Excellent Langtons Classification. Elderton Command has established an enviable reputation, truly one of Australia's most esteemed flagship wines. Accolades are sent from every corner of the globe with every annual release. Vintage 1992 was selected by Robert Parker as one of the world's top wines. The 1995 Command was awarded 95 points by Wine Spectator and placed in their TOP 1OO, vintage 2000 was awarded 97 points and also made the TOP 1OO. Vintage 1996 claimed Trophy for Best Shiraz in the World at the prestigious London International.

Excellent Langtons Classification. Winner of Australia's most coveted award, the Jimmy Watson Memorial Trophy for vintage 1992, Elderton are one of the nation's great icon winemakers. Elderton's matriarch and principal, Lorraine Ashmead, is the driving force behind one of our nation's most eminent luxury brands and one of the world's great wines. Command Shiraz has established an enviable reputation since the first vintage in 1984, establishing a peerless reputation internationally as a stately new world Shiraz.

Each year a small parcel of E&E Black Pepper Shiraz is set aside for secondary fermentation and maturation on yeast lees. E&E have won much adulation for their Shiraz, claiming conspicuous trophies at the prestigious London International.

Outstanding Langtons Classification. From vines averaging sixty years of age, a monopole that has gone from strength to strength, ever since the qabal of distinguished Barossa growers resolved to establish their own label. Previous vintages have won numerous awards and medals on the wine show circuits in Australia and overseas, reiterating E&E's legendary status with the large number of international devotees. At every stage of vinification there is uncompromising attention to detail.

In 1934 Oscar Semmler purchased a vineyard and grazing property across the road from where he and his brothers grew up, at the southern end of Lyndoch in the Barossa, alongside the St. Jakobi Lutheran church and school. From a mere thirty two rows of vine, planted on five acres in 1975 by Oscar's son Ken Semmler, the site is blessed by a harvest of the most outstanding quality fruit every year. St Jakobi Shiraz makes a wine that's rich in spice, dark cherry and chocolate characters, offering great tannin structure for longevity in the bottle.

Oscar Semmler added to the family farm in the 1930s, planting new rootstock to make port wine. His son returned from a tour of duty with the RAAF in the 1970s and re-established the site to yield fruit for good red table wines, it remains the heart of Dutschke vineyards. The most structured and mouthfilling parcels of Shiraz grown to the superlative St Jakobi Block are set aside each year for Oscar Semmler. Oscar is the reserve label for Dutschke, a flagship Barossa Shiraz representing the best of vintage from within the elite appellation of Lyndoch.

The philosophy at Dutscke has always been to hand pick small parcels of fruit from the elite St Jakobi Block and make a range of superior, single vineyard wines. Until recently. Since shifting their operations to Gods Hill Road, there have been a few changes. GHR Shiraz is a small batch assemblage of parcels from precious vineyards within a tiny but exquisite Shiraz growing appellation, displaying elegance and controlled power, with a profound sense of place.

Nigel Dolan of Saltram and Pepperjack fame established his own estate with a clear vision to produce distinctive, flagship Barossa wines. His forebears Arthur and Thomas Dolan planted the family's original 88 acres of vine in 1895. Nigel's father Bryan worked at Hardy, Saltram and Stonyfell, where he appointed a young Peter Lehmann as his replacement. Bryan is best known for establishing the Pepperjack label and winning the inaugural Jimmy Watson Trophy. Nigel is a Baron of the Barossa, has won the Jimmy Watson twice and Stodart Trophy three times.

Dandelion are proven plantings of worldly vines which have stood the test of time. The Lionheart of Dandelion is a very old Barossa site, named for seminal Barossa grower Carl Lindner. Within this ancient parcel, gnarled vines, many over a hundred years of age, are not only surviving but thriving on their own roots, planted to some of the oldest soils on the planet. The hand picked grapes of this noble garden are crafted into a powerful yet approachable wine, which articulates beautifully, the dignity, generosity and grace of old vines Barossa Shiraz.

Chris Ringland lives to grow harvests of peerless quality fruit and make tiny amounts of the most memorable wine. Ringland has worked at the eminent Rockford in Barossa, as well as for distinguished estates in Spain, Italy and America. Parcels of fruit grown to vines between twenty and sixty years of age are vinified into the entry level Ebenezer Shiraz.

Charles Melton was road tripping across Australia when his broken down EH Holden forced him to grab the first job. It was Krondorf and he wound up working with Peter Lehmann. Melton travelled to France and developed the beginnings of what would become a life long passion for the wines of vallée du Rhône, in particular Shiraz. Darkly scented plum pudding lift, fine sweet oak in support of generous mouthfilling palate, rich but exquisitely balanced, lovely complex length of flavour, all that we love about the affable, big hearted Barossa style.

