Australia Today: From Ancient Vines to a Cool-Climate Revival
Updated November 2026
In this Post:
Introduction
Australia is roughly the size of the continental United States, but its wine industry fits into a surprisingly small part of it. Almost every vineyard sits along the cooler southern edge of the continent, in a band that runs from Margaret River in the west to the Hunter Valley in the east, with Tasmania off the south coast. Vineyards cover about 146,000 hectares, and South Australia alone grew just over half of the 2026 harvest.
Australia's best regions are cooled by a mix of ocean and altitude. The Indian Ocean cools Margaret River, the Southern Ocean cools Coonawarra, and Bass Strait wraps around the Mornington Peninsula and Tasmania. Further inland, Eden Valley, the Adelaide Hills, Orange and Canberra stay cool because they're higher up. In South Australia, Barossa Shiraz from vines planted in the 1840s and cool-climate Adelaide Hills Chardonnay are grown about an hour's drive apart.
Like Napa, Australia sorts all of this into named places, called Geographical Indications, or GIs. They aren't quality rankings and they don't dictate how the wine is made. They tell you where the grapes were grown, which goes a long way toward explaining what ends up in the glass.
Australia built its export reputation in the 1980s and 1990s on ripe Shiraz and rich, oaky Chardonnay. That style is still around, but the country has moved on. Growers are picking earlier, planting in cooler places, looking after their oldest vines and paying closer attention to individual sites. In 2026, Chardonnay overtook Shiraz as the most-crushed grape in the country, a small statistic that tells you a lot about where Australian wine is going.
This guide covers Australia's history, grape varieties, GI system and key regions, then looks at the old vines, the winemakers and the vintages worth knowing about. If you've read our Napa Valley guide, the layout will be familiar.
A Brief History of Australian Wine
Early Foundations (1788–1900)
The first vine cuttings arrived with the First Fleet in 1788 and were planted around Sydney, where the humid summers didn't suit them. Things really got going in 1832, when James Busby came back from France and Spain with a large collection of cuttings that helped start vineyards across New South Wales, including the Hunter Valley. There, settlers such as George Wyndham and William Kelman worked out which grapes could handle the heat and the summer rain. Semillon and Shiraz came out on top.
In South Australia, German-speaking Lutherans, many of them from Prussian Silesia, settled the Barossa Valley in the 1840s. Names such as Henschke, Seppelt and Kalleske are still on labels today, and some of the vines those families planted are still producing. In Victoria, the gold rush of the 1850s brought money and thirsty miners, and vineyards spread from the Yarra Valley and Geelong to Great Western and Rutherglen. Swiss settlers played a big part in the early Yarra and Geelong.
Then phylloxera arrived. The vine louse was found near Geelong in the late 1870s and went on to devastate much of Victoria. South Australia closed its borders to vines and vine material, and the pest never got in. That quarantine is the main reason the state, and the Barossa in particular, still has some of the oldest ungrafted vines in the world.
The Fortified Century (1900–1950s)
For the first half of the twentieth century, Australian wine mostly meant fortified wine. Britain bought Australian "port" and "sherry" in bulk, and at home sweet, strong wine was simply what people drank. Production shifted to South Australia and the new irrigated areas along the Murray River, and many of Victoria's cooler vineyards were abandoned.
There were exceptions. At Mount Pleasant in the Hunter Valley, Maurice O'Shea made dry table wines from the 1920s until his death in 1956, wines that were well ahead of their time. Few people outside the trade paid much attention.
The Table Wine Revolution (1950s–1980s)
After the Second World War, immigrants from Italy, Greece and Yugoslavia brought a food culture with wine on the table, and Australians gradually followed. Penfolds' chief winemaker Max Schubert visited Bordeaux in 1950 and came home convinced that Australia could make a red to age for decades. He made the first experimental Grange in 1951. In 1957 management told him to stop. He carried on quietly anyway, and by the 1960s Grange was well on its way to becoming the country's most famous wine.
Table wine overtook fortified wine by the early 1970s, and the same years brought a wave of new vineyards in cooler places, many of them planted by doctors. In 1965 agricultural scientist Dr John Gladstones published research showing how closely Margaret River's climate matched Bordeaux's. Vasse Felix planted in 1967, Moss Wood in 1969 and Cullen in 1971, all three started by medical doctors. In the Yarra Valley, plant scientist Dr Bailey Carrodus planted Yarra Yering in 1969, and Dr John Middleton planted Mount Mary in 1971. All five estates are still going.
Export Boom and the Turn to Place (1980s–Present)
The 1980s were a rough decade. A government vine-pull scheme in the middle of it paid growers to remove vineyards that weren't paying their way, and a lot of old vines went with them. Then came the boom. By the late 1990s Australian wine was everywhere: ripe, fruit-forward, consistent and easy to understand, much of it sold under big brands that blended fruit from several states. It sold in huge volumes, but it also left Australia with a reputation for being reliable rather than interesting.
The response shaped the modern industry. The GI system took shape through the 1990s. Clare Valley's Riesling makers moved to screwcap together in 2000. Yalumba drafted an Old Vine Charter to protect the Barossa's heritage plantings, and the region's growers and winemakers adopted it in 2009. Meanwhile growers headed for cooler ground in Tasmania, the Adelaide Hills and the Mornington Peninsula, and winemakers began picking earlier and using less new oak.
The past few years have been hard on the volume end of the business. China's tariffs on Australian wine, in place from late 2020 until early 2024, shut what had become the country's most valuable export market, and wine consumption keeps falling around the world. The 2026 crush was the smallest since 2000. At the top end, though, Australia is making some of the best and most varied wine in its history.
Grape Varieties of Australia
Shiraz is the grape most people associate with Australia, and it's planted in most of the country's great old vineyards. But the numbers are moving. In 2026, Chardonnay was the most-crushed variety at about 23% of the harvest, with Shiraz at about 18%, the first time in well over a decade that Shiraz has fallen below a fifth of the crush. White grapes made up 53% of the total.
The change says more about Shiraz than about Chardonnay. Producers have cut back hard on the inexpensive reds that export markets stopped buying. The fine-wine end of things (old-vine Shiraz, Coonawarra and Margaret River Cabernet, Clare and Eden Valley Riesling, Yarra and Tasmanian Pinot) has rarely been in better shape.
Red Varieties
Shiraz
Shiraz is far more varied than its reputation. From the Barossa and McLaren Vale it's dark-fruited, broad and generous, sometimes with a note of chocolate or mocha. In cooler places such as Eden Valley, the Grampians, Canberra and Great Southern, it turns peppery, floral and medium-bodied, much closer in style to the northern Rhône. Hunter Valley Shiraz is lighter again, earthy and savoury, and picks up leathery notes as it ages.
