What we have here is the StarDozen: Critic's Choice Shiraz Collection featuring 3 bottles each from 4 different regions of Australia which not only scored 93 Points or better from Australia's leading Wine Critics but also shows the diversity of this variety with an example from the Coonawarra, Margaret River, Yarra Valley and the Barossa. 

The StarDozen consists of the following:

3 bottles       Schoolhouse Block A2 Coonawarra Shiraz 2021
3 bottles       Thousand Candles Gathering Field Shiraz 2021
3 bottles       Miles From Nowhere Best Block Shiraz 2021
3 bottles       Schild Estate Ben Schild Shiraz 2021

Schoolhouse Block A2 Coonawarra Shiraz 2021
The bouquet shows striking blackberry and raspberry characters with floral, warm spice and toasty oak nuances. The seductively delicious palate offers plump mouthfeel and velvety texture, combined with opulent fruit flavours and elegant savoury notes, making it instantly satisfying. Tasted: April 2022; At its best: 2023 to 2036; Price: $70.00; Rating: 95 Points; Wine Orbit

Thousand Candles Gathering Field Shiraz 2021
Natural fermentation with 20% whole bunches, matured in older French oak. A super-bright crimson purple. Fully deserving of its Gold Medal at the 2022 Yarra Valley Wine Show, this opens with aromas of blackcurrant pastilles, boysenberries, black pepper, floral notes and a little charcuterie. Just as good on the medium-bodied, youthful and very well-balanced palate, which finishes with gently chewy, very fine-grained tannins and a little spice. Drink to: 2030; Price: $35.00; Date Tasted: Jan 23; Alcohol: 13%; Rating: 96 Points & Special Value Star; James Halliday Wine Companion

Miles From Nowhere Best Block Shiraz 2021
Great value. This is silken and well-flavoured and just simply a joy to drink. Put it this way, when the price was unveiled it was a (very pleasant) surprise. I would have guessed $30+ easily. It tastes of blueberries, plums and woodsy spices and it feels both polished and intricately well structured. No hesitation. Tasted: Jan 2024; Alcohol: 14.5%; Closure: Screwcap; Drink: 2024-2028+; Rated: 93 Points; Campbell Mattinson; The Wine Front

Schild Estate Ben Schild Shiraz 2021
There's a real creaminess that I like here. It's not an oak creaminess, more so a plum and blueberry cream with underlying hints of dark-chocolate-dipped cherries, blackforest cake, vanillin oak, panforte, olive tapenade, violets and earth. Luscious and mouth-filling with fine tannins and a velvety flow at the back end. It's a lovely contemporary Barossa shiraz. Drink to: 2042; Date Tasted: Feb 2025; Alcohol: 14.53%; Price: $50.00; Rating: 95 Points & Special Value Star; James Halliday Wine Companion