Spinifex La Maline 2013 South Australia Barossa Valley

This is a brilliantly concentrated wine full of layers of flavour, texture and richness. Halliday’s ratings for the previous 10 vintages read thus … 97, 97, 95, 96, 97, 95, 96, 95, 96, 95… and this is as good as the very best vintage produced to date, perhaps a smidge better. Produced from a heritage plot of 120+ year old McLaren Vale vines, it will cellar 30 years plus.

The 2015 Bekkers Syrah sits in the top echelon of Shiraz wines from South Australia.

The fruit comes from two highly regarded vineyards in McLaren Vale each sporting old, low-yielding vines. Toby’s vast knowledge of the great vineyards of the region is something of a secret weapon for the Bekkers husband and wife team.

It’s certainly paid dividends here.

This is McLaren Vale Shiraz with power and finesse in equal portion. James Halliday rated this a near perfect 98 points putting on the shortlist with the best Shiraz in the country this year and one of the best buys on the list.