Returned servicemen from the Great War could look forward to government grants of pastoral freehold. West Australia's Willyabrup Valley was such a place, just a short walk from the balmy beaches of Indian Ocean, it offered the veterans excellent potential for agriculture. The fertile lands of Sussex Vale were originally established to animal husbandry by the discharged troopers, generations of livestock enriched the soils and it was astutely sown to vines in 1973. Fortuitously placed at the very heart of the Australian west's most illustrious estates, it continued to occupy the thoughts of neighbouring Howard Park's chief winemaker, until he acquired the property and relaunched a softly spoken range of the most exquisite wines. Aspirants of the blue blooded.. A better block on hay shed hill»

Clonakilla are one of our nation's most eminent vineyard wineries, a tiny production operation, established by a CSIRO scientist at Murrumbateman, very near Canberra. It turned out to be a fortuitous planting, with a climate not dissimilar to Bordeaux and northern Rhone, the Clonakilla property now occupies a rank next to the mighty Grange on the prestigious Exceptional Langtons Classification, it yields vintages of Australia's most invaluable Shiraz. At $26.99, the estate's entry level belies its stature and excellence within the pantheon of great Australian wine, an essential experience this week for all enthusiasts, a canny choice for shrewd and judicious aspirants of elite new world Shiraz... Here's what our most picky pundits prefer»

The First Colonists to arrive in South Australia were brought to Kangaroo Island aboard HMS Buffalo in 1836. Sharing the journey was a veteran of the Royal Navy who had served aboard Lord Nelson's flagship HMS Victory. Frank Potts was an accomplished sailor and carpenter, he built many of the young colony's structures and trading vessels. Six generations later, the Potts family's precious plantings of Malbec have been a key component in many of the nation's most memorable and invaluable vintages for decades. A varietal that performs magnificently on the silty flood plains of Langhorne Creek, Bleasdale's pure Malbec bottlings are a profound statement about the excellence and eloquence which can be achieved after generations of husbanding one of the world's most.. Making the most magnificent malbec»

After hearing tall tales of the Victorian klondike, he jumped ship and made his way to the Castlemaine goldfields. Black Jack mined no fortune but he found his fame as the only American mariner to still be savoured alongside have claimed the eminent M.Chapoutier Trophy for Best Shiraz at the prestigious Le Concours des Vinson on no fewer than three occasions... Found berth in the australian colonies during the goldrush of the 1850s»

Kalleske are one of our nation's most distinguished winegrower families, Barossa through and through, heirs to the tradition of Prussian pastoralists who established South Australia as one of the world's great viticultural precincts. The family Kalleske were the quiet achievers behind the stellar quality of fruit, at the heart of the most memorable vintages Penfolds Grange. Old sites and ancient vines, a tally of which have been branded under the Atze's Corner label, a regal range of stately Barossa wines, irresistibly underpriced in terms of provenance, excellence and sheer delight. Spectacular bouquets, redolent of freshness, fragrance and fruit, astonishingly balanced to perfection, meaty, mouth filling palates, layered with punnets of savoury ripe berries, all wrapped in the type of chewy, seductive.. Small batches of the barossa's very best»

Giovanni Tait mastered the family tradition of coopering wine barrels before migrating to Australia in 1957. He took up work in the Barossa and ultimately settled in for a lengthy engagement at B Seppelts and Sons, where he played a significant role in the vinification and maturation of some of the most memorable vintages in Australian viticulture. Tait's boys grew up to be winemakers, their attention to detail and close relationship with the Barossa's finest growers have earned the highest accolades from the international wine industry press. Generously proportioned yet exquisitely balanced, famously praised, perennially by savant Robert Parker as the most consistently outstanding quality, exceptional value wines from Barossa Valley... Bespoke parcels of old vineyard fruit»