Single vineyard Syrah, from a sparse harvest of the most amazing grapes, hand picked off the dry grown, Drögemüller family orchard at Springton in the very southeast of Barossa Valley. Bunches are treated to a six tonnes, open top fermenter, for a week of skin contact and daily pumpovers, followed by a year in a selection of well seasoned French oak barrels. An intensely perfumed, Rhône valley style, redolent of peppercorn and spiced black bramble fruit, its ripe, juicy, loganberry, cherry and morello freshness, lingering on a long, licorice wick of, elegant, tensile tannins.

$3499each $419DOZEN EACH DOZEN

Old vine Grenache, a few inestimable rows, planted during the 1930s to a picturesque place in the northern Barossa called Light Pass. Impassioned vigneron Kevin Schild is custodian of these wizened old veterans, yielding barely enough of a crop to make a few hundred cases. The Chaffeys see themselves as oenological parfumiers, identifying the supple complexities of wayward fruit, revelling in the lost art of small batch vintages. They have elected to treat Schild's fruit to a Nouveau style of ferment, a third included as whole bunches, to be judiciously bottled unfiltered and unfined.

$2999each $359DOZEN EACH DOZEN

An outstanding assemblage of the most exceptional fruit from the elite Ehrat Vineyard, picked off unirrigated rows of parallel grown Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon along Krondorf Road. The inclusion of choice picks Shiraz from a panoply of terroirs in the Valley Eden, Stockwell and Light Pass, add palate weight and complexity. A traditional ferment and old world standards of élevage, just a few hundred dozen are made, are followed by eighteen months in a luxuriously high proportion of new Leroi French oak hogsheads, purposefully bottled unfiltered and unfined.

$3599each $431DOZEN EACH DOZEN

$2699each $323DOZEN EACH DOZEN

Charles Cimicky was inspired by his father to take over the reins at the family estate, that's when the good wines started turning into awesome wines. Today, Cimicky is one of the most meticulous winemakers in South Australia. Cimicky makes cult wine with a recognizable wow factor, a tiny production and always very limited in availability. Judged first amongst peers, Charles Cimicky won the Barossa Wine Grape Council Trophy for the best wine from a small producer twice in succession, as well as the Vinpac International Trophy for Best Shiraz.

$3299each $395DOZEN EACH DOZEN Story has it that as fruit slowly ripened on the vine, a small group of zealous Barossa pioneers would retreat to an old vineyard cottage for the twin enticements of cards and claret. In their hidden refuge, these normally hardworking and God-fearing men played Euchre whilst carefully concealed from the prying eyes of more diligent and puritanical souls. Now a lingering part of Barossa history, the crumbling remains of the original old cottage still stand amidst ancient vines that consistently produce wines of outstanding power and richness. An exceptional Barossa Shiraz within its range, by virtue of the high quality fruit, lavish use of the finest oak and painstaking skill of Charles Cimicky.

Deep scarlet colour. Rich bouquets, opulent with generous dark fruits, heady, aromatic, liquorice and cedar, blackberry and prune. A palate of dark chocolate and espresso, complex spice, the fruit, oak and tannins are inseparable.

Charles Cimicky wineworks and vineyard run a kilometre along the picturesque Hermann Thumm Drive at Lyndoch, on the very floor of the Valley, surrounded by beautiful Barossa Ranges. Charles Cimicky, the man, is held in great esteem by his peers, for his gentle nature and exceptional quality of his wines. His eponymous is a perennial favourite of bespoke Barossa Shiraz enthusiasts, named after a group of local pioneers who would famously retreat to an old vineyard cottage for the relaxing indulgence of claret and cards.

$4699each $563DOZEN EACH DOZEN Charles Cimicky takes a wholistic, old world approach to viticulture and the creation of his wines. Apart from a little bit of minor drip irrigation in January and February, the entire thirty two hectares of vine are dry grown, cover cropped and organically fertilized. Wines are aged exclusively in top quality oak, which becomes apparent in the rich bouquet and fine grained tannins. Charles Cimicky is fastidious. The winery is completely air conditioned and individually temperature controlled fermenters are employed in the making of all wines. Cimicky employs his own bottling and packaging line, a rarity for a wineworks of such modest size.

Deep, opaque, almost black in colour with a crimson edge. A concentration of black olives and bramble, blackberries and licorice to the nose with rich soil notes. Abundant ripeness matched to purity of fruit and subtle vanillan oak, a big, full bodied Shiraz offering a soft rich palate displaying great length of flavour and fine texture, seasoned by pencil shaving oak and supported by fine, elegant tannins.

