It is difficult to say that Chris Ringland’s latest Shiraz is his best to date because he has set the bar so high. The 2002 Shiraz “Chris Ringland,” sourced from a vineyard planted in 1910 with yields of 1 ton per acre, comes from a vintage Ringland describes as “too good to be true”. The wine took 18 months to go through malolactic fermentation. Purple/black-colored, it offers up a killer perfume of mineral, scorched earth, truffle, fresh asphalt, licorice, blueberry, and blackberry. Full-bodied, dense, and thick, it has fabulous spicy, black fruit flavors, great balance, and enough structure to drink well for 30-40 years. It is a truly monumental Shiraz on a level with the best Syrahs of Guigal, Chave, Chapoutier, Bratasiuk, and Krankl. To put the 2002 in some context, Ringland also presented the 1999 (99 points), the 2000 (97 points), and the 2001 (100 points). I’m convinced!

Readers may remember the stunning reviews I gave to Elderton\'s 1992 Command Shiraz. The flamboyantly-styled, lavishly-oaked, exotic, opaque purple-colored 1993 Command Shiraz possesses an intense, smoky, jammy prune and blackberry-scented nose, followed by dense, full-boded, gorgeously silky-textured flavors that are bursting with fruit, glycerin, and alcohol. It is a mouthfilling, viscous style of Shiraz that makes an immediate impression.

The 2006 Shiraz Alices is more dense and saturated than the Seven Acre cuvee. It exhibits a brooding nose of smoke, lavender, damp earth, game, and blueberry. Firm and a bit closed down on the palate, this structured effort is still tightly wound and will require extended cellaring of 6-8 years. It seems to have all the right stuff to ultimately reveal its full potential but time will tell.

The spectacular 2004 Shiraz was sourced from vines planted in 1906 with yields a meager 1.25 tons per acre. It was aged for 2 years in new French oak hogsheads (300-liter barrels). Opaque purple-colored, it has a superb bouquet of wood smoke, pencil lead, licorice, blackberry, and blueberry pie. This leads to a full-bodied, mouth-filling, opulent wine with layers of flavor, great depth, and a long, 60-second finish. It has enough structure to evolve for 6-8 years and should drink well through 2025. Greg and Allison Hobbs’ vineyards are contiguous with Chris Ringland’s Three Rivers vineyards; furthermore, Ringland is a consultant to winemaker Peter Schell. The Hobbs wines are made with minimal intervention and are bottled unfined and unfiltered.

The 2004 Shiraz Greens Vineyard, which emerges from the Vinevale sub-region of Barossa, was cropped at one ton of fruit per acre, aged in 100% new French hogsheads, and bottled unfined and unfiltered. Representing the essence of the vineyard, and looking more like blood than wine, it possesses an inky/purple color as well as a beautiful bouquet of roasted meats, blackberries, cherries, and jus de viande, a brilliant mid-palate and finish, and a tremendously long, blockbuster mouthfeel that saturates the palate. Some tasters may feel it is too much of a good thing, but it is incredibly pure, brilliantly well-balanced, and will become more civilized with time in the bottle. It should easily keep for 20-25 years.

Fashioned from a McLaren Vale vineyard, the 2005 Shiraz G.A.M. (named after the Mitolo children – Gemma, Alexander, and Marco) is a deep ruby/purple-hued effort displaying beautiful blackberry, white pepper, licorice, and toasty oak notes. Rich, full-bodied, and intense, with blueberry and blackberry flavors, sweet tannin, and excellent purity, it is a tour de force in winemaking. Enjoy it over the next decade.

Amazingly, the 2005 Carnival of Love ratchets up the level of quality. A selection of the finest Shiraz barrels, it boasts an extraordinary black/purple color, gorgeous notes of blackberry liqueur, camphor, and smoke, and an enormous voluptuousness that would make even Pamela Anderson jealous. Great purity, symmetry, and harmony as well as remarkable balance for such a rich, intense wine, as it sat in the glass espresso, vanillin, white chocolate, and additional black fruits also emerged. It should drink well for a decade, although the winemakers suggest it be consumed over the next four years. If you are wondering what to serve with this beauty, Sarah and Sparky Marquis recommend such fish as marlin, hammerhead, and great white shark, white meats such as snake and crocodile, red meats such as emu and kangaroo, and aged wallaby mild cheese. Yum!

More of this wine may be available at a higher price.

The 100% Shiraz 2007 Carnival of Love has a smoky, toasty perfume with notes of violet, garrigue, blueberry, and plum adding complexity. Opulent on the palate, this glossy Shiraz has serious depth of flavor, great concentration, excellent integration of oak, tannin, and acidity, and a pure, silky finish. Drink it from 2013 to 2026.

The Noon 1997 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve (made from 35-year old vines with 15.3% alcohol) is limited in availability. Approximately 250 cases were produced of this amazing wine. Although it displays a port-like viscosity, it is dry, with none of the late-harvest, pruny, Amarone characteristics often found in wines of such massive ripeness. Extremely full-bodied, pure, and well-balanced, this Cabernet is still unevolved and youthful, but it appears to possess all the potential required to develop into something profound. Anticipated maturity: 2005-2025.

The 1998 Grange will be legendary. A blend of 97% Shiraz and 3% Cabernet Sauvignon, it tips the scales at a whopping 14.5% alcohol. The inky/purple color is followed by an extraordinarily intense nose of creme de cassis intermixed with blueberry and floral notes. As the wine sits in the glass, aromas of meat, plums, and cola also emerge. It is a seamless effort with sweet tannin, well-integrated acidity, sensational extract, and layer upon layer of blackberry and cassis fruit that stain the palate and fill the mouth. Its harmony, freshness, and remarkable length (the finish lasts nearly a minute) suggest an all-time classic. Anticipated maturity: 2006-2030.