Bush vine grenache from a block planted in 1962. 10% whole bunches. Matured in Burgundy-coopered barrels. 473 dozen made. Smooth as silk, ripped with spice, pulled more-or-less taut through the finish and yet various flavours remain free to flow like the outreaches of a flag. You get spice drenched length, you get florals, you get a core of succulent raspberry and anise. In short, you get a textbook example of quality McLaren Vale grenache.

Brilliant Grenache from Clarendon perched 225m above. Such a delicious wine with a savoury drive the highlight. The vineyard was planted in 1962. Handpicked fruit with 10% whole bunches used. Matured in a selection of five-year-old barrels. Don't walk up here expecting raspberries and strawberries. Fine spices coupled with dried fig and dried dates sit at the core of this wine. It runs deep with plenty of meaty generosity in its veins. Some dried red flower aromas add some floral prettiness. Brick dust like tannins are scattered across the mouth leaving a long and drying finish. A superb rendition of Grenache - it's hard to resist another glass.

Why Australian Wine is Some of the Most Exciting in the World Beautifully struck in terms of ripeness. There are intense raspberry aromas and flavors, as well as some blueberries and blackberries. Tannins fan out effortlessly. Silky and smooth. It also shows great freshness at the finish.

Deep red/purple colour, with an impressive aroma of blueberry, raspberry and spicy oak backing. A hint of almond. The wine is bright and intense in the mouth, medium to full-bodied, its exuberant fruit tempered by savoury tannins and fresh acidity. A very classy merlot, beautifully balanced and leaning more to the dark-fruit style than the tobacco or olivaceous style.

There's a lovely sense of restraint here, with firm tannins reining in complex, detailed flavors of blueberry pie, kirsch and dark chocolate. Espresso, clove and caramel notes add even more complexity on the finish, where the flavors continue to unfold.

Why Australian Wine is Some of the Most Exciting in the World A wine that really shows the prowess and attractive nature of the shiraz that this vineyard can produce. The concentrated yet fresh red plums and cherries really sing on the palate. Tannins glide like layers of silk. A brilliant wine.

Juicy and vibrant, showing terrific purity to the raspberry and black cherry flavors at the polished and refined core, with supple tannins and details of Earl Grey tea, violet and toasted cumin. Impressive for the seamless harmony and the creamy texture, this shows a tug of grip from the tannins on the finish.

Australia: Catching Up The inky-purple 2016 Trueman Cabernet Sauvignon is a super effort. It boasts intense, classic aromas of pencil shavings and cassis on the nose, then delivers rich waves of velvety but structured fruit on the full-bodied palate. If there's any complaint, it's that it's perhaps a bit too monolithic, but it's a young wine and should add layers of complexity given enough time in the cellar. It's not unapproachable now, but it probably won't fully hit its stride for at least five years and then be drinkable for at least a decade after that.

Polished and elegant, with refined raspberry and wild strawberry flavors and an edge of matcha. Velvety tannins and bass notes of sage, cedar and black pepper showcase a wine of power and restraint.

Light purple color. Deep and gorgeous nose of rich plums and black currants, but the fruit is laced with complex notes of tobacco leaf, cigar shop, mint, bay leaf, leather, some cocoa and vanilla. Full-bodied with solid tannins, moderating acidity keeps it lively, and the fruit comes in waves: tart black currants, black cherry, chilled plums. Complex and earthy with notes of loam, roasted herb, spearmint chewing tobacco, notes of cedar and vanilla and mixed in but not dominant. Long life ahead here, but this is gorgeous stuff.

Opaque ruby. Spicy rich blackberry with a chocolate note on the nose. Lovely balanced palate with bright notes that lift the wine. Bright fruit with good depth and earth notes. Fresh balanced and very flavorful. Delicious long finish. A powerhouse.

Heady aromas of black currant, rhubarb, old library books and Chinese five spice are backed by an earthy spine. The palate of this full-bodied wine is a lovely balance of richness and restraint, with earthy, savory elements ensconced in velvety, fine-grained tannins. Enjoy with Moroccan lamb.

