David Traeger, Baptista Shiraz, Heathcote, Victoria, 2004

Baptista is named after Baptista Governa, an immigrant from northern Italy who established a winery and vineyard in Graytown in 1891. Fast-forward to 1988 and independent winemaker David Traeger began purchasing fruit from this site, before eventually acquiring it in 1993. Now organically farmed, the vineyard is planted on fertile alluvial soils over gravel, where the shallow water table helps to keep the vines quenched during the warmer months. The first vintage of Baptista Shiraz was produced in 1996, and it is aged for 12 months in a combination of French and American oak. Tina Gellie: Graceful maturity – showcasing the savoury, meaty qualities of old Shiraz. It has a fine concentration of leathery, dusty, ripe red fruits and baking spices, with supple, integrated oak. Roger Jones: Aromatic and perfumed, with ripe fruit aromas. This has evolved beautifully, and shows a sweet-fruited character and great balance. Anthony Rose: This is holding up well, with a fresh, intense and complex fragrance with a touch of liquorice. It's showing positive evolution on the palate too, with notes of fennel and spice. The fruit is concentrated, rich and chocolatey, with malty notes and good complexity. There's a lovely silky Rioja Gran Reserva mellowness to it, and excellent balance.