directly adjacent Penfolds Kalimna Vineyard, home of the mighty Grange. Showing less oak than is typical of Australian Shiraz, Groom succeeds in being rich without any overt jammy or tannic qualities. Nose and palate exhibit good spice, anise and berry flavours, a firm, fleshy structure and fine textures.

A boutique, hands on operation on Roennfeldt Road, amidst the rolling hills of Seppeltsfield between the hamlets of Greenock and Marananga at the western end of Barossa. The vineyard is small and its meagre yields are further limited by a fastidious pruning throughout the growing season, followed by a meticulous sorting of grapes at vintage. Alice is fashioned to the traditional, old world style of Barossa Shiraz, laden with brooding black bramble fruit and soily, bucolic charm, seasoned by an evolving complexity of piquant Rhone spice.

Miamba Vineyard boasts a long viticultural history, but when Grant Burge acquired it in 1983 it was completely bare. A deliberate replanting and sustainable land management has returned the block to its former glory. The fruit here shows exceptional varietal character, great concentration and intense flavours. The oak treatment has evolved over the years, fermentation and ageing are completed in a greater proportion of quality oak, contributing to Miamba's refined style and impressive structure. Enjoy with dinner alongside beef and red wine jus.

An estate flagship wine and a blockbuster Shiraz, bunches of parched, dry grown grapes are hand picked from the elite Filsell Vineyard, smaller parcels are also sourced from even older Barossa vines, which introduces an amazing depth of character and complexity. This stunning wine is Barossa Shiraz at its best, concentrated, big and bold.

Meshach William Burge 1843-1942, was Grant's great grandfather, a central figure in establishing the Burge vineyards and estate. He was eleven years of age when his family moved from Wiltshire to the Barossa, where he toiled to develop what has grown into a thriving viticultural, wheat and sheep property near Lyndoch. Grant has selected his finest Shiraz to bear the Meshach name. Since inaugural vintage in 1988, Meshach has won several of the nation's most significant trophies and medals, generally regarded as one of Australia's first growths.

With a booty of twenty gold medals to date, Grant Burge's Filsell vineyard, bearing century old vines, is considered one of the finest in Barossa Valley, consistently yielding fruit of great intensity and concentration.

Planted in the early 1920s, the distinguished Filsell Vineyard is the source of fruit for Grant Burge's flagship, the highly exalted Meshach. Filsell Shiraz is affectionately known to loyal followers as the flagship Meshach Shiraz younger brother.

Grant Burge has acquired a profound and intuitive understanding of the environment, he harbours the greatest respect for nature, he is a Baron of the Barossa and personally oversees all aspects of production, from the early season maintenance of the land right through to vintage and bottling. One of the great, distinguished sites of Barossa Valley, Burge's eminent Filsell Vineyard produces the most compelling wines. A regal Barossa Shiraz of understated elegance, effortless grace and just a little touch of magic.

A wine of pure Barossa fruit by a master who loves Shiraz and is devoted to the valley he calls home. Grant Burge has been awarded every major trophy and medal in Australia, including the Montgomery, Stodart, Brisbane Club and Jimmy Watson. His vines are spoiled with attention, pruned, cropped and encouraged to achieve maximum development of varietal characters in the berries, the magic grail of good flavour, judicious acids and ripe tannins. The holy trinity of Grant Burge, Barossa and Shiraz.

In 2000, a group of enthusiasts who shared a passion for making and imbibing in wine were inspired to breathe life into an old, run down operation in the small western district of Gomersal. The forty two acres of low yielding vines now deliver a limited yield of Shiraz each vintage, a precious harvest of grapes exhibiting remarkable concentration and intensity of flavour. Working amongst the vines and sampling berries as the growing season reaches climax, picking never commences until the team are completely satisfied that complete ripeness has been achieved.

Prior to launching Glen Eldon, Richard Sheedy consolidated on his experience as winemaker by taking charge at two world class purveyors of Barossa Shiraz, the equally eminent houses of Elderton and St Hallett. Sheedy knows from Barossa Shiraz, his estate vineyard at Tanunda on the Valley floor was selected for its mesoclime and distinctive flavours imparted to the wine. An alchemy of soil and rainfall, row facing and pruning, combined with attention to detail in vineyard management yields small yet concentrated bunches of vibrant Shiraz grapes.

Only ever made in the finest vintage years, the backbone of this substantive Shiraz is exceptional old vine fruit from a qabal of famed, gnarled and dry grown Barossa vineyards at Ebenezer. Bishop is assembled from components which are up front and generous, showing animated, youthful characters, as opposed to the more restrained and structured components of the sibling Glaetzers. These old veterans are young at heart, a coterie of old, very old and ancient blocks, up to a hundred and thirty years of age, are called upon to make a contribution towards the Bishop.

Glaetzer Shiraz is the flagship wine, rich with intensity and the Glaetzer hallmarks of complexity and elegance.

