An extremely limited edition, crafted from a shrewd cull of the choicest bunches, picked off an elite block of low yelding, dy grown, sixty year old vines, the premiership of Clare Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. Claymore have always placed the greatest emphasis on securing the finest parcels, in and around the sacred soils of Watervale. A timely vinification is follwed by two long years in the finest French oak hogsheads, all aimed at achieving the holy grail of moreish fruit, velvet textures and tasty, toothsome tannins.

Clare Valley Shiraz of power and controlled grace, only just tamed after the profligate indulgence of two years maturation in a high proportion of new French oak. A palate of immense weight and stately presence of dulcet, regional blueberry fruit. Best when given some air, Nirvana's expansive perfumes build in the glass, its pretty, spiced oak nose gives way to dense plum fruit, anise and currant, briars and mint. Serve well aired alongside aged beef fillet or sharp matured cheddar, Nirvana defines the august opulence of truly statuesque Clare Valley Shiraz.

Mostly Cabernet Sauvignon with a quarter of Malbec, red wine for rockers, those who choose to give in to their hedonistic urges. Plush generosity and a layering of flavours, pretty up front but let the wine breathe and suddenly these dry, fine and lightly chewy tannins build on the back palate, lending a savoury edge to the dark fruit richness. A skerrick of Merlot from a block adjacent the Claymore cellar door, sits in the barrel store until called for inclusion as a finishing aid, bringing structure and softness, achieving a seamless wine that leaps to the beat.

A rigorous barrel cull of the most outstanding Shiraz of vintage, assembled after a stringent tally of superior blocks at Penwortham in Valley Clare. Sent to a high selection of new French oak for a term of extended age, candidate barrels are shortlisted after a year's oak maturation, returned to rest for another year before a serious sampling to determine the final cut. Full bodied, rich and intense Shiraz with powerful dark fruits and mouth filling savouryness, lifted spice intertwines with velvetine, spoon coating tannins, a generosity of fruit sweetness and opulent palate length.

This one tastes as good as it sounds, a full flavoured, elegantly structured Shiraz, hand crafted from a superior harvest of Clare Valley fruit, much of it grown to a seventy year old Terra rossa site. Despite its sobering moniker, a stylish and refined Shiraz, full bodied, voluptuous and richly proportioned, layered with Clare complexity. Dark Side will delight Shiraz enthusiasts, its fragrant perfumes and polished structure are a match to fine cuisine, caramelized foie gras or escalope de veau.

Only ever made in exceptional vintage years, from fruit grown to the old Cabernet vines on Churinga Vineyard just north of Watervale. These dry grown, gnarled old veterans yield the most superlative Cabernet Sauvignon in all Valley Clare. The harvest of this elite block is treated to a spell of extra ripening to further concentrate the intensity of flavour. The extravagance of two years French oak and minimal filtration achieve a wine of spellbinding depth and imposing structure, quite literally a beguiling Clare Cabernet to bewitch the senses.

Medical practitioners are conspicuously over represented statistically amongst the roll call of Australia's boutique wineries and grand, baronial winemaking estates. Is it all about the quest for a healthy mind and healthy body, or is it something rather more indulgent that our physicians are practising? Clearly not a depraved effort by any means, Bittersweet Symphony is a poised and gracious Cabernet wine, brimming with Clare Valley elegance, endowed with fragrant perfumes, layers of clean berry fruit and sleek, cultivated tannins.

Always mindful of the eloquence that defines Pinot Noir as the most articulate of varietals, Clarence House set aside their most exceptional parcels for an estate Reserve. Assembled from a palette of clones 777, 114 and MV6, Pommard and Abel, Clarence place their finest rows of harvest into a variety of oak barrels, designed to polish the excellence of each precious parcel of fruit. The final accord is designed to coalesce the complexity into a seamless expression of a truly wonderful wine, all the stalky cherryness, barnyard and nutty apple characters of a magnificent Pinot Noir mesoclime.

Pinot Noir was uppermost in mind when the Kilpatricks established vines at Clarence House in 1993. There are few places in the world, so predisposed to this most fickle of varietals, as the languid, temperate climes of southern Tasmania. The foothills of Meehan Ranges near Hobart are a place of garrulous soils and exhilerating ripening seasons. A mixture of clones 114, 115, 667, 777, MV6, Abel and Pommard are treated to a Burgundian style of vinification, its rich cherry flavours, pretty florals and savoury rhubarb characters, draped in a gentle robe of plush, velvetine tannins.