Crimson color. Unbelievable nose of gushing red and black currants and plums, such depth and purity of fruit with notes of sweet roses, menthol, eucalyptus, cola, cigar box. Full but suave on the palate with surprisingly crisp acidity that keeps the wine fresh, with waves of red cherries and gushing blackberries. Complex notes of cola, violets, charcoal, sweet pipe tobacco, eucalyptus. Gorgeous, velvety, fresh, vibrant now but this will be even better with 5-7 years. All Merlot aged 15 months in French oak.

Grown on a block planted in 1971. That’s when Walsh was a bub; which means these vines are very, very old. 1940 cases were made. It sees 15 months in French oak (Burgundy coopered). You can see people clambering for this. It’s soft and luscious but with a firm backbone of tannin; it lays on the fruit, covers it in velvet, then pulls the ropes taut. A this-is-how-it’s-done kind of wine. The oak comes spiced, the fruit has bitumen and saltbush aspects to it, and there’s a (dark) chocolatey sheen. It’s not dense or overwrought; it remains lively enough. I tossed up between 93-94 but ultimately few for the latter, on the basis that it squarely nails pure pleasure, in a warm-climate way.

Polished and expressive, with a hint of caramel and brown sugar to smooth out the dense black cherry and plum flavors. Dark chocolate, spice and toasted tobacco notes are aromatic and generous on the long finish. Drink now through 2028. From Australia.

Blackberry, some mint and tobacco perfume, almost capsicum, fine spicy coffee oak. Medium bodied, mixed berry, fresh acidity, gentle thread of dried herb gives amaro like flavour, fleshy grainy tannin and a pretty good long finish. Certainly it’s Cabernet here, and high quality.

Take Note: Real Australian Wine Is Here The nose explodes with lots of decadence in the form of cassis, plenty of eucalyptus, forest fruits, tar, licorice and ink undertones. Full body, mouth-coating tannins and a powerful but savory finish. This needs time. Drink in 2019. Screw cap.

A juicy cassis-driven cabernet of great purity and typicity, oak and tannins a means to an end, and doing precisely what they should

The Hickinbotham Clarendon Vineyard covers a steep cut of country from the ridgetops above the village of Clarendon to the Onkaparinga River in the gorge below. Planted since 1971 it is now owned by Jackson Family Farms and the wines are made by Australian Charlie Seppelt and American Chris Carpenter. The revivalist is crazy good merlot with intense Bing cherry aromas and dried figs. The attack is smooth and rich with more ripe cherry/fig flavour and a long savoury fruity finish. Elegance and class of which you rarely see in Australian reds. Three rack-and-returns were conducted over eighteen months as the wine seasoned in a mixture of Bordeaux-coopered barrels. Impressive New World merlot that ranks with best.

As Australian vineyards go, this isn't that old, having been planted in 1971. Chocolate and vanilla shadings frame bowls of mixed berries in this full-bodied, powerful wine. It finishes long and intense, outlined by dusty tannins.

Eighteen months in Bordeaux-coopered oak. Good colour; has way above average texture, complexity and very good varietal character; cassis, black olive, spice, plum and good tannins all contribute.

Vineyard planted in 1971, and I believe, once a source of fruit to many a very premium wine. Blackberry, dried mint, toast and tar – brooding while wearing perfume. Full bodied, slick of ripe fleshy tannin, dark chocolate and plum with acidity just shy of being too pushy. Brown toast and blackberry on the finish. Deep, rolling wine with plenty of substance, through it’s not over-wrought. Feels like it’s built for the future.

Pure, seductive Pinot aromas combine floral, rose-petal aromas with dark fruit and brown sugar. Rich flavors of blackberries and boyenberries cascade across the palate in a fall of velvet. Moderate acidity makes it approachable now, but there's enough tannin to preserve it for a few years. A wine that can stand up to a steak but still retains a sense of Pinot elegance. EDITOR'S CHOICE.

Deep, dark ruby purple color, rich black cherry, chocolate, earthy notes on the nose; dry, full lots of black cherry and plum notes, incredible depth, toasty oak, great balance and a finish that goes on forever. Incredible concentration of flavor, rich and mouthfilling! Hartford Court is making some of the finest Pinots in California. The Arrendell is no exception - truly exceptional Pinot.