Ripper Baker's Doz of Premium Reds v2.0

Just the fifth release of Yaldara Grand, and arguably the one which has struck a balance between power and elegance most deftly. Milk and dark chocolate, aniseed, black and blue fruits, tobacco leaf, plus plenty of cedary oak and tannin. Magical.

This picked up 96 points at the Barossa Wine Show - second, by just 1 point to the Wolf Blass 'The Master' which retails for $350 a bottle. In the same class being judged, it out-pointed Yalumba's The Signature, Henschke's Apple Tree, Grant Burge Nebu, Hentley Farm H Block, and plenty more. It's just approaching prime drinking now. There's a superb array of fruit here, with black cherries, tobacco, black olive, graphite, coffee and vanilla all detectable and delectable.

This is sourced entirely from old, estate grown, ungrafted Barossa vines. The fruit from these gnarly old vines is handpicked before whole bunch fermentation in open fermenters, then pressed into French oak where it spends 15 months. It has an elegant, fragrant nose with plenty of spice and perfume. The palate is bright, but underscored with old vine, black fruited gravitas. Exceptional.

Iron Fist meets Velvet Glove. Ray Jordan notes that Willow Bridge's mid tier Shiraz is consistently one of the best made in WA. This is a step up, the flagship wine, the top tier, and it is exceptional. All of us on the tasting panel gave it 95 or higher! Chosen from the lowest yielding section of the best vineyard, this offers opulence and power in equal measure, with black fruits, dark chocolate, graphite, spice and minerality all on show. Power, length, complexity are a given, somehow it manages to be engaging as well.

The 3rd, and best release of Sieben Klon Shiraz so far - no surprise, given this is from the exceptional 2021 vintage.

Made by former Penfolds St Henri growers, the Lienert brothers, each of the 7 distinct clones were harvested and fermented separately - the harvest date chosen to best allow each grape to express its best characters. For instance, the EVOS12 (Eden Valley clone) was harvested earlier than the others to allow for a beautiful perfume and liveliness in the final wine. Fermentation is done in tiny open top fermenters which are hand plunged up to 4 times a day. Certain clones are fermented cooler to better express delicate aromatics whilst some are plunged and pumped over heavily to achieve a more structural element. The trick is finding the right balance.

Anyways, we love this wine and encourage you to give it a rip.

What a stunning ‘lighter and brighter’ Shiraz from Turkey Flat. A neat counterpoint to their Estate Shiraz, it packs a powerful punch of fruit yet is lighter on its feet than its more expensive counterpart. Some whole bunch is used here and the oak used is all older – both factors in allowing the fruit to really shine. Red and blue fruits, white pepper, bright and crunchy goodness. Delicious Barossa joy in a glass.