A compilation of parcels, hand picked off a coterie of superior, low yielding blocks at the northwest precincts of Barossa Valley. Some of the growers have been at the centre of Barossa viticulture since early settlement, several generations later, they continue to husband some of the oldest Shiraz vines in the world. A princely harvest of ancient clones is treated to the traditional old world regimens of open ferments, pumpover and basket press, followed by fill into a luxuriously high proportion of new French and American oak hogsheads for two years maturation. A mere two hundred cases are made.

The unique soils and favourable climes around precious sites on the eastern side of Valley Clare impart distinctive flavours and aromas, forming a wine of power, complexity and poise. Eastside was selected for service in British Airways First Class, reportedly going down quite nicely with beluga caviar and wagyu beef. An excellent example of how good Clare Shiraz can be, a wine of suppleness, intensity and structure, displaying a degree of opulence. There will be no problem enjoying Eastside as a baby, ideally alongside your favourite comfort food.

Marc Scalzo takes time out from his duties as chief winemaker at Rutherglen Estates to tend his closely coddled Beechworth vines. The two regions share a predisposition to yield structured Shiraz of remarkable purity and finesse, wines that are highly articulate of their very special terroir. The mineral rich hills of Beechworth impart added elegance and a conspicuous measure of Burgundian savoir faire. There are precious few plantings on Harry's Block but they yield the most invaluable fruit, immaculately crafted into the first growth of Beechworth Shiraz.

Philip Shaw was twice International Wine and Spirit Competition's Winemaker of Year. Following a career as chief at Rosemount and Southcorp, Shaw struggled to determine the most favourable terroir in Australia until he accidentally caught sight of the undulating countryside whilst flying over Orange in New South Wales. Shiraz from Orange differs to Australia's warmer regional styles. Reminiscent of a Rhone Valley, Orange Shiraz displays distinct bright spice with a fine pepper character revealing the vineyard's cooler, elevated origins.

The story of Stonewell began when Peter Lehmann decided to make a special Shiraz of immense intensity and muscularity that would demand time in the barrel and bottle before release, named after the district that best showed the characters he admired most in Barossa Shiraz.

Stonewell is the very best of vintage, one of the new world's great Shiraz. A powerful, stately wine, Stonewell is the jewel in the crown of Peter Lehmann's most spectacular efforts, the grapes are drawn from the lowest yielding, old vine blocks in all Barossa Valley. Some planted well over a century ago, produce frugal bunches with parched berries, precious little black gems which are at the heart of Stonewell Shiraz. A wine of great intensity and refined muscularity, which demands time under the Lehmann estate cellars before release.

The Peter Lehmann team can be proud of a long and illustrious history with Barossa Shiraz. An international success story in its own right, Peter Lehmann's foundation wine is highly regarded everywhere, a Shiraz offering great depth of flavour, character and charm. Peter Lehmann once said, only half jokingly, that when God created Shiraz, he did so with the Barossa in mind! Praised by the industry press for representing the best value in Shiraz year in and year out, a generous wine of intense fruit flavours mellowed to a soft finish by maturation in small format oak.

Crafted to old world, small batch techniques, by one of the nation's most decorated winemaking teams, from fruit sourced off a canon of dedicated independent grower vineyards which are second to none, many of which have been husbanded by the same family for generations. A richly flavoured and profoundly structured, master of the Barossa Shiraz, which has claimed an impressive tally of national show awards, including a significant medal win at the highly prestigious VISY Great Shiraz Challenge.

Peter Lehmann's selection of Shiraz for his first ever wine, sold by mail order as The Futures, reflected his belief that Barossa Shiraz was a unique Australian genre with a destiny to become an international success story. The inaugural 1980 release was a magnificent wine, highly lauded by the industry press, it still drinks remarkably well. Originally sold to friends and associates on a pay now and we'll deliver in two years arrangement, essentially for the fledgling Peter Lehmann winery to acquire some cash and ensure that it did in fact have a future.

A flagship effort, the heart of Eight Songs lies within some very old vineyards spread across the landscape of Barossa Valley. Peter Lehmann himself, walked these vineyards every vintage, seeking those parcels with a concentration of flavours so essential to the Eight Songs style, vibrant and statuesque, yet elegant and distinctively soft. The palate is richly opulent, beautifully structured with layers of fruit. Eight Songs is regal in every respect, a limited edition classic from the lowest yielding Barossa sites, aged in exclusively new French oak hogsheads.

Known as the mentor to many Barossa growers and winemakers, Peter Lehmann is a man of his word. If you were to paint his portrait it would depict an image of great character and charm, just like the man himself. Lehmann is quoted as saying that when God created Shiraz, he did so with the Barossa in mind. Peter Lehmann has been making the Barossa's most reliable Shiraz every vintage for an unbroken succession of thirty years. The nose offers lashings of dark plum with an underlay of dusted chocolate, the palate brimming with rich fruit flavours.

