One of my all-time Top 10 winemakers during my 40 years writing about Australian wine is John Wade. Known for creating the John Riddoch Cabernet Sauvignon for Wynns Coonawarra Estate (the first release 1982 edition remains one of the best Australian reds ever made) and for initiating the Howard Park label in Western Australia with some incomparable cabernet-based blends from the mid-1980s into the 1990s, Wade’s artisan touch created wines of remarkable depth, restrained power, completeness and structure. His wines have what it takes to cellar over the long term. While he’s no longer making wine – he since developed a second career crafting fine chocolates under the Dark Side brand – he also made wine for the Rickety Gate label. Last night I found and opened the 2007 Shiraz under this label. It was astonishing. Maturing but still relatively youthful. Having soaked up 18 months in new oak, its balance and expression point powerfully towards the northern Rhone. I was not surprised. Class is permanent.