2022 Varietal Winners

Top Rated: Shiraz

By The Tasting Team
In an age in which everything new is cool (varieties, regions, producers, techniques), it remains that Australia’s top-performing variety is good ol’ shiraz and its only close contender is chardonnay. The diversity of Australian shiraz has never been more profound, and our best-of list spans five states and 13 regions. 

From the cool reaches of Porongurup and Canberra to the might of the Barossa and McLaren Vale, we never cease to be in awe of the remarkable dexterity of this chameleon variety across this vast continent. It was three of the more elegant styles that separated themselves from the pack of 15 hopefuls in our final Awards judging: Mount Pleasant, Tyrrell’s and Yarra Yering, with Tyrrell’s claiming a worthy first place for the Hunter Valley in the final vote.

Find out more about shiraz in our essential guide.

2019 Tyrrell’s 4 Acres Shiraz

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There are three single-block iterations of Koomilya shiraz: GT, DC and JC. All are superb, but it is the JC that is cementing its reputation as one of Australia’s greatest wines. The survey may be relatively short, but I’m convinced. The '21 was breathtaking and this its equal, or thereabouts. The JC has a distinct shape, a harmony, an engulfing perfume, a blend of flavour depth with spice and dusky florals, and an effortlessness. Then the fragrance in the mouth billows up, envelops, stops you in your tracks. It’s suffused with place, the bush-fringed site, with a sense of fallen gums subsumed into the soil, intertwining with the ripe but not juicy deep red fruits, along with a rusty iron note, salumi and panforte. As said, one of Australia’s great wines. – Marcus Ellis

*This is an edited extract from the 2022 Halliday Wine Companion, with reviews by Jane Faulkner, James Halliday, Erin Larkin, Tony Love, Ned Goodwin MW, Jeni Port and chief editor Tyson Stelzer.


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