Margaret River makes mighty Cabernet but Clairault make a priority of gentle winemaking. Parcels are cannily crushed so that each berry is only, barely just split, affording the ferments minimal berry degradation, encouraging the retention of fresh, clean varietal Cabernet characters in the finished wine. Vinified on skins for optimal extraction and treated to a timely ten months in nothing but the finest French oak, a vivid articulation of Margaret River Cabernet, brimming with dark blue currants and cassis, its refined minerality resolving on a refreshing glace cherry finish.

Clairault Estate is situated approximately ten kilometres south of Yallingup, within the superior Wilyabrup dress circle of Margaret River. The property contains four dams, forty hectares of grazing land and eighty of remnant bush. The vineyard itself has been cultivated with a commitment to local flora and fauna, it yields harvests of small but intensely flavoured grapes. Merlot and Petit Verdot are assembled around a solid backbone of Cabernet Sauvignon, a stately wine of penetrating bramble fruit characters and refined, tensile tannins.

Clairault are all about taking care of the little things to build a much greater wine, vineyards are all managed like a wildlife sanctuary and the vinifcations are treated as gently as one can. Berries must be only barely split, to iintroduce just the right amount of tannin while retaining a press of the purest juices. The most exquisite parcels Cabernet Sauvignon, a touch of Cabernet Franc for interest and finesse, are delicately fermented before eighteen months of age in an extravagantly high proportion of new French oak, the fruit of Margaret River at its finest, graceful and most eloquent.

Light Pass was one of the first Barossa precincts to be planted to vine. A single Grenache vineyard remains from earliest settlement, still yielding the most precious fruit, it is likely the oldest productive planting of Grenache in the world. Marco Cirillo personally manages each and every vine on this invaluable block, his specialty is Grenache and he maintains a close watch over his priceless old plantings. Much of what he picks off the vine is destined for the mighty Torbreck, he retains a small amount from each vintage to release under his own label.

The Messrs Buckle and Drummond source parcels from a neighbouring vineyard that's planted to warmer climes. Whinstone yields a Pinot of structure, clarity and length, it shares a remarkable kinship with its estate sibling's, brightly lit translucence of fruit.

The winemaking at Circe is all about excellence, about maintaining the healthiest vineyards, all things are done according to best practice, with an uncompromising respect for nature. As a Mornington grower, it's not easy to get your fruit selected for Circe, the Messrs Buckle and Drummond will only consider the most outstanding parcels and there are never any quotas. Assembled from the pick of Red Hill fruit and treated to the full regimen of Burgundian traditions, a dulcetly perfumed Pinot Noir of seamless complexity and textural whole bunch richness.

An essential inclusion into many of Champagne's most prestigious marques, Pinot Meunier is rarely seen as a pure varietal. Mornington has seen over thirty vintages of this bespoke, esoteric wine, redolent of red berries, violets and spice, an experience not to be missed by all adherents of the abstruse, artisanal style. Circe craft a Pinot Meunier of structure, clarity and length, it shares a remarkable kinship with her patent sibling's brightly lit translucence of cherry, sasafras fruit. Match your Meunier with lamb, rare breast of duck, or terrine of offal, walnut dressing and thyme.

Dan Buckle and Aaron Drummond are Mornington born and bred. They work at the illustrious Mt Langi Ghiran but find time to share the husbandry on a precious three acre vineyard on an elevated northeast ridge at Red Hill South. The Messrs Drummond and Buckle take a decidedly Burgundian approach to processing their Pinot Noir, ferments of exclusively whole bunches are foot stomped over the course of a week before filling to small oak casks. Structured and eloquent, pastoral and intense, small batch, superior vineyard Mornington Pinot at its finest.

Circe is a metaphor for the challenges presented by Pinot Noir, a capricious grape to grow and often fickle as a wine. Very like the temptress of ancient myth, Pinot Noir remains irresistible to contemplative winemakers for its rare mutability, as no other grape can capture and articulate the uniqueness of provenance.

Just like a scene out of the old world, you can see happy families amongst the picturesque landscape of King Valley, tending vines and sampling grapes. The annual Spring festival in November brings everyone together for a fantastic jubilee of events. Tempranillo grows magnificently here, yielding fine wines as fleshy and structured as the classics from Rioja and Ribero de Duero. Harvests of fruit, brimming with rich bramble favours and lined with gentle tannins are crafted into a delicious new world style, just perfect to match with flavoursome Mediterranean fare.