Egerton E S Dennis settled on ninety acres of vineyard at McLaren Flat after serving in the RAAF. Ege pioneered the production of Mead and sold his crop of wine grapes to some of Australia's most eminent brands before founding his own label in 1971, with the object of converting the high quality fruit into pure, estate made wines. Since establishment, Dennis Wines have collected hundreds of medals and accolades at national and international taste offs, twice claiming the revered Bushing King awards for best wine at the McLaren Vale Winemakers Exhibition.

Pertaringa are fortuitously positioned at the foothills of Mount Lofty Ranges, the perfect location for grapes, by virtue of a temperate environment and deep clay loam soils. Undercover is a reference to the McLaren Vale tradition in supplying other regions with bespoke parcels of fruit, ultimately to be vinified into some of Australia's most favourite wines. Undercover is an old vine Shiraz, selected from Pertaringa's five decade old vineyard, hand crafted by winemaking supremos Geoff Hardy and Ben Riggs. Undercover is the essence of McLaren Vale Shiraz.

The signs came very early that Pertaringa was growing an exceptional quality of Shiraz, trading much of their early vintages to Hardy Wines. Over The Top is a reference to the Pertaringa pursuit of excellence, delivering a taste of McLaren Vale to the enthusiast in demand of superior Shiraz. Pertaringa outperforms many national flagship wines at international competitions, a favourite of Qantas Business Class, the Shiraz of choice to serve alongside trois couleurs pepper steak or seared Wagyu.

Pepperjack are an honest representation of the Barossa's rich viticultural heritage, enjoyed equally as much outside of Australia as they are at home. The dedicated Pepperjack team have respect for traditional winemaking techniques, are dynamic, imaginative and highly attuned to the timeless standards of excellence and style. A profound purple effervescence, vibrant perfumes of lifted red berry fruits, raspberries, liquorice and cassis, spiced cloves and fresh, dark cherry bonbons, a palate that's expansive, opulent and plush, layers of jet black fruits, a splendour and grace that goes on and on.

Pepperjack, by the illustrious House of Saltram, has grown to be a cult favourite for enthusiasts of profound yet approachable Shiraz. The Pepperjack team are conscious of modern tastes and are creating wines for aspirants of great gastronomy and better beef. Fruit is sourced from superb vineyards yielding grapes with generous fruit character, definitive varietal flavour, fine tannin structure and an innate affinity to steak. The pick of McLaren Vale's harvests have been assembled into an intense style of Shiraz to balance the richness of juicy Scotch Fillet.

So popular are the wines of Pepperjack, that the label hosts its own society of dedicated enthusiasts. This devout cohort of zealots, converges at bespoke venues to discuss matters Pepperjack, they dine on prime beef and imbibe in their cherished libation. Established by one of the nation's most eminent winemakers (Nigel Dolan, twice Jimmy Watson and thrice Stodart Trophy), Pepperjack now take the pick of Langhorne Creek Shiraz, for a wine of fantastic minerality and fine chalky tannin, fashioned to flatter and embellish the finest Porterhouse.

Pepper Tree have strayed from their wineworks at Pokolbin to secure harvests of Terra Rossa Shiraz which are second to none. The team know from good fruit and have a good eye for terroir, their splendid vines planted to Wrattonbully's Gravels Block grow a superior quality of Shiraz, characterized by controlled power and stealthy tannins. Flavour maps which have been generated for the vineyard demonstrate considerable variance, assisting the team to isolate individual sections for the production of a wine exhibiting generosity and charm.

Penny's Hill was declared Australia's Best Boutique Wine in 2006 and Australia's Best Boutique Shiraz in 2007. Following the footsteps of an unbroken cadence in superlative vintage editions, displaying the quality and depth expected from Penny's Hill, Skeleton Key is packed with flavour, deep in colour, beautifully balanced and a wonderful accompaniment to fine dining. Intensity and fine integration set this bellwether label apart from the rest, it displays the consistency and excellent quality for which Penny's Hill Shiraz has become famous.

Penny's Hill was established by a lodge of eminent industry identities, leaders in their field, renowned for their accomplishments in all things McLaren Vale. A superior vineyard wine from the twelve finest rows of Shiraz, planted 1991 to clone 654, at the highest elevations of the original Penny's Hill block. Remarkably pure in its eloquence and expression of terroir, voluptuously proportioned, full bodied and exquisitely balanced, a McLaren Vale icon, the articulation of a sensational vineyard, as crafted by the master winemaking team at Penny's Hill.

Planted in 1991 and added to the Penny's Hill estate vineyard group in 1993, Malpas Road is named after the pioneering family who held lands in what was originally referred to as Bay of Biscay. A reference to the relatively infertile cracking, grey black soil upon which the hand tended Shiraz patch does its work. The fissures which occur as the black soils crack apart, sever surplus root structure, a process which lessens vine vigor and enhances the virtue of the grape. Unmistakably McLaren Vale, even more so Penny's Hill.