The best examples tend to come from old vines, and Australia has plenty of them. Some Barossa Shiraz vineyards have been producing for more than 150 years, and they give wines with a depth and texture that young vines rarely match.
Cabernet Sauvignon
Cabernet makes up about 12% of the crush, and it's the best place for Bordeaux drinkers to start. Margaret River Cabernet is the closest to Bordeaux in feel: cassis, bay leaf and graphite, with firm, fine tannins and moderate alcohol. Coonawarra's is a little cooler and more savoury, often with a hint of mint. Both age very well, and both tend to cost less than Cabernet of similar quality from Napa or Bordeaux.
Grenache and Mataro
Grenache is only about 1% of the national crush, but it's behind some of the most exciting wines in the country right now. Old bush vines in McLaren Vale and the Barossa, especially on the deep sands of Blewitt Springs, give reds that are perfumed and light on their feet, closer in feel to Pinot Noir than to Shiraz. Mataro (Mourvèdre) adds structure and is mostly used in blends, often with Grenache and Shiraz.
Pinot Noir
Pinot Noir is around 4% of the crush. Tasmania, the Yarra Valley, the Mornington Peninsula, Macedon and Geelong all make Pinot that holds its own next to good New Zealand examples, often with more savoury, earthy notes than people expect.
Merlot is another 4% or so, mostly grown inland for blending, though it plays a supporting role in the Bordeaux-style reds of Margaret River and the Yarra.
White Varieties
Chardonnay
Chardonnay is now the country's largest variety, covering everything from inexpensive inland bottlings to some of the finest whites in the New World. The heavily oaked, buttery style of the 1990s has largely gone. The best Margaret River, Yarra Valley, Adelaide Hills and Tasmanian Chardonnay today is tighter and more linear, often with a flinty, struck-match note that comes from the way it's made.
Riesling
Riesling is a small part of the crush, but it may be Australia's most distinctive white. Clare and Eden Valley Riesling is bone-dry and lime-scented, almost always under screwcap, and it can age for decades, picking up toasty, honeyed notes along the way. It's also some of the best value in Australian wine.
Semillon
Semillon accounts for about 3% of the crush. In the Hunter Valley it's picked early, made without oak and bottled at around 11% alcohol. Young, it's lean and citrusy. After ten years or so it turns toasty and honeyed, as if it had spent time in barrel, which it never has. Nobody else makes wine quite like it. In Margaret River, Semillon is blended with Sauvignon Blanc for the region's crisp, popular white.
Sauvignon Blanc (about 8.5%) and Pinot Gris (about 6%) are big-volume grapes, at their best in the Adelaide Hills and Tasmania. More and more Mediterranean varieties, such as Fiano, Vermentino, Nero d'Avola and MencÃa, are also doing well in the warmer regions, with McLaren Vale leading the way.
Understanding Australia's GI System
Australia's wine regions are protected names called Geographical Indications, or GIs. A GI works much like an American Viticultural Area: it tells you where the grapes came from and nothing else. There are no rules on which grapes can be planted, how much can be harvested or how the wine is made. To put a GI on the label, at least 85% of the grapes must come from inside its boundary, the same threshold Napa uses for its AVAs.
The system took shape in the 1990s and is run by Wine Australia. It has three main levels: 28 zones (broad areas such as the Barossa or the Limestone Coast), 65 regions (the names you'll see most often, such as Clare Valley, Yarra Valley and Margaret River) and 14 subregions (smaller areas such as High Eden, the Piccadilly Valley or Frankland River). Above them sit the states and a few very broad names. The largest, South Eastern Australia, takes in all of New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania and parts of South Australia and Queensland, which lets big brands blend fruit from several states. If you see "South Eastern Australia" on a bottle at the SAQ, it's a multi-state blend rather than a regional wine.
Boundaries matter. Coonawarra spent years in a legal dispute over exactly where its line should fall, because a Cabernet from inside it is worth considerably more than one from just outside.
With 65 regions to keep track of, it helps to think in three broad groups:
Warm Valleys and Plains — Long, dry, sunny summers and generous ripeness. The Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale and the Swan District belong here, and this is where Australia's richest Shiraz and most of its oldest vines are found.
Maritime Regions — Close to the ocean, with cooling breezes and long, steady ripening. Margaret River, Great Southern, Coonawarra, the Mornington Peninsula, Geelong and Tasmania make Australia's most Bordeaux- and Burgundy-like wines.
High Country — Altitude does the cooling. Eden Valley, Clare, the Adelaide Hills, Orange, Canberra, the Macedon Ranges and Beechworth produce Australia's finest Riesling and some of its most elegant Shiraz and Chardonnay.
A Barossa Shiraz and a Canberra Shiraz have about as much in common as a Rutherford Cabernet and one from Howell Mountain. The regional profiles below are built around those differences.
Australia's Key Wine Regions
Australia has 65 official wine regions. The ones below are those that matter most for fine wine, grouped by state, with the climate, soils, grapes and producers that define each. Where we represent a producer, the name links to their page.
Western Australia
Western Australia makes a small share of the country's wine, about 2% of the 2026 crush, and a much larger share of its reputation. Its vineyards are in the far southwest corner of the continent, more than 2,000 kilometres from the rest of the industry, with ocean to the west and south. The climate is shaped almost entirely by the Indian and Southern oceans, which is a big part of why the wines are so consistent from one year to the next.
Margaret River
Margaret River is a young region. The first commercial vines went in at Vasse Felix in 1967, two years after Dr John Gladstones showed how closely the local climate resembled Bordeaux's in a dry year. Within thirty years Margaret River was making some of the most consistent Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay in the Southern Hemisphere.
The region is a strip of land roughly 100 kilometres long between Cape Naturaliste and Cape Leeuwin. Summers are warm and dry but rarely hot, winters are mild, and the gap between the two is smaller than almost anywhere else in Australian wine. For Bordeaux drinkers it's the natural place to start: the Cabernets have the cassis, bay leaf and fine, firm tannins you'd expect, with a little more generosity of fruit.
Climate: Maritime and Mediterranean, with warm, dry summers moderated by the Indian Ocean and a narrow range between day and night.
Soils: Gravelly, ironstone-rich laterite over granite and clay; free-draining.
Key Varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc.
