Sublime Grenache! Planted in 1946, these bush vines deliver pristine fruit. The highest section of this 1.7 hectare McLaren Vale site sits 210m above. Give this some time to catch its breath and it sings harmoniously. Hoisin and soy slide underneath dark berry fruits and subtle dried herb nuances. Aromas of purple flowers continue to shine with a gorgeous profile moving with ease through the mouth. Waves of fine spices roll through freely with fruit and acid perfectly balanced. Elegant and precise perhaps summarise this best. Wow!

A cracking Grenache from the McLaren Vale subregion of Blewitt Springs. So fine, layers of interest keep you enthused. Vibrant and elegant, a beautifully structured piece of art from Peter Fraser. Sourced from bush vines planted in 1946 on ancient sands, the vineyards are certified organic and biodynamic. Handpicked, 50% whole berries, cold soaked for 5-6 days, wild yeast fermentation and aged in old French oak for ten months. Quite savoury, veneers of dried herbs, smoked meat, fine pepper and brown spices are peeled back throughout. Dark berries play very much a secondary role and their support act is certainly worth tapping your foot to keep the beat. It sways and veers through the mouth effortlessly, the sand on which its grown evident in the subtle minerality present. A sip all night kind of wine - superb!

Yangarra Goes Even Higher: Four Outstanding Super Premium Releases From bush vines planted in 1946 and a yield of just 15hl/ha! Includes 50% whole bunches. Wild ferment and matured in old oak. Numbers: TA 7.4, pH 3.22. Bright and energetic molten raspberry fruit is the key point again here. Again, such lively wines – it just makes for an immediately drinkable style. Interestingly this is only medium weight, the extraction leaning towards freshness rather than grip, the tannins fine and elegant with minimal stem influence. Perfectly balanced, I can still taste the beautiful raspberry fruit here. A picture of the beauty of McLaren Vale Grenache. It’s just shaded by the intensity of the Shiraz, but yum. Best drinking: Now to 15 years. 18.6/20, 95/100. 14.5%. $140. Would I buy it? I’d marginally take the Shiraz, but again a worthy purchase.

The 2014 Grenache High Sands has a medium garnet-purple color and opens with the most incredible perfume of violets, black forest cake and mulberries with hints of star anise, underbrush, tapenade and cloves plus a waft of Sichuan pepper. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is densely packed with berry, earth and spice layers, supported by firm grainy tannins and seamless freshness, finishing with epic length.

From bush vines planted '46 at Blewitt Springs, cold soak, open-fermented with 50% whole berries, wild yeast, matured in used French oak for 9 months. Lightish colour is misleading: the wine has a cascade of red fruits, with a slightly unexpected brush fence of ripe tannins, important now as much as in the future when they will fuse back into the wine.

Rich comfy date and figgy smelling with a touch of walnut and wafts of cherry wood. And this is how it tastes: there’s a lustiness and swagger. And ferrous sweet-soy tastes. Another couple of years will bring on more.

An extraordinary wine; silky and rich with racy, jammy, spicy blackberry and blueberry fruit; pure, intense acidity and elegant flavors.

Single block shiraz. 25% whole bunches, the remainder berry sorted. Cold soak, open fermenters, spontaneous ferment, no pressings, all matured in 25hL foudre. Certified organic/biodynamic. It’s structured and fine but apart from anything else, it’s delicious. It’s a joy to drink. Jellied boysenberry, plum, red/black cherry, graphite and clove notes come gently infused with cedarwood oak. Freshness is paramount. So too finesse. So too fine bones of tannin. Indeed this wine has quality written all over it. This medium-bodied red should be on your shopping list.

This is an utterly mesmerising and compelling shiraz. Divine, concentrated dark fruit with very gentle spice. Classically-structured and not overdone in any way. Lively acidity and plentiful integrated tannin. An absolute steal at this price. Fabulous.

Damn this is a superb Shiraz. The richness and density just pull you in. The asking price has gone up $5 from the 2016 release but just pay it. There's plenty of Shiraz wines for $50 that wouldn't come close to what is on offer here. A fifth of the ferment was made with 25% whole bunches. Wild yeast fermented, it saw 25% new French oak for 16 months. Certified organic and biodynamic. As with the 2016, purple and blue fruit aromas reign supreme. Some cedar and dark chocolate are evident too. It's lush to taste. Dark plums are joined by blueberries and mulberries all roaming about consuming the mouth with silky feels. Savoury notes sit in the background courtesy of the whole bunches with brick dust tannins to finish. Superb drinking really.

WBM Wines of the Year 2018 – the best of the best, 95 points and above

Ironheart is of course a later edition to the Marvel Universe, a female character not far off the Iron Man idiom. And this is estate shiraz from Yangarra in McLaren Vale. Lovely wine this. Straight up impressive. Sandy swish of tannins is the lingering thought, but there’s dark berry-cherry perfume, ripe of course, but shy of over done, sniffs of old spice cupboard, succulence writ large. It’s long, fine and elegant in its way, but doesn’t forget the earthy, regional grunt of the region. Just enough of everything, plus an individual personality, and the wine feels gently done. Again, a lovely wine.

