2003 Lake Breeze Bernoota Shiraz Cabernet

60% shiraz and 40% cabernet from Langhorne Creek. Full bodied, sumptuous and creamy this wine really fills the mouth. Loads of blackberry fruit, mocha, vanilla and some cabernet eucalypt spice to finish. Another wine that could be drunk over the next 3-5 years but for my tastes it is drinking now.

Rate: 91pts

Price: $20

Drink: 2007-2010

2006 Terra Felix Shiraz Viogner

Sweet and luscious red cherry and plum fruits, apricot jam, spice and red licquorice. This wine is dangerously easy to drink! Soft tannins and acid but all harmoniously balanced. I like it.

Rate: 90pts

Price: $15

Drink: 2007-2009

2005 D’arenberg D’arrys Original Shiraz Grenache

50% Shiraz and 50% Grenache. Dark plums, pepper, dilute black coffee, dried herbs and some spice elements I can’t quite put my finger on. Medium bodied with loose tannins and subtle but slightly bitter oak on the finish.

Rate: 88pts

Price: $17

Drink: 2007-2009

2002 Peter Lehmann Eight Songs Shiraz

Deep plum and blackberries, dark chocolate, red earth, dusty pepper and cinnamon and seasoned French oak. A full bodied, very Barossan shiraz which is starting come of age and show real ripeness. Would easily last another 7 years, but I like it how it is now.

Rate: 93pts

Price: $40

Drink: 2007-2012

1996 Peter Lehmann Stonewell Shiraz

Blackberries, blackcurrants, plums and berry liqueur, dark creamy chocolate, musk, sweet clove, ground coffee, aniseed, vanillin essence and some new wet leather. Fragrant, complex, awesomely concentrated and layered with fine seamless tannins. All components in perfect balance and with an incredible and persistent finish. This is truly a magnificent wine.

Rate: 97+pts

Price: $100+

Drink: 2007-2017

2006 Taylors Shiraz Malbec

A vintage cellars exclusive wine. Big dark plum and boysenberry fruit, licquorice strap and dusty coal, cedar and strong vanilla. A strong core of extact and tannins and lots of tart acid on the palate. The malbec makes its present known and all the better for it. Should start to drink well in about two years and continue on for at least another five.

Rate: 92pts

Price: $15

Drink: 2009-2015

2006 Glaetzer Wallace Shiraz Grenache

Blackcherries, plum, spicy aniseed and some light nutmeg and pepper spice. Medium to full bodied with small but firm tannins and a little dash of tart acidity. Though drinking now, I think it needs another year or a slightly long decant.

*Note: I enjoyed this wine more after being opened and left in the fridge for 3 days.

Rate: 88pts

Price: $20

Drink: 2007-2010

2006 Glaetzer The Bishop Shiraz

Big black plums, blackberries, dark chocolate, coarse cinnamon and vanilla essence crystals.

The palate is dark and is brooding with heaps of blackberry liqueur and other dark fruits, much of which is still locked beneath the wines' young tannic sheath. Chunky chocolate, spicy cloves and a good dollop of mocha/vanilla cream smeared on top aswell. Big tannins, this one will last at least 7-10 years and won’t be showing what its made of until at least 2009-2010. Big, dark, Barossa style.

Rate: 93pts

Price:$25

Drink: 2009-2018+

Grant Burge 150th Anniversary Range

Vintage Cellars are promoting these wines at the moment for $19.99 a bottle.. within the range is a Shiraz, Shiraz Cabernet and a GSM blend. All from 2004 and from Barossa. I was about to buy one of each to try but when I got there, they were already open for tasting!

I will post brief notes on what I thought of them and won’t give ratings. Having said that they would probably average just under 90 points.. with a drinking window of about now to 2010.

2004 Grant Burge 150^th Anniversary Shiraz

Plenty of plum and berry fruits, light coffee and a touch of cinnamon. Lighter than I expected for an 04 Barossa shiraz, but still good drinking.