Notable Producers:
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Moss Wood — Planted in 1969 by Dr Bill Pannell at Wilyabrup. Keith Mugford joined as winemaker in 1978 and bought the estate with his wife Clare in 1985. The estate Cabernet is one of Australia's great long-agers, and Amy's, the more approachable Cabernet blend, has been a regular at the SAQ and is the easiest way in.
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Vasse Felix — Margaret River's founding winery, planted by Dr Tom Cullity in 1967. The Tom Cullity Cabernet blend, named after him, and the Heytesbury Chardonnay are reference wines for the region.
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Cullen Wines — Founded in 1971 by Dr Kevin Cullen and his wife Diana. Their daughter Vanya became chief winemaker in 1989, and in 2004 Cullen became one of the first fully certified biodynamic estates in Australia. The Diana Madeline Cabernet blend, named for her mother, is one of the country's finest reds.
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Leeuwin Estate — The Art Series Chardonnay, made since the early 1980s, did as much as any wine to show what Australian Chardonnay could be. It's still a benchmark, and it ages far longer than most people expect.
Great Southern
Great Southern is Australia's largest wine region by area, a broad stretch of country along Western Australia's south coast with five subregions: Albany, Denmark, Frankland River, Mount Barker and Porongurup. It's cooler than Margaret River, and the climate changes as you move inland, from maritime around Albany and Denmark to more continental in Frankland River and Mount Barker.
It's less famous than Margaret River, and its wines are often cheaper for the quality. Porongurup and Mount Barker make tight, lime-scented Riesling that ages for decades, and Shiraz from Frankland River and Mount Barker is peppery and medium-bodied, closer to the northern Rhône than to the Barossa.
Climate: Cool to moderate; maritime on the coast, more continental inland, with cool nights.
Soils: Ancient weathered granite and gravelly loams, with deep karri loam around Denmark.
Key Varieties: Riesling, Shiraz, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir.
Notable Producers:
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Frankland Estate — A family estate in Frankland River whose organically farmed Isolation Ridge vineyard is a reference point for both Riesling and Shiraz.
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Howard Park — Owned by the Burch family, with vineyards in both Great Southern and Margaret River. Its Great Southern Riesling is one of the most reliable in the country.
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Castle Rock Estate — A small family estate on the slopes of the Porongurup Range. Its Riesling is the purest expression of the subregion: delicate, mineral and long-lived.
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Forest Hill Vineyard — Planted at Mount Barker in the mid-1960s, among the first vineyards in the region, and known for old-vine Riesling and Chardonnay with real intensity.
Swan District
The Swan District, just northeast of Perth, is where Western Australian wine began. The first vines went in along the Swan River in the early 1830s, within a few years of the colony being founded. It's one of the hottest wine regions in the country, and for most of its history it made fortified and bulk table wine. Croatian families who arrived in the early twentieth century shaped much of what you see today.
This isn't where you'll find Australia's most refined wines, but old-vine Chenin Blanc and Verdelho can be excellent, and a few producers are doing good work with Shiraz, Grenache and fortifieds. The Swan Valley subregion, closest to the city, is Perth's cellar-door country.
Climate: Hot, dry Mediterranean, with very little summer rain and low disease pressure.
Soils: Deep alluvial sands and loams along the river; fertile and free-draining.
Key Varieties: Chenin Blanc, Verdelho, Shiraz, Grenache, fortified styles.
Notable Producers:
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Sandalford — One of Western Australia's oldest wine names, founded in the Swan Valley in 1840, with vineyards today in both the Swan and Margaret River.
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John Kosovich Wines — A family estate founded by Croatian immigrants and known for old-vine Chenin Blanc and long-aged fortifieds.
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Faber Vineyard — John Griffiths' small estate makes some of the Swan's most serious reds, dense warm-climate Shiraz and Grenache, along with fortifieds.
South Australia
South Australia is the engine room of Australian wine. It grew 52% of the 2026 crush, it's home to Penfolds, Henschke, Yalumba and many of the country's best-known names, and because it kept phylloxera out, it has one of the largest collections of old vines anywhere. Within about two hours of Adelaide you'll find the warm Barossa Valley floor, the higher Eden Valley, the Riesling slopes of Clare, coastal McLaren Vale and the cool Adelaide Hills. Coonawarra's famous strip of red soil is further south, near the Victorian border.
Barossa Valley
The Barossa is the heartland of Australian Shiraz. German-speaking Lutherans settled the valley in the 1840s, planted vines alongside their orchards and churches, and passed the vineyards down through the generations. Because phylloxera never arrived, some of those vines are still producing. Langmeil's Freedom vineyard dates from 1843, and dozens of other blocks are more than a hundred years old.
The valley floor is warm and dry, and Barossa Shiraz is rich, dark-fruited and broad, but it isn't all one style. The north and west of the valley, around Greenock, Ebenezer and Marananga, tend to give denser, more structured wines than the south around Lyndoch. The best producers have also moved away from the heavy new American oak and very late picking of the 1990s. The Shiraz is still generous, just fresher, and Barossa Grenache is having a revival of its own.
Climate: Warm, dry Mediterranean, with hot summers, low rainfall and cool nights.
Soils: A patchwork of red-brown loams and clays over limestone and ironstone in the west, with sandier soils in the south.
Key Varieties: Shiraz, Grenache, Mataro, Cabernet Sauvignon, Semillon.
Notable Producers:
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Elderton — The Ashmead family bought this Nuriootpa estate in 1980, when its old vineyard, first planted in 1894, had been badly neglected. The first Elderton wines followed in 1982. Command Shiraz, first made in 1984 from the 1894 vines, became the estate's flagship and one of the Barossa's best-known old-vine reds. Brothers Cameron and Allister Ashmead have run the business since 2003, with Brock Harrison as winemaker.
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Penfolds — Australia's most famous wine name. Grange, first made by Max Schubert in 1951, is a blend from several regions, but it leans heavily on Barossa fruit, and the Kalimna vineyard has long been one of its sources.
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Langmeil — Custodians of the Freedom vineyard, planted in 1843 and one of the oldest producing Shiraz vineyards in the world. The Freedom 1843 Shiraz is the wine to look for.
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Torbreck — Built since the mid-1990s around old, dry-grown Shiraz and Grenache, often in Rhône-style blends. The wines are big, but they have more detail than their size suggests.
Eden Valley
Eden Valley is in the hills just east of the Barossa: higher, cooler and wetter, with vineyards up to about 550 metres. Officially it belongs to the Barossa zone, but the wines are very different. The Henschke family has made wine here since 1868, and their Hill of Grace vineyard, with vines dating to around 1860, is one of the most famous single sites in the world.
