Dalwhinnie is well into its fourth decade of icon Australian Shiraz. Their parched soils atop the inhospitable climes of the Pyrenees yield restricted harvests of parched berries with aromatic, mouth filling spice characters and intense tannins. Just four kilometres along Taltarni Road on the Moonambel valley floor, Dalwhinnie has been pampering younger plantings at the Forest Hut Vineyard established in the 1990s. Now fully mature, these unirrigated and dry farmed, well canopied, vertically shoot positioned vines are producing intensely flavoured Shiraz.

$2899each $347DOZEN EACH DOZEN Crafted from parcels of Shiraz grown to the cooler, slower ripening Forest Hut site. The climes are three to four degrees cooler than Dalwhinnie, all year round, so vintage arrives some three weeks later. Vines make the most of the extra time on offer to ripen grapes fully and develop vibrant fruit characters. The Dalwhinnie team know that great Shiraz can only come from a healthy, well pruned vine which has the proper balance of fruit to foliage for even ripening. Grapes are harvested and gently crushed, destemmed and pumped to fermentation tank for two weeks vinification, followed by transfer to a selection of old, well seasoned French oak barriques for maturation.

Purple black in colour with a lustre and sheen. Freshly ground black pepper, rosemary, bay leaf and dark plum bouquet with a hint of cinnamon. A big, rich savoury wine, well textured with massive tannin structure. A complex, long and lingering finish.

Dalwhinnie vineyard was planted to a unique topographical amphitheatre which precipitates its own meso climate. The site is totally frost free and allows fruit to reach complete physiological ripeness in nine out of ten years. This rare confluence of temperate climes, cooler altitudes and parched Pyrenees soils, sublimate into one of Australia's most enduring and distinctive styles of Cabernet Sauvignon. A stunning wine, the overall impression is of ripe pure black fruits, layered with rich dark chocolate and seasoned by notes of violet and camphor.

$6699each $803DOZEN EACH DOZEN Out in Victoria's west country, planted to rocky scenic uplands, parched vines struggle to survive, yielding tiny little berries of the most concentrated and intensely flavoured Cabernet Sauvignon. Ballarat architect Ewan Jones established Dalwhinnie in 1976, his eldest son David has managed it since 1983. It's the kind of family devotion to winemaking that one finds in the great estates of the world. At 595 metres above sea level, Dalwhinnie is the highest and most remote of the Pyrenees district vineyards. Surrounded and sheltered by the highest crags, this unique bowl of vines is a world unto itself, located in a naturally undulating trough which falls away from the hills.

Dark cherry red. Fine elegant cedar cigar box perfume with lifted dark berry fruits, clean and varietally articulate. Very fresh. Very tight and highly strung, displaying fruit, oak and acid in fine balance. The harmony of these three elements is impeccable for such a young wine. Shows all the character and style of a grand cru left bank bordeaux. The super league of Victorian Cabernet Sauvignon.

$5899each $707DOZEN EACH DOZEN

$4999each $599DOZEN EACH DOZEN

Excellent Langtons Classification. The Dalwhinnie vineyard is situated on the 37th parallel, within a unique amphitheatre which has its own unique mesoclime. The poor fragile soils left over from alluvial mining projects in the early 1800s are some of the hardest and hungriest anywhere. The first Shiraz vines, planted to the Grand Piano Block, were rootlings from the eminent Sunraysia Nurseries at Mildura. The site is totally frost free and harvests achieve complete physiological ripeness nine out of ten years, all vintage releases must surpass expectations.

$6899each $827DOZEN EACH DOZEN

Full bodied, single block Shiraz of controlled power and amazing grace, crafted from a small parcel of precious fruit, picked off a rare clone, transplanted to Moonambel from an ancient Barossa vineyard in 1997. An opaque, masculine wine treated to an extended term of age in an extravagant choice of medium toast Allier French oak, its virile bouquet of musky jube aromas and seasoned sandalwood precedes a voluminious palate of dark berries, bramble and cassis, a wine of intense concentration supported by the splendour of masculine, savoury tannins.

$9499each $1139DOZEN EACH DOZEN

From a single precious block, planted to an inhospitable reef outcrop, dynamited for levelling and planted to the eminent Concongella clone of Shiraz in 1995. The dry and bony soils yield meagre harvests of the most amazing concentration, parched little berries bursting with flavour and lined with velvet tannins. Grampians Shiraz of the highest order and most distinguished peerage, its amazingly rich perfumes and bridled elegance, black fruit characters throughout, black cherries, black raspberries and black roses, salacious yet refined.

$8999each $1079DOZEN EACH DOZEN

A superb construct of Yarra Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, crafted from three estate parcels of fully mature, low yielding vines, planted 1987 to 1991 at Dixon's Creek. A highly regional expression of Cabernet, exhibiting profound varietal definition, bursting with dark bramble berry flavours, seasoned by a dusting of cedar and garnish of bushvine leaf. The Victorian of choice to accompany dry aged sirloin with grilled marrow, truffled mash and morelles.