Such a substantial wine is Sangiovese, so named for it's kinship to the blood of ancient Gods, mythically speaking of course. La Zona engages you with its deep, vibrant red colour, redolence of black cherries and spice on the bouquet, followed by a brazen savouryness which makes it perfect with robust cuisine. The acidity balances well with the generous round, fleshy front palate and velvety tannin structure which carries through to a dry, firm finish. A perfect food match for La Zona would be a slowly cooked Tuscan recipe such as Stufato alla Fiorentina.

The Chrismont property once supported one of Australia's largest tobacco growing operations. Chrismont have since become synonymous with the production of high quality Alpine and King Valley wines, the Barbera grape being a standout performer. With mesoclimes and aspects that are so similar to the premiere growing Asti hillsides of Piedmont, the long summer days of high Victorian country enable grapes to achieve full ripeness, the finished wine exhibits richness of varietal character, the cool local nights contribute elegance and poise.

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.

Chestnut Grove have harnessed the electric qualities of their now famous Merlot wines, loved by all and sundry, to create this most stylish of West Australian blends. A mostly Cabernet (56%) Cuvee with a lesser component of good Merlot fruit (43%) and a judicious tot of Petit Verdot, sourced exclusively from the mature (over twenty years old) Chestnut Grove vineyard at Manjimup. A mighty vintage for the region and for Chestnut Grove, which has kept production of this silken wine to a mere thousand cases.

A soft and stylish assemblage of Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon, crafted at a picturesque Château on the Entre-Deux Mers. The ancient site lies between the Dordogne and Garonne rivers, whence some of the finest Bordeaux Superieur are produced. A generously proportioned, bourgeoise style of Medoc, with delicately fragrant oak, crisp tannins and excellent fruit character, to match with braised boeuf or crusty baguette and good old fashioned gruyere fondue.

Chateau Reynella is the birthplace of McLaren Vale Shiraz, today it is headquarters of Australia's most eminent winemaker. The original site, established by John Reynell in 1838, was the first commercial vineyard in South Australia. It remains productive to this day, yielding fruit which is processed at the original wineworks. The most exceptional parcels available to the Hardy winemaking team, those which can best represent the Chateau Reynella style, are vinified and assembled into a rich bold Shiraz of profound intensity, exquisite balance and refined silky tannins.

The site which was destined to become South Australia's first winemaking estate was planted to vines just south of the Onkaparinga River, at the northwest corner of Panalatinga and Reynell Roads. Within ten years, John Reynell became the first to export South Australian red wine. His business grew, as Chateau Reynella won over palates throughout the Empire. As his operations flourished and local businesses started up, more workers were attracted to the area and settled down, the beginnings of McLaren Vale. Significantly, one of Reynell's star employees was Thomas Hardy of Hardy Wines.

South Australia's founding winery, the headquarters of Hardy Wines, Chateau Reynella is one of our nation's oldest cellars. Vinified from the most precious parcels of Cabernet Sauvignon available to Hardy, traditionally crafted to old world techniques, employing antique basket presses and open fermenters to keep the history alive and create wines which merit perennial critical acclaim. A highly perfumed construct of McLaren Vale Cabernet, its judicious measure of spiced French vanilla oak complements the fruit richness and lingers on the memorable finish.

An assemblage of fruit, picked off vines near the village of Roquemaure on the right bank of the Rhone, between Orange and Avignon. Mostly Grenache with a fifth of Syrah, the earliest vines at Mont Redon date back to ancient times. Protected from the chilling Mistral winds, the canny Romans planted their rootstock at the bottom of a hill which lends its name to the estate. In the middle of the 18th Century, nobleman Joseph Ignace d'Astier acquired Mont-Redon. His descendants still own the property, manage the vines and make Mont Redon Cotes-du-Rhône.

Exceptional vintage, one of the most remarkable Pavillon Rouge ever. The high quality of Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot, the peerless excellence of the Merlot from this vintage. A monumental wine, richer in tannins than any Chateau Margaux produced over at least the last half century. Her unusual power is fortunately balanced by a delicacy and smoothness which almost makes one forget the impressive tannic structure. Delicious to drink after two decades and for many more years to come.