Eden Valley is Riesling country first: dry, floral and lime-scented, a little softer and more perfumed than Clare. The Shiraz is finer and more peppery than on the valley floor, with lifted aromatics and silkier tannins. If you find Barossa Shiraz too heavy, this is where to look.
Climate: Cooler than the Barossa floor, with more rain, cold nights and slower ripening.
Soils: Shallow, rocky and low in fertility; weathered schist, sandstone, quartz and ironstone.
Key Varieties: Riesling, Shiraz, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon.
Notable Producers:
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Henschke — Stephen Henschke in the cellar and Prue Henschke in the vineyard have made this one of Australia's great family estates. Hill of Grace, first bottled as a single-vineyard wine in 1958, and Mount Edelstone are the icons, and the Eden Valley Rieslings are just as precise.
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Pewsey Vale — First planted in 1847 and replanted by Yalumba in 1961. The Contours Riesling is released with several years' bottle age and shows how well Eden Valley Riesling develops.
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Yalumba — Australia's oldest family-owned winery, founded in 1849 at Angaston on the edge of the Eden Valley. Yalumba drafted the Barossa Old Vine Charter and makes excellent Eden Valley Riesling and Viognier.
Clare Valley
Clare is a string of narrow valleys about two hours north of Adelaide, with vineyards between roughly 300 and 500 metres. Jesuit priests planted vines at Sevenhill in 1851 to make sacramental wine, and Sevenhill Cellars is still operating. The climate is continental, with hot days, cold nights and very little rain during the growing season.
Riesling made Clare's name. The wines are dry, crisp, lime-scented and built to age, and in 2000 the valley's producers did the rest of the country a favour by moving to screwcap together. Two districts show the range: Polish Hill River, on slate and shale, gives tight, steely wines, while Watervale, on red loam over limestone, gives more generous, floral ones. Clare also makes structured Shiraz and Cabernet, often with a recognizable hint of mint or eucalyptus.
Climate: Continental, with warm to hot days, cold nights and low summer rainfall.
Soils: Red loam over limestone around Watervale; slate and shale at Polish Hill River.
Key Varieties: Riesling, Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon.
Notable Producers:
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Grosset — Jeffrey Grosset has set the standard for Clare Riesling since 1981 and led the move to screwcap. Polish Hill and Springvale show the two sides of the valley.
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Ministry of Clouds — Based in McLaren Vale, but its Clare Valley Riesling is one of the purest expressions of the region we've tasted: dry, crystalline and made to age. It's part of our portfolio.
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Wendouree — A tiny estate that sells almost entirely through its mailing list, with vines more than a century old and some of Australia's longest-lived Shiraz and Cabernet blends. Very little of it leaves Australia.
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Jim Barry Wines — Best known for The Armagh Shiraz, and a strong Riesling producer from the historic Florita vineyard.
McLaren Vale
McLaren Vale lies about 40 minutes south of Adelaide, between the Mount Lofty Ranges and Gulf St Vincent. John Reynell planted vines here in 1838, which makes it one of the oldest wine regions in the country. Sea breezes cool the vineyards most afternoons, and the geology is remarkable, with more than 40 different rock and soil types in a fairly small area, from deep sand to limestone to ironstone.
Shiraz is still the main grape, but McLaren Vale's reputation now rests just as much on Grenache. Old bush vines on the deep sands of Blewitt Springs give perfumed, fine-grained reds that have changed how Australians think about the grape. The region has also led the country on sustainable farming and on Mediterranean varieties such as Fiano, Vermentino, Nero d'Avola and MencÃa.
Climate: Warm Mediterranean, cooled by afternoon sea breezes off the gulf.
Soils: Extremely varied; deep sand over clay at Blewitt Springs, plus limestone, ironstone and much older rock.
Key Varieties: Shiraz, Grenache, Cabernet Sauvignon, Mataro, Mediterranean whites.
Notable Producers:
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Chalk Hill — The Harvey family have grown grapes in the Vale for generations, and Tom Harvey now runs the estate, with Renae Hirsch as winemaker. Alpha Crucis is the top range, and the 2022 Alpha Crucis Old Vine Grenache, from old Blewitt Springs bush vines, won the Grenache trophy at the 2024 National Wine Show of Australia.
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Ministry of Clouds — Founded in 2012 by Bernice Ong and Julian Forwood, who left senior roles with houses such as Wirra Wirra, Yalumba and Moët Hennessy to make their own wine. In 2016 they bought an 11-hectare vineyard at Seaview. The wines are elegant, mid-weight and made with food in mind.
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Yangarra Estate — A certified biodynamic estate in Blewitt Springs whose High Sands Grenache is one of the reference wines for the new style.
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d'Arenberg — Owned by the Osborn family since 1912. The Dead Arm Shiraz is the classic, and the Rubik's Cube–shaped cellar door is hard to miss.
Coonawarra
Coonawarra is on the Limestone Coast, about 380 kilometres southeast of Adelaide and close to the Victorian border. In the 1890s, pastoralist John Riddoch subdivided land here for a fruit-growing colony, and his three-gabled stone winery, built in 1891, is now home to Wynns. What sets Coonawarra apart is a cigar-shaped strip of red soil, terra rossa, about 20 kilometres long and up to 2 kilometres wide, sitting over soft limestone. Step off it on either side and the soil turns dark and heavy.
This is Cabernet country. Coonawarra Cabernet is cooler and more savoury than most Australian reds, with cassis, a touch of mint, fine-grained tannins and real longevity. It's one of the most Bordeaux-like Cabernets in the New World, and often among the best value.
Climate: Cool and maritime, influenced by the Southern Ocean, with frost risk in spring.
Soils: Terra rossa (red clay loam over limestone), flanked by darker, poorly drained soils.
Key Varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Merlot.
Notable Producers:
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Wynns Coonawarra Estate — Based in Riddoch's original 1891 winery. The Black Label Cabernet, first made in 1954, is one of Australia's great value cellaring wines.
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Balnaves of Coonawarra — A family estate making precise, modern Cabernet, with The Tally as its flagship.
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Majella — Long-time growers who became winemakers. The Cabernet is consistently one of the best values in the region.
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Parker Coonawarra Estate — Known for its First Growth Cabernet blend, a deliberately Bordeaux-minded wine.
Adelaide Hills
The Adelaide Hills rise just behind the city in the Mount Lofty Ranges, with most vineyards between about 400 and 600 metres. It's cooler and wetter than anywhere else in this part of South Australia, and the modern industry really began in the late 1970s, when Brian Croser chose the Piccadilly Valley for Petaluma's Chardonnay.
