2010 Saltram Mamre Brook Barossa Cabernet Sauvignon

Purchase: Naked Wines

Nose: Blackcurrant and dusty chocolate

Palate: Bright intense with medium to full body. Fine tannin and lingering finish. Probably best with food due to bright acidity.

Out of 10: 7

Value: Good

2014 Lodestar Wines Shiraz

Purchase: Naked Wines

Nose: Initially vanilla caramel moving to plum

Palate: Chocolatey spice, good bight but softens to clean and dry finish

Out of 10: 8

Value: Good

2012 Zontes Footstep Baron Von Nemesis Shiraz

Purchase: $14.99 from Crackawines

Nose: Berry.

Palate: With a fruity sweetness this wine is very approachable. The tannins are soft to the point of barely detectable.

Out of 10: 7

Value: Good

2011 St Hallett The Reward Cabernet Sauvignon

Purchase: $24.99 from Crackawines

Nose: Dusty earthiness of the Cabernet fruit shows through.

Palate: Spicy for a Cab, and dry! Leaving you with puckered cheeks.

Out of 10: 7

Value: OK

2012 St Hallett Blackwell Shiraz

Purchase: $31.45 from Dan Murphy's

Nose: A quince-like sweetness with some spice.

Palate: Smooth mouthfeel and balanced tannins. It doesn't leap out at you as wow 97 points of value here. I can't fault the structure but its missing an X-factor.

Out of 10: 8

Value: Hmmm.

2006 Binder Mitchell Gunslingers Shiraz

Purchase: $9.50 from CrackawinesNose: A bit of funk, due to bottle age. Can detect vanillin oak characters.

Palate: Savoury with pepper spice, good body with lingering finish.

Out of 10: 5

Value: OK

2007 Yalumba Single Site Kalimna Shiraz

Purchase: $~50 from Cellar Door

Nose: TBA

Palate: TBA

Out of 10: TBA

Value: TBA

Looking forward to tasting this soon!

2005 Grant Burge Filsell Old Vine Shiraz

Purchase: ~$35 from Cellar Door

Nose: Still young on the nose! Vanillan Oak.

Palate: Sweet luscious red fruit, this wine persists with flavour. Drinking beautifully at 10 years! This is a wine for the old school Barossa wine lover.

Out of 10: 9

Value: Good

Tasted New Years Eve 2014.

2010 Block 51 Basket Pressed Shiraz

Purchase: $9.99 from GetWinesDirect

Nose: Dark fruits and oak

Palate: Big rich and fresh fruit driven wine. Chocolate and soft tannins. The wine by which all other young Shiraz must compete. My favourite.

Out of 10: 10

Value: Excellent

2010 Taparoo Valley Shiraz

Purchase: $11 from Crackawines

Nose: Savoury and sour, like salami and olives.

Palate: What a backflip! Sweet cherry prevails. Gritty tannins with the sweetness of American oak in the middle palate and finish. An intensely flavoured wine that strikes me as gamey.

Out of 10: 7

Value: Excellent

2013 Grant Burge Hayburner Shiraz

Purchase: $9.99 from Crackawines

Nose: Spicy tannins with lingering pepper

Palate: Nice initial sweetness from the fruit, a balanced mouthfeel and slight pepper on short finish

Out of 10: 5

Value: OK

2013 Grant Burge Hayburner Merlot

Purchase: $8.85 from Crackawines

Nose: TBA

Palate: TBA

Out of 10: TBA

Value: Excellent