Meaty, autumnal berry nose with a hint of violets. An approachable, dark-fruited Shiraz, with a supple mouthfeel that has a meaty edge and a hint of jamón. Quite elegant for a McLaren Vale Shiraz. Charming and well turned out.

With precious old dry-farmed vines first planted in 1946, Yangarra Estate in McLaren Vale was taken over in 2000 by the late, great Californian Jess Jackson and his wife, Barbara Banke, of Kendall-Jackson Fame. With state-of-the art growing practices and a spanking new winery, Yangarra is producing excellent offerings, including this 2012 shiraz. It’s full-bodied and even hints at good-quality Napa cabernet, with its concentrated blackcurrant fruit and harmonious structure, enriched by chocolate, black pepper and a coffee-mocha quality framed by bright acidity.

In difficult vintages the class shows through. It's only light to medium-weight but it's meticulously void of any unripe character and exchanges volume for savoury, peppery complexity. Nuts, red cherry, dried herbs, cranberry, vanilla and a general brambliness. Tannin is like two fingers pulling straight down through the wine.

This biodynamically farmed McLaren Vale shiraz from Yangarra Estate is a good symbol of where Australian wine is at. It's a clean, fruit-driven wine but there's nothing industrial about it. It's wild yeast fermented, left to mature on lees, bottled unfined. It has balance and easy-going momentum. The fruit is in the plum and dark cherry realm, but there are savoury/spicy/sappy elements. Oak is a little too toasty and coffeed for my liking, but it's tame and in the background, so it doesn't get in the way. Tannin is fine, fleshy, gently insistent. All up, this wine is impossible to fault, pleasurable, and interesting.

A delicious, full-bodied red wine with classic shiraz aromas of black plum, blackberry and some dark spice. Terrific layering of pleasure and flavour on the palate. Try it with smoked meats. 4.6/5 Shiraz food pairings: steak.

Deep red-purple; lush black fruits and dark chocolate on the bouquet come through on the full-bodied palate, where substantial tannins need time to soften somewhat, a process that I am sure will take place well before the fruit declines.

Fine aromatics. Lovely, seductively opulent cassis fruit, tinged with incense and mint. Delicious palate, integrated and absorbed tannins that support sweet fruit. Top-class McLaren Vale Shiraz. Seamless and long.

Supple and intense, the velvet texture of this wine seems to start right from the black color and black fig aroma. It's dense and perfumed, with violets and heady spice, while the flavors taste pure and delicious. The rich middle comes up against hard tannins, ending on black pepper and pomegranate, suited to age. Remarkably evocative of McLaren for the price.

Biggest Australian Wine Tasting Ever: 2,700+ Ratings This youthful ‘village’ red has a very vibrant, energetic and composed feel with abundant mulberry, blueberry and raspberry aromas that flow to a composed, spunky palate that has vividly appealing fruit. A blend of 40% grenache, 21% mourvedre, 14% shiraz, 12% cinsault, 11% carignan and 2% counoise. Drink now. Screw cap.

By contrast, this is pretty and drenched in fruit. From a 2 acre block, with 50% whole berries. Open wild ferment and spends 10 months in old oak. Numbers: pH 3.53 TA 6.2g/L. Purple red it’s really quite pretty, with poised blackberry fruit coming in at all angles. It’s maybe lacking a little follow through, safe for late warmth, but the blackberried nature makes for naturally attractive stuff. Best drinking: Ready now to to ten years. 17.7/20, 92/100. 14.5%, $35. Would I buy it? Worth a few glasses.

This blend of 58% Grenache, 24% Shiraz, 18% Mourvèdre offers layers of blue and black fruit, warm stones, tarragon and iodine. The palate is sandy in texture, with a burst of crunchy acidity that balances the powerful, structured tannins.

This ruby colored GSM from Yangarra is impressive. It opens with faint blueberry and boysenberry bouquet. On the palate, this wine is medium bodied, balanced and juicy. The flavor profile is a very tasty blueberry and oak blend with notes of boysenberry and nicely integrated minerality. The finish is very dry and its sticky tannins linger and last for a very long time. This GSM would pair well with a New York strip steak.

