Wine Buyers’ Picks - Barossa Edition

This particular vineyard, in the Rowland Flat area of the Barossa, sits at 380m above sea-level. At this altitude, Barossa vineyards traditionally produce much lower yields creating highly concentrated fruit of exceptional quality. From the first whiff it's quite apparent, this is a really smart wine. A perfumed nose of the expected dark fruits with floral elements of rose petal and violets. On the palate, juicy plums, dark chocolate, pepper, spice and, of course, a long, smooth, oak-driven finish. This drop is as intense as it is complex and will continue to impress for many years to come. Very, very impressive.

Sourced exclusively from old vine blocks in the Southern Barossa, these low-yielding vines produce tiny, concentrated berries bursting with flavour. The result is a Shiraz that captures everything we love about the Barossa: richness, intensity, and a savoury depth that only old vines can deliver. On the nose, it’s classic Barossa in full voice: dark chocolate, spice and savoury earth, lifted by plum and blackberry fruit. Take a sip and it starts plush and generous, a rush of ripe dark berries, before shifting into more complex territory - iodine, peat smoke, roasted spice, even a touch of leather. The tannins are ripe and smooth, the acidity perfectly pitched, and the oak just hums in the background. The finish is long, elegant, and beautifully balanced. This is the kind of shiraz that works now with something rich and slow-cooked - we're thinking beef cheeks or lamb shoulder - but it’s also built with the bones to go 8+ years in the cellar. Barossa at its best: bold, detailed and damn satisfying.

This bloke's a bit of a legend in the Barossa, he lets the fruit do the talking... lucky for us his fruit is pretty much as good as it gets. This Marananga-sourced grenache is looking gorgeous before you've even lifted it to your nose. From there, forget about it - you're in for quite the ride here, time to chuck your seatbelt on. This is a pretty-smelling little thing that packs a bigger punch than its delicate appearance would have you believe. Cherries and wild strawberry lead with raspberry, lifted by citrus blossom and gingerbread notes. Rose petals float through with exotic spice, a slight savouriness, earthy undertones and distant sarsaparilla glimpses building complexity. Seductive doesn't begin to cover these aromatics - they're genuinely captivating. Then the palate arrives telling a similar story but with completely different tone. Spices take control here. That prettiness and delicacy step aside as grip and concentration charge forward. Savoury tannins persist, elevating red fruit to new levels of complexity. Airy and spacious with vivid minerally tension and chalky, savoury sour cherry character flowing through. Explosive right now but built to age gracefully over a decade-plus. Your choice.