Today the Hills are one of Australia's two or three best sources of Chardonnay, along with crisp Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir and cool, peppery Shiraz. The two official subregions, the Piccadilly Valley and Lenswood, sit at the higher, cooler end.
Climate: Cool, with more rain than the rest of the Adelaide area and cold nights.
Soils: Varied; schist, sandstone, ironstone and loams on rolling slopes.
Key Varieties: Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir, Shiraz.
Notable Producers:
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Tapanappa — Brian Croser's estate. The Tiers Vineyard Chardonnay from the Piccadilly Valley is one of Australia's finest whites.
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Shaw + Smith — Founded in 1989 by cousins Martin Shaw and Michael Hill Smith MW. The M3 Chardonnay is a benchmark, and their Sauvignon Blanc set the standard for the region.
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Ashton Hills — Stephen George founded this small, dry-farmed Piccadilly Valley vineyard in 1982 and made it a reference point for Adelaide Hills Pinot Noir. Wirra Wirra has owned it since 2015.
Victoria
Victoria has more wine regions than any other state but makes far less wine than South Australia, 15% of the 2026 crush. Phylloxera hit hard in the nineteenth century, and the industry that came back was smaller, cooler and more artisanal. Today Victoria is the centre of Australian Pinot Noir and cool-climate Chardonnay, with regions ranging from the cold Macedon Ranges to the granite hills of Beechworth. Several of the producers we represent are here.
Yarra Valley
The Yarra Valley starts about an hour east of Melbourne. William Ryrie planted the first vines in 1838, and Swiss families such as the de Castellas and the de Purys built a thriving industry in the late nineteenth century. Then tastes changed, the economics turned against it, and by the early twentieth century winemaking had almost disappeared. The revival came in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and among those behind it were two doctors, Bailey Carrodus at Yarra Yering and John Middleton at Mount Mary. Both believed the Yarra could make wine to stand alongside Bordeaux and Burgundy, and both were proved right.
The valley isn't uniform. The lower, warmer slopes on grey sandy loams suit Cabernet blends and Shiraz, while the Upper Yarra, higher and cooler on deep red volcanic soils, is home to some of Australia's finest Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. The long, mild growing season gives wines with moderate alcohol and real finesse.
Climate: Cool to moderate, with a long growing season; noticeably cooler and wetter in the Upper Yarra.
Soils: Grey sandy clay loams on the valley floor and lower slopes; deep red volcanic soils in the Upper Yarra.
Key Varieties: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz.
Notable Producers:
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Mount Mary — Planted in 1971 by Dr John Middleton at Lilydale and run today by his grandson, Sam Middleton. The Quintet, a blend of the five Bordeaux red varieties, and the Triolet, a white blend of Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon and Muscadelle, are restrained, long-lived and among the most sought-after wines in Australia.
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Yarra Yering — Founded by Dr Bailey Carrodus in 1969 on unirrigated vineyards at the foot of the Warramate Hills. His Dry Red No. 1 (Cabernet-based) and Dry Red No. 2 (Shiraz-based) were first made in 1973. Sarah Crowe took over in late 2013 and was named Halliday Wine Companion Winemaker of the Year for 2017.
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Levantine Hill — Established in 2009 by the Jreissati family at Coldstream. Winemaker Paul Bridgeman joined in 2013 after five years at Yarra Yering following Carrodus's death. The estate Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are polished and precise, and the Family Paddock wines from the home vineyard sit at the top.
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Yeringberg — Planted in 1863 by Swiss settler Guillaume de Pury and replanted by the same family in 1969, it's one of the few direct links to the Yarra's nineteenth-century heyday.
Mornington Peninsula
The Mornington Peninsula is a finger of land about an hour south of Melbourne, with Port Phillip Bay on one side, Western Port on the other and Bass Strait at its tip. There were vines here in the nineteenth century, but the modern industry dates from the 1970s, when a handful of growers began planting in earnest.
With water on three sides, it's one of the most maritime regions in Australia, and the higher sites around Red Hill and Main Ridge are among the coolest. Pinot Noir and Chardonnay are the reason to come: silky, perfumed Pinot and finely textured, often flinty Chardonnay. Most estates are small, and prices reflect that.
Climate: Cool maritime, with long, even growing seasons and constant sea breezes.
Soils: Red volcanic soils on the higher ground around Red Hill and Main Ridge; sandier brown soils lower down.
Key Varieties: Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Pinot Gris.
Notable Producers:
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Ten Minutes by Tractor — Named for the tractor ride between its original vineyards, it bottles Pinot and Chardonnay by site, which makes it the easiest way to taste how much the Peninsula changes over a few kilometres.
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Stonier — Planted in 1978 and one of the Peninsula's founding estates, still a reliable source of classic Pinot and Chardonnay.
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Paringa Estate — Lindsay McCall's estate made its name with concentrated Pinot Noir and, unusually for the Peninsula, excellent Shiraz.
Geelong
Geelong, southwest of Melbourne, was one of Victoria's great wine regions in the nineteenth century, much of it planted by Swiss settlers. Phylloxera was found here in the late 1870s, and the government ordered the vineyards pulled out. Replanting didn't start until the 1960s, and pioneers such as Idyll and Bannockburn put the region back on the map.
It's windy, dry and cool, with poor soils that keep yields low. The Moorabool Valley, inland on volcanic basalt, gives the most structured wines; the Bellarine Peninsula and Surf Coast are more maritime. Geelong Pinot Noir is savoury and firm, and the Shiraz is peppery and medium-bodied.
Climate: Cool maritime, with strong winds and low rainfall.
Soils: Volcanic basalt and clay in the Moorabool Valley; limestone and sandy loams near the coast.
Key Varieties: Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Shiraz.
Notable Producers:
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By Farr — Gary Farr, long the winemaker at Bannockburn, and his son Nick make some of Australia's most complex Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from their Moorabool Valley vineyards.
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Bannockburn — One of the estates that led Geelong's revival, with long-lived Pinot, Chardonnay and Shiraz.
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Clyde Park — A Moorabool Valley vineyard planted in the late 1970s, known for single-block Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.
Macedon Ranges
The Macedon Ranges, northwest of Melbourne, are the coolest wine region on the Australian mainland, with vineyards from about 300 to more than 800 metres. Growing grapes here is a gamble, and in some years they barely ripen. The modern industry dates from the 1970s and is made up almost entirely of small family estates.
When it works, the wines are among the most refined in the country: taut, mineral Chardonnay, delicate Pinot Noir and some of Australia's best sparkling base wine.
Climate: Cool to cold, with a long, marginal growing season.
Soils: Granitic and volcanic soils, free-draining and low in fertility.
