Central Otago is renowned for its stunning scenery of rugged mountains and picturesque lakes. Rockburn is bounded on the west by mountains whose seaward slopes are covered by rain forest, to the east is a barren, moon Iike landscape that receives less than 25mm of rain a year. Situated between these extremes, Rockburn's vines yield a stunning wine, one has only to taste a Gibbston Valley Pinot Noir to be completely won over by its elegantly perfumed nose, lifted violet fragrances and earthy, forest floor sensations on the rich, generous palate.

Some of the gnarled and twisted old vines which yield the grapes for Rockbare date back to the first days of Barossa settlement in the 1840s, when pioneers replanted their precious cuttings from Europe. Grenache is hand harvested, hand sorted and vinified to dryness over the course of a fortnight, basket pressed into seasoned French oak barriques for malolactic on lees. Vibrant, punchy and driven by red berry notes, fashioned to display fresh lively fruit character, textural complexity and a savoury finish on a fine length of malleable walnut tannins.

The Rockbare team love their viticulture, they work tirelessy in the vineyard to realize the most splendid harvests, the definition of McLaren Vale Cabernet, prize parcels of fruit exhibiting deep, rakish colour and lined with polished showroom tannins, profound varietal character and alluring regional charm. A course of extended macerations, long slow ferments and judicious measure of refined French oak, has achieved a compelling Cabernet Sauvignon that's seamless and superb, artfully fashioned for accompaniement alongside the finest fare.

From a splendid, hand chosen site in McLaren Flat, its deep, fertile soils encouraging the large, pungent Tempranillo berries to ripen with an abundance of flavour. Samplings of fruit off the vines become ever more frequent as harvest approaches, such is the pleasure of tasting the grapes, a swarm of local bees are equally excited by the juicy sweetness. Winemaking inputs are kept to a minimum, purposefully matured in a selection of larger format, seasoned French oak, taming the tannins while allowing the quality of fruit to shine.

RockBare are raiders of precious but wayward vineyards, planted to outdated standards of viticulture, sadly unviable for large scale winemaking. These are however, precisely the nature of site that Rockbare retain. An assemblage of old and very old vines Shiraz, the ferments display exceptional properties as soon as they are crushed, exhibiting amazing tannin structure and remarkable eloquence. By any measure, a splendid McLaren Vale Shiraz, it is not often that parcels of such high quality are collated and vinified into such an opulent yet accessible wine.

Tim Burvill became aware of precious old vineyards dotted around Barossa Valley while working for some of Australia's most prominent wineries. It is from these wonderfully diverse old sites that Burvill selects the ripest and most concentrated parcels to make Mojo. Burvill's wines are in keeping with his own personal power packed fruit driven style. The moderately continental Barossa climate provides ideal conditions for the production of full bodied reds. It is these unique growing conditions and the natural sunlight which Burvill captures in Mojo Shiraz.

RockBare was born out of a passion to make great wines out of the nation's most invaluable parcels of vine. The people of Rockbare work to a belief that wine should tell a story about the terroir whence it originates, that the vines deserve lots of love and care, that the winemaking process should be the subject of minimal handling to allow the vineyard to do what it does best. Perfumed of melty rich dark chocolate, the ripest blackberries and blue plum flavours will have you reaching for another glass before the first is even half gone, made for food, suitably attired alongside a smartly dressed lamb.

Rockbare are heart, body and soul McLaren Vale. Fruit growers have been experiencing trying times of late. This has freed up some very old and precious Shiraz vineyards, which Rockbare have gleefully accepted into the fold. Tim Burvill is very gifted as a winemaker and also as a raider of isolate parcels of mature vines. He retains access to some of the Vale's best Shiraz. In the vintages since inaugural release, a number of 50+ year old vineyards have come to light, which have been assembled into an immensely satisfying experience.

A tremendous red emanating heat from it's weight of alcohol, the very first vintage of a mostly Grenache wine by RockBare, sourced from an eighty year old bush vine, dry grown vineyard. You can't pass a duck with this wine, or a piquant chorizo sausage & homemade pasta dish.

Rockbare work to a belief that wine should tell a story about the terroir whence it originates, that the vines deserve lots of love and care, that the winemaking process should be the subject of minimal handling to allow growers to do what they do best. Hand selected parcels of Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon are cold soaked for a fortnight of spontaneous ferment on skins, an extended gentle press into a choice selection of seasoned and new, European and French oak casks, followed by malolactic and a year's maturation. Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon of elegance and controlled power.