Why Australian Wine is Some of the Most Exciting in the World A spicy GSM blend with lots of ripe black cherries, a hint of ivy extract, dark licorice and some cassis. On the palate, this shows real structure and definition with ripe yet sturdy tannins and fresh acidity. A tangy, chewy finish.

McLaren Vale mourvedre rides again. Yangarra has a two acre plot of this beautiful grape and while it mostly goes into the GSM blend, some is also bottled as a single variety. At the upper end of medium-bodied. Blackberry, plums, fresh leather, cloves and general woody, dried spice. Silken texture but with some grunt to the tannin. Acidity sits fairly high in the wine, giving it a refreshing aspect. Musky, perfumed, creamy notes through the finish. Quality drop, as they say.

A 60/22/18% blend; there is more flavour complexity that that of the Grenache, not surprising given the blend, but the mouthfeel is not quite so convincing. A worthy wine, nonetheless.

Richly fragrant, smooth and luscious with velvety texture, ripe blackberry fruit and hints of new oak; 68% Grenache, 27% Shiraz, 5% Mourvèdre.

Why Australian Wine is Some of the Most Exciting in the World Poached quince and pears with spicy and lightly honeyed aromas. The palate has a smoothly formed, fleshy texture. The honeyed, lees-derived influence sits well in this complex and textural white.

Take Note: Real Australian Wine Is Here Custard apple, apple pie and lemon notes too. There's a fluid palate texture with honey and lemon flavor. Neatly balanced. Drink now. Screw cap.

The 2015 Roux Beaute Roussanne has an alluring baked apricot, honeysuckle, brioche and marzipan-scented nose with hints of struck match, wet pebbles and yeast extract. The medium-bodied palate delivers the structure, texture and depth of a great Chardonnay with all the character of a very smart Roussanne. There's plenty of savory intensity supported by a satiny texture and an invigorating backbone of freshness, Finishing long and toasty.

Hand-picked, basket-pressed, wild fermentation and 7 months maturation in French oak (10% new). At the dawn of its life; chalky acidity.

The 2013 Roux Beaute Roussanne is scented of peaches, allspice, Golden Delicious apples and quince paste with a touch of honeysuckle. The medium-bodied palate has a lovely texture with yeast, savory notes plus fennel seed. It finishes very fresh and long.

From the estate plantings, biodynamically farmed, hand picked and sent to winery to natural ferment. It hangs out in tank mostly but some older oak is also applied. It’s a good thing to drink, I reckon. Would love to be on the White House (the Yangarra ‘mansion’) patio drinking this on a summer’s night pre dinner. Feels like a good thing to start an evening with. Subtle, fine, elegant expression of viognier. Has a soft, nutty complexion amongst the faint apricot, ripe apple, peach kisses in flavour. It’s very long, supple, licked at its heels with oatmeal savouriness, finishes with a quick zest of mixed citrus. So very easy to like the calm, even nature of this wine, and flavours are pleasing. Almost like a comfort white.

Estate-grown, 1 tonne/acre, hand-picked, basket-pressed, fermented in stainless steel, matured for 4 months in used French oak. The decision to use the basket press was presumably directed to limit the pressings to free-run juice and possibly oxidise some of the phenolics. Regardless, this is a juicy viognier with light chalky acidity.

Medium yellow-green; the wine has clear varietal expression, with a mix of apricot, peach and citrus, the finish fresh, bracing and without any phenolic load.

This dark yellow colored Chardonnay from Wind Racer is impressive. It opens with a lemon and pineapple bouquet. On the palate, this wine is full bodied, balanced and rich. Like the nose, the flavor profile is a tasty pineapple and lemon blend with notes of nicely integrated oak and hints of quince. The finish lingers and lasts for a very long time. This Chardonnay can certainly be enjoyed on its own. With food, I would pair it with lemon butter scallops over parmesan risotto.