Key Varieties: Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, sparkling wine.
Notable Producers:
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Bindi — Michael Dhillon's family estate makes some of Australia's most sought-after Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from a small vineyard on quartz-rich soils.
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Curly Flat — Known for age-worthy, finely structured Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.
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Hanging Rock — Best known for Macedon, its long-aged traditional-method sparkling wine.
Grampians
The Grampians region, around the town of Great Western in western Victoria, was planted during the gold rush. From 1868, out-of-work gold miners dug kilometres of tunnels under the Great Western winery to store and age wine, and these "drives" are still the largest underground cellars in Australia. Best's, founded by Henry Best in 1866, still farms vines planted in the 1860s.
This is cool-climate Shiraz at its most classic: medium-bodied, peppery and spicy, with fine tannins and plenty of ageing potential. The region also has a long tradition of sparkling Shiraz, a style that's uniquely Australian.
Climate: Cool to moderate, with elevated vineyards and a wide range between day and night.
Soils: Sandy loams over granite and clay.
Key Varieties: Shiraz, Riesling, Cabernet Sauvignon, sparkling wine.
Notable Producers:
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Best's Great Western — Owned by the Thomson family since 1920. The Nursery Block, planted in the 1860s, holds dozens of varieties, eight of which have never been identified. The Thomson Family Shiraz is the flagship.
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Mount Langi Ghiran — Made its name with peppery, cool-climate Shiraz from the foot of the Mount Langi Ghiran range.
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Seppelt — The historic Great Western house behind Australia's best-known sparkling Shiraz and the St Peters Shiraz from old vines. In September 2026 Treasury Wine Estates sold the brand, the Great Western winery and the Drumborg vineyard to Aaron Drummond, co-owner and CEO of Stonier, and his partners.
Beechworth
Beechworth is in the foothills of the Victorian Alps, in the northeast of the state. Gold built the town in the 1850s and vines followed, but the modern era began in 1982, when Rick Kinzbrunner started planting what would become Giaconda. His first wines, a 1985 Cabernet blend and a 1986 Chardonnay, put Beechworth on the fine-wine map almost immediately.
The soils are decomposed granite, free-draining and low in fertility, so the vines struggle and the wines gain concentration. Beechworth Chardonnay is powerful and mineral, and the Shiraz dark and savoury. It's a small region with a close-knit group of serious producers.
Climate: Moderate continental, with vineyards between about 300 and 800 metres and cool nights.
Soils: Decomposed granite with quartz and some clay; free-draining.
Key Varieties: Chardonnay, Shiraz, Pinot Noir.
Notable Producers:
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Giaconda — Rick Kinzbrunner's four-hectare estate, where his son Nathan has worked full time since 2007. The Estate Chardonnay is often called the finest in Australia, and the Shiraz isn't far behind.
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Castagna — Julian Castagna's biodynamic estate, inspired by the Rhône, makes Syrah-based reds with real character.
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Sorrenberg — One of Beechworth's pioneers, admired for its Chardonnay and for Gamay, a rarity in Australia.
New South Wales
New South Wales is where Australian wine began, with the First Fleet's vines in 1788, and it grows about 30% of the national crush today, most of it in the irrigated inland. For fine wine, three regions stand out: the historic Hunter Valley north of Sydney, and the high, cool regions of Orange and Canberra.
Hunter Valley
The Hunter Valley, about two hours north of Sydney, has grown grapes continuously since the 1830s. On paper it shouldn't work. It's warm and humid, and much of its rain falls in summer, right when the grapes are ripening. Growers adapted by picking early, and in the process came up with one of the most original white wines in the world.
Hunter Semillon is harvested at low sugar, fermented in stainless steel, bottled at around 11% alcohol and then left alone. Young, it's lean and citrusy; after ten years it turns toasty, honeyed and complex without ever seeing oak. Hunter Shiraz is lighter and earthier than South Australia's, often with a savoury, leathery edge as it ages.
Climate: Warm, humid and subtropical; summer rain is the main challenge.
Soils: Sandy alluvial flats (best for Semillon) and red volcanic-derived loams and clays on the slopes (best for Shiraz).
Key Varieties: Semillon, Shiraz, Chardonnay.
Notable Producers:
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Tyrrell's — Founded by Edward Tyrrell in 1858 and still in the family. The Vat 1 Semillon is the benchmark for the style.
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Mount Pleasant — Maurice O'Shea's estate, where he made wine from the 1920s until his death in 1956. The Lovedale Semillon and old-vine Shiraz carry on his legacy.
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Brokenwood — Best known for Graveyard Shiraz and ILR Reserve Semillon.
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Lake's Folly — Founded in 1963 by Sydney surgeon Max Lake and often called Australia's first boutique winery. From the start it made just two wines, a Cabernet blend and a Chardonnay, both unusual for the Hunter at the time.
Orange
Orange sits on the slopes of Mount Canobolas, an extinct volcano rising to nearly 1,400 metres. It's one of the few Australian regions defined by altitude: only vineyards above 600 metres can use the name, which makes it one of the coolest places to grow grapes in the country.
The wines are fresh and detailed, with mineral Chardonnay, crisp Sauvignon Blanc, cool-climate Shiraz with a peppery lift and a growing amount of good sparkling wine.
Climate: Cool continental, with high elevation and a long growing season.
Soils: Basalt-rich volcanic soils with clay and loam.
Key Varieties: Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Shiraz, Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris.
Notable Producers:
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Philip Shaw — Founded by a former Rosemount chief winemaker; elegant, altitude-driven Chardonnay and reds.
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Printhie — Known for sparkling wine and cool-climate still wines from estate fruit.
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De Salis — A small, high-altitude producer focused on wild-fermented, barrel-aged whites.
Canberra District
The Canberra District straddles the border between New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, with vineyards between about 500 and 850 metres. Its modern history began in the early 1970s, when a group of scientists from the CSIRO, the national science agency, planted vines around the capital.
One wine made the region's name: Clonakilla's Shiraz Viognier, which borrowed the Côte-Rôtie practice of co-fermenting a little Viognier with Shiraz. Canberra Shiraz is peppery and perfumed, and the region's Rieslings are among the best outside South Australia.
Climate: Cool continental, with warm days and cold nights.
Soils: Decomposed granite and clay loams.
Key Varieties: Shiraz, Riesling, Pinot Noir.
Notable Producers:
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Clonakilla — Founded in 1971 by CSIRO scientist Dr John Kirk. His son Tim made the first Shiraz Viognier in 1992, and it's still the region's benchmark.