Tim Burvill worked at Wynns and Penfolds, where he refined his style alongside some of the best winemakers in the country. Establishing his own label, he embarked upon a secret project to acquire parcels of wayward Barossa Shiraz. With a backbone of fruit grown to some of the oldest sites in Australia, much of Barossa Babe comes off vines up to 140 years of age. The intense power and complexity of the primary fruit flavours are complimented by sweet oak and gripping solid tannins, culminating in a wine of extraordinary complexity and length.

Each and every vintage presents Robin Brockett with a new challenge, no two growing seasons are the same, a truly great vineyard will take the vagaries of vintage and achieve a harvest that's truly unique. Brockett takes the fruit that's most articulate of terroir and clime, there's never very much of such high standards, enough for just a hundred cases of Bellarine's best. The fruit of Swinburn Vineyard is defined by its dark red fruit pectins, thick skinned cherries and dewy bramble, a curl of cedar oak and twist of the spice mill, a seamless ruby tannin finish.

The finest Shiraz off Bellarine Peninsula bear an uncanny resemblance to the elegant old classics of Cotes du Rhône. It's the blowy chills of Port Philip Bay, so akin to the sobering Mistrals along Valley Rhone, which stimulate the vines and assuage the fruit to ripen slowly, intensifying flavours and cultivating the tannins. A sophisticated Shiraz style, redolent of ripe dark plums, pepperyness and black cherry behind a gentle veneer of costly cedar oak. Welcome old world Syrah in a very Aussie way, firm fine tannins and long lingering flavours on the lasting, savoury finish.

It was the wave of Swiss pioneers in the 1860s who discovered that the balmy coastal climes and rich loamy terroirs of Bellarine make magnificent wine. The region is now best known for its excellence in viticulture, Robin Brockett takes his pick from the most superior vineyards. Fenwick makes mighty Pinot Noir, a rich and complex style of sweet red rhubarb, strawberries and parched forest fruits, pursing whole bunch notes and savoury stalk, its juicy red berryness over soft well defined tannins, pastoral freshness, sasafras spice and timely oak.

Robin Brockett has been chief winemaker at Scotchmans Hill since the 1980s, he knows Bellarine's best growers and is completely conversant with every microclime around the greater Geelong. Amphora is the Tete de Cuvee, the top cut of Shiraz from the most superior vineyards, a cull so strict, that only a hundred cases are made. Its dulcetly sweet perfumes of peppery plum are unlocked by a measure of the fragrant Viognier, underpinned by silky chocoate tannins, lingering on a velvet length of raspberries, rose petal and turkish delight.

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.

Outstanding quality fruit makes exceptional wine, it remains essential however for the process to work with nature and to allow the wine to evolve at its own pace. Pinot Noir is the most articulate of all, it speaks unabashedly about its provenance and place. Lusatia Park makes an intensely fragrant Pinot Noir, all the winemaker need do is let the fruit repose until ready, unworked and unhurried, moved slowly by gravity. A beguiling wine of humbling candor, velvet textured, radiant, fragrant of bouquet garni, fruits of the forest and fresh planed curls of stalky cedar spice.

The Abbey Vineyard at Tarrawarra, on the corner of Old Healesville Rd and Houghtons Lane, is a specialized, low yielding site which delivers a harvest of the most exquisite Pinot Noir. The choice clone MV6 was planted here in 1993 to highly mineral Humevale silt stones, which contribute to the generosity and balance within the fruit, ultimately the character of the final wine. A stately Yarra Valley Pinot noir of elegance, poise and finesse, endowed with sophisticated perfumes, power and control.

Western Australia's rugged southwest coastline is littered with shipwrecks, the Ringbolt is one of them, sunk in the late 1800s at Ringbolt Bay. Just off Margaret River and adjacent to Cape Leeuwin, within view of the Ringbolt shipwreck, vines planted to sandy, laterite gravel soils within the premier viticultural precinct of Wilyabrup, struggle to grow limited yields of intensely flavoured grapes. Balmy maritime winds and a long slow ripening achieve harvests of fragrantly perfumed berries, for the most splendid vintages of Margaret River Cabernet Sauvignon.

A special wine from special places, mature vines yielding harvests of fruit endowed with complexity and great depth of flavour are the key criteria for inclusion into this limited release Barossa Shiraz. Richmond Grove adhere to a straight forward philosophy of sourcing rich, powerful wines from exceptional vineyards and maturing them under the highest quality oak. A splendid Shiraz of unmistakable regional character and charm, lined with swiss cocolate tannins and brimming with a halo of bright Barossa fruit, a wine of complexity, structure and grace.

The focus of Richard Hamilton is to construct a wine of good fruit, tight structure and lovely palate roundness. Much of the Shiraz is selected from vines up to forty years of age, planted to sandy clay loam and black clay loam soils on the Leconfield farm. Grapes are treated to a detailed hand clean up and pressed for ferments to dryness, returned to oak for up to eighteen months in a combination of new and seasoned French and American oak barrels.