Charlie Melton was one of the first to appreciate the overlooked value in Barossa's old vineyard Grenache, Shiraz and Mourvedre. At a time when others were pulling out such vineyards to plant more fashionable varieties, Charlie was convincing farmers to keep their historic plantings. He was one of a small group of winemakers who helped retain the viticultural heritage of Barossa Valley. A soft, plump palate of traditional Barossa ripeness and plummy, festive cake spice, currants and dark fruit, a finish of luscious, rounded tannins underpinning soily Barossa goodness.

$2999each $359DOZEN EACH DOZEN

At Charles Melton vineyards, great emphasis is placed on the quality of fruit, completely dry grown on the estate’s fifty acres of prime Barossa viticulture, ocassionally calling on a distinguished group of devoted local growers for extravagantly priced parcels of the most exceptional fruit. Cabernet grapes must must be fully ripe without passing the softness stage into wrinkled, affording richness while retaining structure. Berries are gently destemmed for vinification, followed by transfer into an extravagant selection of completely new French oak barriques for a minimum two years maturion on gross lees.

$5299each $635DOZEN EACH DOZEN

The Father in Law is a single block of elite vine, originally acquired to keep Mrs Melton's dad busy after retirement. This superior parcel of Shiraz from Syd Weckert's the father in law site, is enhanced by a backbone of choice Melton fruit. Solidly structured, generously proportioned yet highly elegant, its minty, blueberry perfumes, supported by the dark chocolate and merry spice that's so eloquent of all things Barossa. Whole bunches, stemmed but uncrushed fruit, daily pumpovers and seasoned oak barriques for an extended term of twenty months on lees to infuse flavour and richness.

$2999each $359DOZEN EACH DOZEN Father in law is treated to the traditional Charles Melton retinue, whole bunches, de-stemmed but uncrushed fruit, cap management and daily pumpovers throughout. Batches are pressed off just prior to dryness into a selection of seasoned oak barriques for an extended term of twenty months on lees to infuse flavour and build richness.

Bright, opaque scarlet colour. Sweet spicy almost Christmas plum pudding scent, rich and warm. Rich, plump mid palate with savoury flavours, characters of rhubarb and ham, sleek tannins that glide across the palate. Full but not overly big, Shiraz of defined linear structure, openness, generosity, warmth, the perfect red for gourmet sausages, barbeques and meats.

$24999each $2997DOZEN EACH DOZEN

Charles Melton was road tripping across Australia when his broken down EH Holden forced him to grab the first job. It was Krondorf and he wound up working with Peter Lehmann. Melton travelled to France and developed the beginnings of what would become a life long passion for the wines of vallée du Rhône, in particular Shiraz. Darkly scented plum pudding lift, fine sweet oak in support of generous mouthfilling palate, rich but exquisitely balanced, lovely complex length of flavour, all that we love about the affable, big hearted Barossa style.

$7999each $959DOZEN EACH DOZEN

A collation of choice parcels Shiraz from the Krondorf Village districts in Barossa. All grapes are dry grown and great emphasis is placed on the quality of fruit. Yields are extremely low, often only one or two tonne per acre. Parcels are vinified and assembled to contruct the most complete wine, in terms of balance between pure fruit flavours and earthy/ gamey qualities. A style which has a kiss of sweet oak, allowing the rich fragrance and flavours of old dry grown vines to remain at the fore, a Shiraz of intense flavours and richness by a Barossa master.

$4599each $551DOZEN EACH DOZEN Blocks of vine are picked in different lots to provide a full range of flavours. Parcels are treated to the full Charles Melton melange of techniques, whole bunch fermentation along with destemmed but uncrushed fruit. Cap management techniques include pigeage and hand plunging, as well as daily pumpovers throughout a week of vinification. Batches are filled to a mix of French and American oak barriques for completion of ferments, at a range of alcohols between 12.0% and 17.0%, fortuitously not too much quantity at either extreme, delivering a fascinating palate from which to assemble. An extended course of two years maturation on gross lees achieves a Barossa Shiraz of outstanding weight and complexity.

Lovely deep dark colour. Intense black fruits with a little smoky oak influence showing through. Very lifted nose with a faint camphor/ methanol note but not intrusive. An array of plum and blackberrry flavours seasoned by a twist of the pepper mill, a long spicy palate showing cedar oak and savoury chocolate, finishing with firm, rounded tannins. The weight of fruit is there, the elegance shines through.