John Duval ‘Eligo’ Shiraz

John Duval was Penfolds' chief winemaker for 16 years — including making Grange. 'Eligo' is his flagship Barossa Shiraz.

Eligo is Latin for "to pick out". That is the whole method. Duval started his own label in 2003 and reserves this wine for the best fruit he can find, from low-yielding old-vine blocks around Ebenezer, Moppa, Krondorf and the Eden Valley. It is only made when the vintage deserves it.

The wine matures in French oak alone, with a higher share of new barrels than any of his other reds. That polish is the Duval signature. Power without weight, structure without harshness.

This is the bottle for a milestone dinner. Decant it, cook the best steak in the house, and give the wine an hour to unfold. It will also cellar comfortably.