Leconfield proprietor Dr Richard Hamilton's outstanding estate vineyard in McLaren Vale has delivered a salubrious bounty once again. Richard is the fifth generation of Hamiltons to make wine. For over three decades, the good doctor has directed his passion and skill to extracting the most precious yields from his family vineyards, the oldest of which date back to 1892. Richard Hamilton is crafted to represent a profound definition of varietal fruit, while exhibiting great palate length, as it represents a salient expression of McLaren Vale Shiraz.

Richard Hamilton maintains the most outstanding estate vineyards, some are of great age, all are fully mature. The vines at Hut Block on McMurtrie Road are amongst the eldest in McLaren Vale. Cabernet Sauvignon is sourced from estate vineyard blocks to the south of McLaren Vale township. The oldest of the vines, planted 1968, provide the backbone. Some oak barrel fermentations are employed to enhance the body and soul of the wine. The philosophy being to augment, rather than dominate the fruit with oak.

The largest independent grape grower in the Coonawarra, Rex Watson is driven by a vision and passion to produce the highest quality reds, to be savoured at every occasion. Watson's Cabernet is a project very close to heart and it has claimed many pivotal accolades throghout the vintages. A vigorous wine that brims with cassis, blackberry and fine, subdued oak.

Vitulus provides an entry level to the Reschke family of statuesque Cabernet wines. Vitulus is barrel matured without being heavily oaked. The aim is for roundness and length derived from time spent in barrel, but not to interfere too much with the complex, defined fruit characters which are the hallmark of Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon. Its judicious level of natural acidity will see Vitulus develop slowly and gracefully, achieving great complexity as exciting cigarbox and chocolate characters evolve.

Empyrean was the first bottling under the Reschke label, it remains the estate flagship, crafted from the most outstanding vines of Cabernet Sauvignon on the Reschke estate property, only ever released from exceptional vintage years. The grapes are distinctive for their thick skins and modest size, treated to an extended term of age in exclusively new French oak. The barrels are culled and only the finest are considered for inclusion, a powerful, opulently proportioned style, identified by savant Robert Parker as the benchmark for Coonawarra's famed Cabernet Sauvignon.

Reschke guard the essence of Coonawarra, a responsibility they take seriously. The Reschke history and its close relationship with Coonawarra began in 1906 with the establishment of a prime Hereford stud in the heart of the region. Vines were planted in the 1900s, yielding a quality of fruit that became a staple of Wynn's finest vintages. Only the finest parcels of Shiraz are retained for the Reschke estate label, redolent of rosemary, sandalwood and hibiscus, its licorice and black fruit palate is seasoned by a sprig of Coonawarra mint, made to measure for a chop of char grilled beef.

Burke Reschke was the fourth generation to graze cattle, he took a keen interest in viticulture and sold his harvests to Coonawarrra's leading brands. The fruit was of such exceptional quality that it became an essential component for a number of icon wines. Reschke now retain the cream of their crop for their estate label. Two thirds Cabernet, the balance of Merlot, treated to two years seasoned French oak hogsheads and barriques. Full bodied, blackberries and mint, a seamless palate of structure and length, to match a cut of juicy beef, farmed by Reschke of course.

Labelled under the sign of the bull, to proclaim the Reschke family's Coonawarra cattle grazing heritage. The vines are meticulously managed, yielding a quality of harvest which became the secret ingredient to some of the nation's most memorable vintages. A combination of crushed fruit and whole berries are treated to daily pumpovers until fermented to dry, followed by thirty months maturation in a high proportion of new hogsheads and barriques. Currants and cassis, menthol and coffee bean oak, an intense blueberry and black olive palate, supported by firm, flattering tannins.

A collation of parcels Sangiovese by traditional growers on the superior Chianti highlands in Rufina, at the very foothills of the Apennines. Masi have been assembling the best harvests and making the finest Chianti for generations. Fruit is treated to ferments at warmer temperatures, followed by the softening of a term of malolactic, to be bottled while vital and unoaked as the perfect accompaniment to all fine fare. Intense ruby hues presage a soundly structured, food friendly wine, its appetizingly drying palate and red berry perfumes are a bliss alongside veal cotoletta, porcini et sugo pommodore.

Clare Valley yields world class vintages of Shiraz, soft, elegant wines with seamless textures and captivating blueberry mint perfumes. Few local estates can match the indulgence and skill of the accomplished Reilly team, matching the highest standards in vineyard management with an exacting vinification. Hand picked off superior dry grown vineyards, established circa 1920 at Watervale, treated to old fashioned open ferments and two years American oak, Stolen Block's layered palate of luscious jube fruit flavours is supported by the most succulent, licorice tannins.