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Helm — Ken Helm's estate is devoted to Riesling and has done more than anyone to promote the Canberra style.
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Mount Majura — Known for Tempranillo and other alternative varieties from a single site near the city.
Tasmania
Tasmania grows less than 1% of Australia's grapes, but they sell for about seven times the national average price per tonne. The island sits in the path of the westerly winds off the Southern Ocean, its growing season is long and cool, and its grapes keep their acidity in a way mainland fruit rarely can. As growers went looking for cooler ground, Tasmania was the obvious place to go, and it's now the country's best source of sparkling wine and one of its best for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.
The vineyards are concentrated in a few areas: the Tamar Valley and Pipers River in the north, the Coal River and Derwent valleys around Hobart in the south, and smaller pockets on the East Coast and in the Huon Valley. About 40% of Tasmania's grapes go into sparkling wine, and the best of it is made the same way as Champagne.
Climate: Cool maritime, with long ripening seasons and a wide range between day and night.
Soils: Varied; dolerite, sandstone, basalt-derived and alluvial soils.
Key Varieties: Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Riesling, Pinot Gris, sparkling wine.
Notable Producers:
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Stefano Lubiana — Steve Lubiana, a fifth-generation winemaker from South Australia's Riverland, and his wife Monique moved to Granton on the Derwent River in 1990 to make sparkling wine, and the first was made in 1993. The estate has been farmed biodynamically since 2010 and was Tasmania's first certified biodynamic vineyard. The Pinot Noir and Chardonnay are among the most precise on the island.
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House of Arras — Ed Carr's traditional-method sparkling wines, given long ageing on lees, are widely regarded as Australia's finest.
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Tolpuddle — A Coal River Valley vineyard owned by Shaw + Smith, producing acclaimed Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.
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Domaine A — A Coal River Valley estate known for Cabernet Sauvignon and Bordeaux-style reds of unusual structure for Tasmania.
Australia's Heritage Vineyards: Old Vines That Survived Phylloxera
The dates on the labels of Australia's most celebrated reds go back a long way: 1843, around 1860, the 1880s, 1894. In most of the wine world, vines that old disappeared more than a century ago. In parts of South Australia and Victoria they're still picked every autumn.
Two things made that possible. When phylloxera swept through Victoria in the late nineteenth century, South Australia shut its borders to vine material and kept the louse out for good. And dry-farmed vines on poor soils, left alone, simply kept going. Plenty were pulled out anyway. The government vine-pull scheme of the 1980s paid growers to remove vineyards that weren't making money, and some very old blocks were lost. What survived is now protected.
The Barossa's Old Vine Charter, drafted by Yalumba and adopted across the region in 2009, sorts vineyards into four tiers by age: Old Vine (at least 35 years), Survivor (70 years), Centenarian (100 years) and Ancestor (125 years). When you see one of those terms on a Barossa label, it refers to a registered vineyard, not a marketing claim.
Langmeil Freedom 1843 Vineyard — Barossa Valley. The original planting covers about 0.4 hectares (one acre), with more vines added in 1846. It's believed to have been planted in 1843 by Christian Auricht, a Prussian blacksmith who had arrived in South Australia five years earlier. The Lindner and Bitter families bought the property in 1996. It's one of the oldest producing Shiraz vineyards in the world. Bottled as: Langmeil The Freedom 1843 Shiraz.
Hill of Grace — Eden Valley. Beside the Gnadenberg ("Hill of Grace") Lutheran church, which gave the vineyard its name. The oldest section, the Grandfathers block, dates from around 1860. Family history says it was planted by Nicolaus Stanitzki, whose granddaughter later married into the Henschke family. Cyril Henschke first bottled it as a single-vineyard wine in 1958, and it's often described as Australia's answer to a first growth. Bottled as: Henschke Hill of Grace Shiraz.
Kalimna Block 42 — Barossa Valley. A block of Cabernet Sauvignon in Penfolds' Kalimna vineyard, planted in the 1880s and often cited as the oldest continuously producing Cabernet vines in the world. Penfolds usually blends the fruit and bottles it on its own only in exceptional years. Bottled as: Penfolds Block 42 Cabernet Sauvignon.
Elderton Command Vineyard — Nuriootpa, Barossa Valley. On the banks of the North Para River, planted in 1894 and badly run down by the time Neil and Lorraine Ashmead bought the estate in 1980. The family brought the old vines back, and Command became the wine that made the Elderton name. Bottled as: Elderton Command Single Vineyard Shiraz.
Best's Nursery Block — Great Western, Grampians. Planted by Henry Best in the 1860s as a collection of dozens of grape varieties, eight of which have never been identified. It's one of the most important living vine collections anywhere. Bottled as: Best's Nursery Block Dry Red, a field blend from the block.
Tahbilk 1860 Vines — Nagambie Lakes, Victoria. Half a hectare of ungrafted Shiraz planted in 1860 at Tahbilk, which the Purbrick family has owned since 1925. First released from the 1979 vintage, it's among the oldest Shiraz anywhere outside South Australia. Bottled as: Tahbilk 1860 Vines Shiraz.
Australia's Most Influential Winemakers
Australian wine has been shaped by a fairly small group of people, and a surprising number of them came to it from medicine or science. Some are tied to one famous estate; others trained or influenced a whole generation. Knowing a few names will lead you to plenty of bottles worth trying.
Historically Important Winemakers
Maurice O'Shea — The great Hunter Valley winemaker of the 1920s to the 1950s. At Mount Pleasant he made elegant, dry table wines while the rest of the country drank fortifieds, and the bottles he left behind showed later generations what the Hunter could do.
Max Schubert — Penfolds' chief winemaker and the creator of Grange. After visiting Bordeaux in 1950 he set out to make an Australian red that would age for decades. He made the first experimental vintage in 1951 and kept going in secret after management told him to stop in 1957. Grange became Australia's most famous wine.
Dr Bailey Carrodus — A plant scientist who founded Yarra Yering in 1969 and helped bring the Yarra Valley back to life. His Dry Red No. 1 and No. 2, first made in 1973, are still among Australia's most individual wines. He died in 2008.
Dr John Middleton — Founder of Mount Mary in 1971. He modelled his wines on Bordeaux and Burgundy rather than on anything Australian and refused to chase ripeness or power, which is why old Mount Mary vintages are still so admired.
Brian Croser — Founder of Petaluma in 1976 and the pioneer of the Adelaide Hills. As a lecturer at what is now Charles Sturt University, he also taught many of the winemakers who reshaped the industry in the 1980s and 1990s. He now makes wine at Tapanappa.