A Coonawarra Shiraz of elegance and finesse, Penley's vintages are regularly awarded with prestigious international trophies and accolades, outclassing some of the nation's icon wines. A splendid effort exhibiting generous varietal fruit and spiced pepper, perfumes of good French oak and plenty of flavour. Shiraz has taken well to Coonawarra, where the cooler growing conditions yield a slightly more supple, finer boned style than warmer climes. Balance is a key feature in all Penley wines, fruit, tannins and oak in complete harmomy.

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.

Excellent Langtons Classification. St Henri stands out as one of the most internationally successful Australian icon wines, year in and year out, it serves to uphold the integrity and regal nature of the Penfolds brand. Always an expression of the finest South Australian Shiraz without the distraction of oak, a minor component of Cabernet, can in some years be assembled into the final wine, contributing structure, firmer tannins and complexity.

Outstanding Langtons Classification. Notwithstanding it's stately ranking in the pantheon of enduring Penfold wines, St Henri is remarkably approachable upon release, it remains accessible to most red wine enthusiasts in terms of drinkability and pecuniary value. St Henri's style is essentially fruit forward, the time spent ageing in an ancient collection of oversize, well used 1460 litre oak vats softens the tannins without infusing the wine with any obvious oak character. An Australian classic to savour alongside roast rack with root vegetable and sea parsley.

Outstanding Langtons Classification. Originally labelled as claret and sold at the same price as Grange, St Henri was more often than not, the preferred choice of Shiraz for the nascent Australian market. Gaining a new lease on life during the 1990s as the quality and style continued to make converts, St Henri remains the nation's most accessible icon Shiraz. Aged in a collection of very old and evolved 1460 litres oak vats, the raw St Henri flourishes into a complex fruit forward wine with supple tannins and a whisper of oak, Australian Shiraz unlike any other.

RWT stands for Red Winemaking Trial, the name given to the project internally when developmental work began on a campaign to redefine Barossa Shiraz at the highest level. Penfolds have sourced parcels of the most transcendent fruit from dedicated Barossa growers, chosen on the basis of aromatic qualities and fine texture rather than intensity or power. Since inaugural vintage, collectors have recognised the sheer class of RWT, already the wine has a strong secondary market following, illustrating its collectability and cellaring potential.

RWT Shiraz presents an admirable alternative to the multi-regional sourcing and American oak maturation that are hallmarks of Grange, expressing instead, single-region Barossa Valley Shiraz matured only in French oak. The initials RWT stand for Red Winemaking Trial, the name given to the project internally when developmental work began in 1995, naturally now no longer a trial. RWT is made from fruit primarily selected for its aromatic qualities and fine texture rather than sheer intensity or power of flavour.

The development of Penfolds Red Winemaking Trial reflects extraordinary progress in viticulture and winemaking. The two disciplines are increasingly intertwined, as growers and winemakers work together in search of optimum balance, ripeness and flavour. RWT draws fruit from 20 to 100 year-old vineyards arcing across the west and north-west of the Barossa, mostly independently grown. A seductive style from the best vineyards showing voluptuous intensity, ripe tannins, and juicy plum/blueberry flavours underpinned by savoury French oak.

Outstanding Langtons Classification. The Red Winemaking Trial presents an alternative to the multi-regional, American oak style of Shiraz which are the hallmarks of Grange, expressing instead, a pure Barossa wine aged exclusively in French barriques. RWT is vinified from fruit primarily selected for its aromatic qualities and fine texture rather than sheer intensity or power of flavour. In contrast to the muscular and assertive Grange, it's style is opulent and fleshy, a wine which redefines Barossa Shiraz at the very highest level.

Penfold's inviolably high standards of quality have achieved international acclaim for a distinguished lineage of famous winemakers and memorable vintages. Drawing fruit from the finest vineyards, Penfolds fashion a deeply flavoursome yet forward drinking Shiraz that's in fine form. Max Schubert’s constant pursuit of excellence paved the way for all the eminent Penfold winemakers who followed in his footsteps. A contemporary rendering of the timeless Penfold style, Max is a fruit driven wine, delicately framed by background oak, generous in flavour and refined.

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.

Australia's most internationally renowned export, we can thank the late, great Max Schubert for persevering, undaunted by adversity and resolute in the face of derision by his peers. Schubert was inspired by the great Premier Cru of Bordeaux, resolved to formulate the first growth of Australian wine. Penfolds Grange has become unseatably ensconced within the pantheon of the globe's prestigious marques, it remains the new world's most eminent Shiraz, an unforgettable experience for the most discerning and acute red wine enthusiasts everywhere.