Villa Maria Cellar Selection Syrah 2008, Hawkes Bay, New Zealand (£13.99 Oddbins, Wine Rack, nzhouseofwine.co.uk)
Fragrant and elegant to start with, showing touches of pepper (white & black), berry and plum, but then a slightly thoddy vanilla edge intrudes, and there’s just this feeling of incompleteness, as if it would have benefited by something a little richer and rounder to fill in a hole. B(-)

Las Moras Alta Mora Shiraz 2011, San Juan, Argentina (£9.99 Chalié Richards)
Rather flat, jammy dodger aromas with a clumsy vanilla edge, also dilute. 0

Jim Barry Lodge Hill Shiraz 2009, Clare Valley, Australia (£11.99 Premier Vintners, slurp.co.uk, The Co-operative, Majestic, Tanners)
A welcoming bear hug of a wine, with peppery damson and blackcurrant flesh pepped up with notes of mint and eucalyptus. Fleshy but still fresh, with grainy tannins and tangy acidity to add structure, and a generous spicy finish. S

Jim Barry McRae Wood Shiraz 2006, Clare Valley, Australia (£23.99 Direct Wines, slurp.co.uk, Waitrose, Majestic,  Selfridges, Oxford Wine Company)
Quite different from the Lodge Hill, this is deeper, richer and more chocolatey wine, not afraid to show some Rioja-like oak-aged vanilla smoothness, and proudly displaying its herb-scented berry and plum flesh. It was good, but I wonder whether other bottles would be a tad fresher… S (and suspect a fresher bottle would have scored higher)

All Saints Estate Durif 2009, North East Victoria, Australia (£14 Cockburn & Campbell)
Really quite gentle for Durif. Yes, there’s big, juicy berry and plum intensity, with a rich earthy finish, but I wish it had a little more of the Durif grunt – this is just a little too well-behaved. B(+)