Current Winemakers to Know
Sarah Crowe — Started as a vineyard hand at Brokenwood in the Hunter Valley in 2001 and rose to senior winemaker at Bimbadgen, with vintages in Oregon and the Rhône along the way. She took over at Yarra Yering in late 2013 and was named Halliday Wine Companion Winemaker of the Year for 2017. Under her, the wines have kept their character and gained precision.
Vanya Cullen — Chief winemaker at her family's Margaret River estate since 1989. She took Cullen to full biodynamic certification in 2004 and has made it carbon neutral, and her Diana Madeline is one of the country's finest Cabernet blends.
Stephen and Prue Henschke — Stephen, the fifth generation of the family to make the wine, and his wife Prue, who runs the vineyards, are the people behind Hill of Grace and Mount Edelstone. Prue's work selecting and propagating cuttings from the family's old vines has mattered as much as anything done in the cellar.
Rick Kinzbrunner — An engineer by training who worked at Stag's Leap, Simi and Matanzas Creek in California and for the Moueix family in Bordeaux, then at Brown Brothers, before planting Giaconda in 1982. His Estate Chardonnay is often named the finest in Australia.
Keith Mugford — Winemaker at Moss Wood since 1978 and owner, with his wife Clare, since 1985. Few people know Margaret River Cabernet better.
Vintage Trends in Australia
Vintages matter more in Australia than its sunny reputation suggests. Drought, heatwaves, bushfire smoke and, in La Niña years, rain and disease have all left their mark on recent harvests. And because the regions are so far apart, the same year can be excellent in Margaret River and difficult in the Barossa. The notes below give the national picture and the main regional differences; for a specific bottle, a regional chart is worth a look.
Maritime regions such as Margaret River and Tasmania tend to be the most consistent. The warm inland areas are the most exposed to heat, and the cool Victorian regions to rain and frost.
Recent Vintage Snapshot
2026 — A Very Small Crop. At 1.27 million tonnes, the smallest national crush since 2000. Weak demand, especially for red, did most of the damage, and flooding inland took its share too. Tasmania picked about half its record 2025 crop, and Margaret River reports an excellent year. It's too early to judge the reds.
2025 — Early, Dry and Very Good. Drought and spring frost in parts of South Australia brought an early harvest and smaller crops, but quality was high. Grenache and Shiraz were the Barossa standouts, Eden Valley yields were low but quality was excellent, and Coonawarra had an outstanding year. The Yarra Valley finished picking by mid-March with average yields and high quality, and Margaret River had one of its best vintages in recent memory. Tasmania brought in a record crop.
2024 — Early and Small. One of the earliest harvests on record in Western Australia, with low yields. The Barossa made high-quality wine despite spring frosts that cut yields unevenly, while frost took about 15% of the crop in the Clare Valley. The Hunter had its earliest finish ever and a smaller crop, and its reds did better than its Semillon. Victoria picked about two weeks early, with Chardonnay and Pinot Noir the highlights.
2023 — Cool, Wet and Late. A third La Niña year brought a cool, late season and the smallest crush in two decades. Rain made life hard in the Barossa, where an unusual amount of fruit was left on the vines. In Victoria the whites and Pinot did well but Cabernet struggled, while the Hunter had a stellar year for both Semillon and Shiraz. Margaret River was cooler than usual but less troubled. Expect lighter, elegant reds, and choose producers carefully.
2022 — Cool and Late in the East. A late, cool season in Victoria suited Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, and South Australian reds are medium-weight and fresher than usual. Margaret River ranged from good to excellent.
2021 — Outstanding Almost Everywhere. A mild, even season with good yields after the disasters of 2020. Widely seen as the best vintage of the decade for South Australian reds, and Margaret River made fine, polished Cabernet. For the cellar, this is the year to buy.
2020 — Drought, Fire and Smoke. The 2019–20 bushfires and a long drought made this one of the hardest vintages in memory. Smoke affected parts of the Adelaide Hills, northeast Victoria and New South Wales, and many producers declassified or skipped wines altogether. Margaret River escaped the fires and made small, concentrated wines. Be careful with eastern-state wines from this year.
2019 — Hot in the East, Long in the West. Heat and drought gave low yields and concentrated reds in South Australia, with quality varying from producer to producer. Margaret River had a late, long season and high quality.
Top 10 Australian Vintages — Last 35 Years
2021 — The modern benchmark: a long, mild season with balance across almost every region. The best South Australian reds will age for decades.
2018 — Warm, even conditions without extremes. Generous, well-structured South Australian reds that are only now hitting their stride.
2016 — A very good year in the Barossa and across South Australia, with rich but balanced reds that are drinking well now.
2012 — Strong across South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia, and one of the most consistent all-round vintages of the past twenty years.
2010 — An even, mild season in South Australia that produced superb reds and Riesling.
2004 — A classic South Australian year, with long-lived reds from the Barossa, McLaren Vale and Coonawarra.
2002 — An unusually cool year that gave exceptional Clare and Eden Valley Riesling and elegant, long-lived South Australian reds.
1998 — A record crop at the time, and a great vintage for Barossa Shiraz and Coonawarra Cabernet. The best wines are still in excellent shape.
1996 — A large, ripe crop in South Australia. Not every wine was a star, but the best reds have aged well and are often overlooked next to 1998.
1990 — One of the great South Australian vintages, with reds that are still holding up more than thirty years on.
Final Thoughts: Old Vines, New Thinking
For a long time, Australian wine meant one thing to most people: ripe, generous and easy to like. That wine still exists, but it no longer tells the whole story. Over the past twenty years Australian producers have looked much harder at where their grapes grow, and the wines have become far more interesting for it.
A lot of what's exciting now has deep roots. The Barossa's settlers planted Shiraz in the 1840s to make wine for the table, and the doctors who planted Margaret River and the Yarra in the 1960s and 1970s were aiming for Bordeaux and Burgundy, not for power. Today's best producers are working in the same spirit: picking earlier, farming their old vines carefully and letting the site do the talking.
For Bordeaux and Burgundy drinkers, that makes Australia an easy place to explore. The estates we represent show the range: Moss Wood's Margaret River Cabernet; Mount Mary and Yarra Yering, the two estates that led the Yarra's revival; Levantine Hill's polished Coldstream Chardonnay and Pinot; Elderton's 1894 Barossa vines; Chalk Hill and Ministry of Clouds, showing what McLaren Vale Grenache has become; and Stefano Lubiana's biodynamic Pinot and sparkling wine from Tasmania. Taste them side by side and the differences between regions are as clear as anything you'll find in Bordeaux or Burgundy.