For over 30 years this wine has been spoken about in the same breath as the greatest Shiraz produced anywhere in the country. That's not marketing. That's just the truth. The philosophy behind this wine is beautifully simple: find the very best fruit in the Barossa - the small, intensely concentrated parcels that outperform everything around them - and get out of the way. Over three decades of doing exactly that has produced a wine of legendary status. What was once powerful, muscular and demanding has evolved into something genuinely magnificent. The grunt is still very much there - this is Barossa Shiraz with serious backbone and presence - but time has worked its magic. The tannins have settled into something silky and sophisticated, the dark fruit has deepened and complexified, and the ironstone, graphite and earthy minerality that defines this wine has come into beautiful focus. This is a collector's wine. A cellar wine. A once-in-a-while, pour-it-for-someone-special wine.

This is the McLaren Vale shiraz that sets the benchmark. The big kahuna. The flagship. From the family so entrenched in the Australian wine landscape that it's hard to see where the vines end and their boots start. When we think of Australian shiraz - we think of this family, we thin of this wine. This isn’t just any shiraz - it’s a masterclass in balance. Sure, it’s full-bodied, deep and brooding, but it wears its power with style. Waves of blackberry, plum and blueberry rolling through, chased by whiffs of coffee grind and a smoky little savoury twist. Seventeen months in French oak has wrapped it all up in sleek texture and supple tannins that glide across the palate like Tom Cruise in 'Risky Business'. It’s rich, it’s refined, it’s ridiculously good. That perfect dance of intensity and precision that McLaren Vale dreams are made of. Every sip unfurls with dark fruit, chocolate, clove and a touch of violet - lush and layered, but never over the top. Seriously special stuff.

1,000 bottles. That's all that was ever made. That's the entire world supply. From a highly-exclusive vineyard, in the highly-exclusive sub-region of Mopa, in one of the best Barossa years ever. This is the best of the best - in devastatingly small quantities. A pick-up to be proud of! Opaque blood red in the glass, with a nose that stops you completely. Vanilla, blueberry, chocolate, mocha, coffee bean, aniseed and dark plum all layered together in something that feels almost impossibly complex and perfectly composed at the same time. The palate is focused and immaculately balanced - intensity maintained from the very first sip all the way through to a finish of extraordinary length, underpinned by the silkiest tannins you'll find on a Barossa Shiraz at any price.