The Father in Law is a single block of elite vine, originally acquired to keep Mrs Melton's dad busy after retirement. This superior parcel of Shiraz from Syd Weckert's the father in law site, is enhanced by a backbone of choice Melton fruit. Solidly structured, generously proportioned yet highly elegant, its minty, blueberry perfumes, supported by the dark chocolate and merry spice that's so eloquent of all things Barossa. Whole bunches, stemmed but uncrushed fruit, daily pumpovers and seasoned oak barriques for an extended term of twenty months on lees to infuse flavour and richness.

Charles Cimicky wineworks and vineyard run a kilometre along the picturesque Hermann Thumm Drive at Lyndoch, on the very floor of the Valley, surrounded by beautiful Barossa Ranges. Charles Cimicky, the man, is held in great esteem by his peers, for his gentle nature and exceptional quality of his wines. His eponymous is a perennial favourite of bespoke Barossa Shiraz enthusiasts, named after a group of local pioneers who would famously retreat to an old vineyard cottage for the relaxing indulgence of claret and cards.

Charles Cimicky was inspired by his father to take over the reins at the family estate, that's when the good wines started turning into awesome wines. Today, Cimicky is one of the most meticulous winemakers in South Australia. Cimicky makes cult wine with a recognizable wow factor, a tiny production and always very limited in availability. Judged first amongst peers, Charles Cimicky won the Barossa Wine Grape Council Trophy for the best wine from a small producer twice in succession, as well as the Vinpac International Trophy for Best Shiraz.

Single vineyard Syrah, from a sparse harvest of the most amazing grapes, hand picked off the dry grown, Drögemüller family orchard at Springton in the very southeast of Barossa Valley. Bunches are treated to a six tonnes, open top fermenter, for a week of skin contact and daily pumpovers, followed by a year in a selection of well seasoned French oak barrels. An intensely perfumed, Rhône valley style, redolent of peppercorn and spiced black bramble fruit, its ripe, juicy, loganberry, cherry and morello freshness, lingering on a long, licorice wick of, elegant, tensile tannins.

The ancient winegrowing hamlet of Moculta is at the very northern end of Eden Valley, where altitudes are warmest and soils are propitiously mineral rich. It's an elite little precinct with a history which dates back to Lutheran settlement. Every row of plantings here is sacred, local folklore recounts the establishment of illustrious old vineyards and stewardship by the nation's most esteemed vignerons. Chaffey source a superior harvest from the distinguished Fechner Brothers block, a transcendent parcel of Shiraz, ultimately to be treated to in an invaluable selection of new French oak from France’s oldest cooperage.

A small number of mature Shiraz blocks toward the southern parts of Barossa Valley are identified each year as potential candidates for Centenary Hill. Jacobs Creek were at the very establishment of South Australia and retain access to the nation's most distinguished, long lived vineyards. A highly prestigious Barossa effort, cellared at the Orlando wineworks, treated to the most refined oak maturation before an extravagant term of eighteen months bottle age to develop ornate, seamless complexity.

For well over a decade, Rosedale have been nurturing their splendid vineyards across the western ridge of Barossa Valley. Nine Lives exhibits power with finesse, spice fruit character and weight in unison.

Lawrence and Edna Schrapel toiled away in the vineyards along Bethany Road in Tanunda, establishing one of the great marques in Barossa foothills Shiraz. The work remains very hands on, the choicest parcels are set aside for a course of traditional open ferments, malolactic and pressing to a slection of exclusively new French oak barrels for a year's maturation. Its big, vibrant bouquet of fragrant wild berries, oake clove and spice, precede an opulent palate of blueberries, bramble and plum, supported fine grain tannins and juicy fruit acidity.

Every year, there was a single parcel which kept attracting the attention of Bethany winemakers. The fruit of a small property, less than five acres at the foothills of Barossa ranges, planted to vine sixty years of age, grown to classic Barossa red brown earths overlaying limestone. The small yields here deliver small berries with the most extraordinary flavour, whilst the breezes around the foothills ensure a gradual ripening of the finest tannins. Parcels that are worthy of inclusion are treated to a separate vinification and matured in the finest oak hogsheads.

Bethany's Reserves are wines of evolution rather than creation. GR has achieved the prestigious Trust Mark as one of the Barossa's most eminent Shiraz, but it's not every year that one is made. Parcels of the most exquisite grapes are picked from splendid sites and treated to an exacting vinification. With each vintage, harvests are assessed and a decision is made to determine if there is a parcel of GR quality. A formidable, full bodied classic with an enormous palate and undeniable ageing potential, only a few hundred cases are ever bottled.