$2599each $311DOZEN EACH DOZEN Vines are all cane pruned to twenty five bunches per vine, further shoot thinned at the 10cm to 15cm stage to eighteen bunches per vine. The hand picked berries are placed in 8kg buckets and transported promptly to the De Bortoli wineworks. Bunches are destemmed, crushed and tipped into fourteen tonnes fermenters. Upon completion of ferments, batches are kept at a minimum of 25C and left on skins for two to three weeks. Batches are pressed, settled overnight and gravity filled to a selection of oak casks for a year's maturation at 16C. Components are then racked and gently aerated every three to four months throughout the course of age.

Deep vibrant red with purple hues. Complex aromas with tobacco and macerated pommace like fruit. Aromas of blueberry and bramble with underlying clove and leather characters. A fine, detailed, full bodied wine, plump and flavoursome with blackcurrant and spicy oak flavours, meaty mid-palate fruit flavours, fine grained tannins, structure, balance and excellent length of flavour.

De Bortoli are all about nurturing the endowments of the land to be enthused by the bequest of season, the personality of good wine is indeed defined by the disposition of nature. An exemplary effort in Yarra Valley Chardonnay, fashioned to articulate a cornucopia of complex fruit characters over rich barrel ferment extracts, seasoned by nutty, vanilla cashew notes. The palate is superbly textured and manifestly elegant, captivating and compelling, before a long, exquisitely poised finish that's just gorgeous.

$2599each $311DOZEN EACH DOZEN De Bortoli work to the belief that sustainable vineyard practices deliver exceptional quality wines as well as providing real benefits to the environment. Vibrant characters are preserved throughout vinification with gentle, low intervention techniques, creating a wine with varietal definition and purity. Parcels of Chardonnay are selected from four estate properties, hand picked off mature, low yielding vines which consistently produce the finest quality fruit. Grapes are whole bunch crushed and pressed to extract good phenolics for texture and minerality. Juices are settled overnight before racking to a collection of seasoned French oak casks for a course of lees stirring and wild, indigenous fermentation.

Light straw with green hues. Refreshing citrus lift with background notes of hazelnuts and slight, toasty aromas. Tight lean citrus like fruit. A textured palate which shows savoury characters of hazelnuts wound together with some balanced phenolics to give length and longevity. The Chardonnay of choice to accompany char grilled, Maghrebi spiced spatchcock.

$2599each $309DOZEN EACH DOZEN

From the prestigious Dixon's Creek vineyards in Yarra Valley, hand crafted by the most innovative and progressive Pinot protagonist in Australia. Pinot Noir can be tricky to grow and to make into wine, De Bortoli take the greatest effort at developing deep flavours within the grapes as they ripen, while remaining in pursuit of judicious alcohol and congenial tannins. A richly textured, elegantly structured Pinot Noir, fashioned from elite vineyard parcels, a solid, Burgundy styled accord of savoury red fruit pectin, mineral and lithe spice.

$2599each $311DOZEN EACH DOZEN De Bortoli have spared no expense at husbanding the finest Pinot Noir vineyards in Yarra Valley, they retain the best sites and have produced the finest vintages for decades. Fruit is hand picked off the choicest estate blocks, holistically managed to the most exacting environmentally sustainable standards. All grapes and a small amount of whole bunches, are individually examined over a sorting table, before being tipped into traditional open top fermenters, for three weeks of maceration and vinification through the action of wild indigenous yeasts. Batches are pressed and settled overnight, followed by gravity fill into a selection of 225L French oak casks for eight months maturation at a salutary 16C.

Vibrant red with garnet hues. Elegant Pinot fruit bouquet, red currants, cherry and raspberry over subtle spice and forest floor. Medium bodied, building weight across the palate, richly textured, long and fine, supported by firm yet gentle tannins. A treat alongside European inspired recipes and all things duck.

From the illustrious De Bortoli property at Dixon's Creek, established almost four decades ago on the cooler, elevated climes of Yarra Valley. The natural endowments of the land and consequence of closely hand managed vines, achieves a bounty of the most exquisite Shiraz, treated to a combination of old world vinification techniques, whole bunch inclusions and boot treading, aged in well seasoned, large format oak. A generously layered wine that builds and builds on the palate, Aussie Shiraz of the most articulate bucolic charm and refined pastoral grace.

$2599each $311DOZEN EACH DOZEN The viticultural team take aim at harvests of Shiraz, showing excellent ripeness, fine tannins and an abundance of flavour. Grapes are hand picked and hand sorted over a triage table. A combination of whole bunch and whole berries are tipped into open fermenters and treated to a course of foot plunging, followed by rack and returns and more foot plunging toward the end of vinication. Batches are treated to three weeks of maceration and ferment through the action of wild indigenous yeasts. Components are pressed, settled overnight and gravity filled to a selection of 500 litre and 2300 litre oak casks for a year's maturation at optimal temperatures of 16C.

Garnet red colour. Brightly lit, detailed and perfumed bouquet, graphite and mineral notes. Medium bodied and dry, a finely aromatic, plump palate, seasoned by white pepper notes and exhibiting whole bunch ferment characters, supported by a length of grainy tannins and mere veneer of cedar oak. A match to spicy, country style pork bangers and root vegetable mash, drizzled with truffle oil.