2004 Grant Burge 150^th Anniversary Shiraz Cabernet

A slightly deeper profile than the straight shiraz, and cabernet unmistakably present. Light blackberries and plum fruit up front with some medium bodied tannins and a whisker of eucalypt on the finish.

2004 Grant Burge 150^th Anniversary GSM

Lighter bodied than others within the range, but probably the most balanced. Lots of cherries and plum fruit, medium savoury tannins and a touch of spice. Better than a lot of “blockbuster” Barossa GSM styles that I’ve had.

Overall they are all sound wines. The shiraz is probably my favourite – but there are better ones out there for the price.

2005 D'arenberg The Footbolt Shiraz

Plums, black cherries and spicy, cedary oak. Quite spicy and savoury on the palate but with plenty of plum and dark berry fruits to complement. Fresh acidity and some taut, grippy tannins to finish. A little raw at the moment, should be interesting to see re-visit in a years time.

Rate: 89pts

Price: $15

Alcohol: 14.5%

Drink: 2008-2011

2005 Metala Shiraz Cabernet

A spicy nose, plummy fruit, blackberries, white pepper and dried herbs. Quite a sour palate upon opening with young plums up front and a eucalypt finish. With more time it showed more blackberry and liquorice with a slight green pepper finish.

Showing quite good length of finish for a wine in this price bracket, but a bit raw at the moment and needs another year or two in the bottle.

Rate: 88pts

Price: $14

Alcohol: 14.5%

Drink: 2008-2012

2004 Vasse Felix Heytesbury Cabernet

A very fragrant wine – exuding blackberries, smoke, fresh tobacco and some subdued mint. On the palate it is big, dark and brooding, loaded with blackberry liqueur, black olives, cedar wood and spice. Full bodied, multi layered and with a firm backbone of tannin – this wine will go the distance.

Rate: 95pts

Price: $70

Alcohol: 14.5%

Drink: 2010-2017

2004 Cape Mentelle Shiraz

2004 Cape Mentelle Shiraz

Ripe dark red plums, black cherry and tomato characters. Quite a fragrant and intense nose showing some nice white pepper character typical of cool climate shiraz.

Tight on the palate, with balanced fruit and savoury elements and finishes with finely grained tannins and fresh acidity. Elegant and restrained and a fine example of MR shiraz.

Rate: 94pts

Price: $30

Alcohol: 14.5%

Drink: 2007-2012

2004 Penfolds Bin 407 Cabernet Sauvignon

2004 Penfolds Bin 407 Cabernet Sauvignon

An excellent varietal. This is cabernet and nothing else. Cassis, capsicum, cedar, tobacco – its all there. Medium to full bodied with firm tannins, it finishes with good length and a fair grip. Quite a bit of greenish elements within the wine at the moment but still pleasant, and should develop well. However it must be said that this wine needs a long decant to be enjoyed now.

Rate: 91pts

Price: $35

Alcohol: 14.5%

Drink: 2009-2014

2004 Peter Lehmann Stockwell Rd Shiraz

Dark fruits, plum, aniseed and cracked black pepper. Medium to full bodied, showed some bitterness upon opening which phased out after more time in the glass. Quite an elegant wine with a spicy finish and medium to firm tannins.

Rate: 93pts

Price: $40 (Restaurant)

Alcohol: 14%

Drink: 2008-2014

2004 Elderton Barossa Cabernet Sauvignon

Deep blackberry fruit, tobacco, olive and finishes with a some slightly bitter chocolate and touch of mint. A good full bodied cabernet, with medium tannins and good length.

Rate: 91pts

Price: $30

Alcohol: 14.5%

Drink: 2008-2011+

2004 Penfolds Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz

A huge wine, loaded with black and blueberry fruit, thick black liquorice, cloves, five star anise and finely crushed peppercorns. Full bodied, muscular, promising complexity and with a lingering finish full of long spicy tannins and solid American oak. One for the cellar!

Rate: 95pts
Price: $55
Alcohol: 14.5%
Drink: 2010-2015