Biggest Australian Wine Tasting Ever: 2,700+ Ratings This has a very impressive array of ripe, rich dark plums and black cherries with a very intense and assertive palate that marries powdery, cocoa-infused tannins, as well as density at the finish with an air of precision. Certified organic. Drink or hold. Screw cap.

A highly captivating wine with perfect balance between the sweet and the savoury. Sourced from established vines, ranging in age from 19 to 23 years, it is a shiraz with excellent fruit depth. There is a snappy character to the fruit on the front palate followed by impressive back palate concentration and length. Although it can be enjoyed now, it will be even better with time in the cellar. A sophisticated, finely-crafted wine. Highly recommended.

A great Shiraz - I just want more. The generous fruit and super smooth feels ensuring this is a luxurious ride to happiness. Made with approximately 10% whole bunches, the remaining fruit was destemmed. 50% whole berries. Wild yeast fermentation in 25% new French oak for 12 months. Certified organic and biodynamic. Purple fruit is laced with whiffs of toffee and kicks of earth. Minerality evident through the mouth with dense plums and mulberries filling every cranny. Fine spices bind it all in a neat parcel finishing long and proud. Damn, it's good and brilliant value for $30! Drink now to ten years.

Hand picked (organically-grown) grapes. 25% whole bunches. Cold soaked, open fermented, wild yeast, 48% new French oak for 15 months. Brilliant wine. Its quality impresses from the outset. Full-bodied but polite about it. Blackberry, plum, a jellied sweetness, a full serve of cedarwood oak, florals, peppercorns. Pretty in part, gutsy in other, svelte. Tannin rolls and rumbles from the mid-palate onwards but it comes flooded with flavour. Generous and joyous.

Why Australian Wine is Some of the Most Exciting in the World Dark plums and some lighter redder fruits, as well as spicy, earthy and tarry elements. The palate has a seamless, deep-set and layered mouthfeel with a strong and fresh spine of dark plums.

Yangarra Goes Even Higher: Four Outstanding Super Premium Releases My favourite wine of the range and just a perfectly formed McLaren Vale Shiraz. From Block 15, this was handpicked, with 25% whole bunches and matured in 48% new oak, the finished wine then an individual barrel selection. Numbers: TA 6.3, pH 3.43. It’s such a bright and exuberant red, loaded with purple fruit in a lavish mode. Energetically fruity, but with this sense of savouriness too, the oak an afterthought, the tannins fine and perfectly balanced. It’s not a heavyweight, it’s not oaky, it’s just a really vital Shiraz. The sort of wine that you just drink and marvel at the balance at every sip. Best drinking: Now to twenty years. 18.7/20, 95/100. 14.5%, $105. Would I buy it? A lot of dollars but also a lot of wine. Worth the money.

Very deep garnet-purple colored, the 2014 Small Pot Whole Bunch Shiraz offers youthfully subdued peeks of fragrant blackberry and black cherry aromas with hints of black pepper, loam, dried herbs and lavender. The palate is rock solid and packed with blackberry and earth flavors supported by firm, rounded tannins and great freshness, finishing long.

Take Note: Real Australian Wine Is Here Sexy red with meat, earth, blackberry and quartz aromas that follow through to a full body, round and velvety tannins and a juicy finish. Loads going on here. Love it. Drink now. Screw cap.

Estate-grown, 50% whole berries, 25% whole bunches cold soaked, open-fermented, wild yeast, matured in French oak (25% new) for 13 months. Everything falls into place, the design of the jigsaw puzzle taking shape post haste. McLaren Vale fruit essence, with black fruits and potent dark chocolate looking as much to the sky as the earth, the whole bunch elements adding a twist to the main design, eloquent tannins also making a significant contribution.

Very deep, dark red-purple hue and a tremendously concentrated aroma of graphite, pepper, spices and earth. It's very full-bodied and dense, concentrated and firm with tight tannins and relatively little fruit sweetness. Instead, there's amazing structure. The whole-bunch component gives a vegetal note to the complex bouquet. A very big, muscular, powerful wine which needs ages.

Welcome, we hope you enjoy the show. Twist the cap and it's as if the words tumble out. Immediately perfumed and expressive but with the grunt of tannin and fruit to give it real substance. Saturated plum, soy, five spice and smoky, musky oak. The very epitome of a modern major general release shiraz.

Magical, deep crimson; as devotees of Chateau Rayas, and others from the Rhone Valley will attest, Grenache has many faces, the most admired in that part of France, it’s serious, long-lived, complex and structured single-varietal pose. But it’s usually in a blend, and in Australia usually with shiraz and Mourvedre, and this a compelling example of all the individual flavours of its components.

This one of my favourite wines in the country. It seems to hit that magical place where it is neither sweet-fruited nor savoury but instead sits somewhere gloriously in between. It is a hard wine to dissect as it is so well-balanced. I love the texture, the palate weight and the inherent brightness. Flecks of lime, fresh cream and faint fruit juiciness tied together by savouriness.