The same can be said for the 2006 Longitude Shiraz of which two barrels were produced. It offers up a brooding bouquet of Asian spices, garrigue, incense, blueberry, and blackberry liqueur. Full-bodied, powerful, yet light on its feet, it is already offering considerable complexity which should only be enhanced with another 8-10 years of cellaring. These are stunning efforts that will be criticized by those who prefer less flavor in their wines.R Wines is the label created by Dan Philips for wines sold predominantly but not exclusively for under $20 a bottle produced in-house under the direction of Chris Ringland. The wines are discussed in the order in which they were presented. The last four wines are made from the grapes grown in the Shiraz vineyard of Adrian Hoffman in the Ebenezer district of Barossa Valley. Hoffman was responsible for all the harvesting decisions, and the wines were made by Chris Ringland. They are all still in barrel but will ultimately receive 36-40 months in new French oak.Importer: Dan Philips, The Grateful Palate, Oxnard, CA; tel. (805) 278-9095

The intention of Longitude is to be the ultimate expression of Shiraz. The custom patterned bottle (which will change from year to year) costs $100 to produce and it comes in a fancy, one-bottle case which replicates the pattern. Dan Philips and winemaker Chris Ringland believe the 80-year-old parcel of Adrian Hoffman’s Ebenezer vineyard might be the finest in Australia. There are only 500 bottles of the 2005 Shiraz. It was aged for 36-40 months in new French oak hogsheads. Sourced from an 80-year-old parcel, yields were less than 1 ton per acre. Tasted from a barrel sample, the wine is purple/black in color. It boasts an awesome, complex, ethereal perfume of crushed stone, toasty oak, pencil lead, truffle, lavender, blueberry and blackberry. Ripe, sweet, and incredibly powerful yet elegant, this full-bodied, personality-filled wine is as good as it gets. It will have a 50 year lifespan with a very long drinking window.R Wines is a new company founded by importer and marketing genius, Dan Philips, along with co-owner, renowned winemaker, Chris Ringland. Winemakers for R Wines are Chris Ringland, Lisa Wetherell, Andrew Hercock, and John Hughes. It encompasses four familiar labels, Marquis Philips, 3 Rings, Roogle, and Bitch, along with 13 others created especially for R Wines. Needless to say, the packaging of these wines is amazingly creative but, more importantly, what is in the bottle consistently over-delivers from low-end to high-end.Importer: Dan Philips, The Grateful Palate, Oxnard, CA; (805) 278-9095