From vines up to forty years of age grown to the Schrapel Vineyards, with the inclusion of parcels from neighbour's blocks in the Barossa foothills. The cornerstone wine of the Schrapel family reds, in a style which has made Barossa famous for Shiraz the world over. Parcels of perfectly ripened grapes are treated to traditional old world techniques which date back to early settlement, followed by extended maturation in fine oak. Decant for three hours then savour the spiced fruit aromas and plush plum palate alongside roast or steak.

Johannes Hugo Bernard Ben Schild relocated his family, including a young Ed Schild, to Rowland Flat in the Barossa, establishing his vineyard circa 1952 after many years of grain farming in the Mallee. Following Ben's passing in 1956, fifteen year old Ed took over the reins of the family farm to continue the work started by his father. A careful sorting of the best grapes, picked off a single low yielding parcel planted by Ben Schild in the hills overlooking Lyndoch, provides the backbone of fruit for Schild Reserve, a stately Barossa Shiraz in true blockbuster styling.

A wonderful Shiraz of depth and concentration, offering elegance and finesse, crafted by the region's most accomplished winemakers at Marananga's Barossa Valley Estate. Entourage is a tribute to the rich cultural and viticultural traditions of the Barossa. Third and fourth generation growers are devoted to their plantings of Shiraz and nurture the vines to produce the finest fruit Barossa has on offer. A long standing association, commitment and understanding of the soil, really does mean that Entourage expresses the heart and soul of Barossa.

The picturesque village of Ebenezer, at the northern reaches of Barossa Valley, was established circa 1851. The first vineyards were planted with rootstock at time of settlement and have been painstakingly nurtured ever since. Today, Ebenezer is one of Australia's most eminent appellations. Dry grown grapes, stylish oak treatment, pliant tannins and finely woven flavours are pivotal to the personality of Ebenezer. Parcels which only just miss out on the internationally renowned E&E Shiraz are set aside for this very wine, attesting to the quality of fruit within.

The Kalleske family have been Barossa winegrowing since 1853, they retain priceless parcels of ancient vine, picking grapes off the very plantings nurtured by their forebears generations ago. The wizzened old veterans on Zen Master date back to establishment by the Atze family in 1912, they yield a precious harvest of potent black berries, treated to the old world style of open ferments, hand plunging and a course of age in a new French oak puncheon. Brimming with florals, silky smooth, seamless, an exquisite old vine Shiraz of extraordinary opulence, elegance and finesse.

Many of the nation's fine old vineyards were destroyed during a government backed scheme to reduce the capacity of wine production in the 1980s. One fortunate site, established 1951 by the family Atze, was rescued by the Kalleske and endures as a priceless, single block, single batch Barossa Shiraz, only ever released in the best vintage years. Seamless, intense, layered with richness, treated to a luxurious two years repose in completely new French oak, mesmerisingly complex and profoundly perfumed, only seventy cases are bottled from any one vintage.

The fruit of three small blocks Shiraz, planted by the Eddies family in 1912, 1951 and 1975, devotedly nurtured by the Kalleske since salvage from the ruthless vine pull scheme of the 1980s. A fortnight of maceration and completion of ferments in a high proportion of new oak hogsheads is followed by two years languid maturation. Eddie's Block is powerfully perfumed, heady with uber ripe fruits, currants and cassis, its stunning figure of festive plum fruits and dark cherry syrups, is complexed by fragrant seasonings of clove, cinammon and a sprinkling of vanilla anise.

Generations of Barossa viticulture makes the Kalleske well versed in identifying superior parcels of land which are heaven sent for great wine. They acquired just such a site from bachelor Bert Kleinig in the 1970s, it has remained in the family estate portfolio until the Atze team were inspired to bottle the magnificence of fruit as an elite vineyard Shiraz. Treated to the the luxury of eighteen months French oak, the Bachelor evolves in the glass as he breathes, blueberries, black currants and ripe damson plum, sweet spices, cinnamon and just a curl of cocoa cedar oak.

An assemblage of choice parcels from the ancient winegrowing hamlets of Koonunga and Ebenezer, hand picked and destemmed without crushing, delicately fermented, pumped and plunged by hand, gently basket pressed into oak for completion of malolactic and a year of age. The great enigma of Atze's Corner is how every bottling is remarkable for its seamlessness, astonishing balance and divinely perfumed fruit. A sprinkling of spice and vanilla of oak, sweetness of liquorice and juicy tannins, a whisp of liqueured cacao, as the luscious finish lingers on and on and on.