The 2005 Shiraz is deep purple with aromas of smoke, pepper, saddle leather, game, and blueberry. Medium- to full-bodied, this is a nicely balanced, elegantly styled Shiraz with well-concealed soft tannins, good depth and excellent concentration. It should evolve for several years and drink well through 2020. Shaw & Smith is a collaboration of cousins Martin Shaw and Michael Hill Smith MW. The wines are all produced from Adelaide Hills fruit, most of it from their estate vineyards. Their first vintage was in 1990.Importer: Vintus LLC, Pleasantville, NY; www.shawandsmith.com

Intense blackberry fruit, creamy oak. Very attractive. Lovely bouquet and spice. Complex. Big and rich, concentrated but balanced.

Complex aromas and flavors of blackberries, leather, roasted meat and coffee show plenty of class, and this wine appears to firm up in the glass, offering more structure than its initial suppleness and amplitude suggest. It may close up for a few years, so try it now, or hold and try it after 2012.——J.C.(8/1/2008)—— 89