From a canon of distinguished, ancient vine blocks of Shiraz in the Barossa hamlet of Ebenezer. The eye of Horus is represented as a figure of six parts, corresponding to the six senses, touch and taste, hearing and thought, sight and smell. Ben Glaetzer takes aim at balancing the extraction of all the elements into this flagship Barossa Shiraz, rather than endeavouring to maximize them. The fruit holds such powerful expression that focus must be brought to bear on preserving the characteristics of outstanding old vines Shiraz.

Over many years, Rob Gibson (ex Penfolds and Peter Lehmann as chief viticulturalist) has crafted meagre amounts of the most stately wines from his tiny operation in the Barossa Hills. Vintage 2002 claimed silver at the VISY Great Aussie Shiraz Challenge and vintage 2003 came within a hair's breadth of the Jimmy Watson. Gibson knows the Barossa and all its best growers, varietal selection is expertly matched to site and minimalist winemaking is complemented by assembling the choicest components into the most exquisite balance.

Yalumba have been making the Galway range of wines since the 1940s, named in honour of Colonel Sir Henry L. Galway, governor of South Australia from 1914 to 1920. He was a keen wine man with a good palate and was a regular visitor to the Yalumba wineworks at Angaston. Success with the early editions of Galway were the foundation upon which Yalumba built it's peerless reputation for fine Barossa reds. Galway is still made to the enduring traditional style with rich colour, distinctive spicy fruit and perfectly integrated oak, balanced and elegant.

Only those parcels of Shiraz meeting the highest standards of old vine Barossa, can be considered for inclusion into Fernando. Assembled from the pick of eighty year old plantings, Fernando represents the flagship from the noble house of Taylor Ferguson, established 1898. Immediately intense with impenetrable black hues, Fernando's rich bouquet of blood plums, violet and tradewind spice, are followed by a multi layered palate which continues to unravel veils of complexity, seamlessly integrated, between fawning tannins, winegum fruit and fragrant flattering oak.

With each harvest, the Taylor Ferguson team seek to isolate parcels of the finest fruit from which to craft their flagship Shiraz. The selection process is diligent and very strict. Parcels of fruit which are candidates for inclusion must display the requisite qualities of vibrant flavour profile, profound varietal expression and praiseworthy tannins. Fernando The First is vinified from a collation grown to choice vineyards, eighty years of age, a remarkable expression of Barossa Shiraz, its rich chocolatey palate and sound structure are tightly wound around a carriage of polished oak.

Elderton has a tradition of releasing a Sparkling Shiraz every decade or so. The first such wine was a sparkling burgundy from the pressings of Pinot Noir in 1988. This was a quirky wine, originally made for the exclusive enjoyment of the Ashmead family at special occasions. It is time to celebrate with bubbles again, the 30th anniversary of acquiring property from the descendants of Samuel Elderton Tolley in 1979. Elderton have isolated Shiraz from select blocks on the Nuriootpa floor vineyard that would show deep blackberry fruit characters.

Neil and Lorraine Ashmead were Barossa road warriors, travelling between tastings and competitions in a car loaded with Elderton, on a never ending journey to promote the virtues of good Barossa wine. A compilation of elite estate parcels up to eighty years of age, picked off superior sites at Nuriootpa and Greenock, treated to old fashioned open ferments and fifteen months of age on gross lees in the luxury of new 300 litres French oak puncheons. Shiraz of exuberace, evolving in the glass as it breathes, articulating meaty savouryness juicy black jube fruits.

From an invaluable parcel of vine at Greenock, planted by the Helbig family in 1915. Hand picked grapes are gently crushed into two large 1500 litres barrels, sealed for six weeks of maceration and fermentation on skins, followed by a press to a luxurious selection of finely coopered French oak for two years maturation. A stunning wine in true, old vine Barossa blockbuster styling, densely figured with black and blueberries, cinnamon and clove spice, its voluptuous, opulent palate unravelling layers of complexity and splendour as it lingers on a finish of immeasurable length.

Elderton practice a standard of viticulture that's second to none, they treat their fruit to a level of skill and quality of new oak that's emulated by the estate's peers, their most memorable vintages are renowned throughout the world of wine. Elderton collate parcels of Shiraz off a dozen blocks, the oldest dating back to 1949, to be crafted through a combination of new and old world techniques, into an approachable entry level edition, which shares a provenance with some of the great icon Shiraz wines of the world.

From blocks of old, estate grown Shiraz vines planted to the banks of North Para River at Nuriootpa. Elderton was transformed from a vineyard supplying quality fruit to other wineries into an internationally renowned estate, having won much acclaim for Shiraz. There are twelve blocks of Shiraz at Elderton, some as old as a hundred years, planted to deep alluvial soils over limestone. Combined with a Mediterranean climate and minimal supplemented irrigation, this creates what savant Robert Parker describes as the perfect Shiraz vineyard.

Langtons Excellent Classification. From ancient vines planted in the 1890s, Elderton Command has established an enviable reputation since inaugural vintage, one of Australia's most eminent icon wines. Accolades have come from the world over, the 1992 was rated by Robert Parker as one of the world's top eighty wines. Vintage 1996 claimed Trophy for best Shiraz in the world at the prestigious London International Wine and Spirit Competition.