99 POINTS // $850
Torbreck
The Laird
Shiraz 2021
There is an effortless and seamless feel to the sensational 2021 vintage in The Laird, with all the confident, unwavering consistency of these old vines. A core of silky sweet, ripe red and black berry fruit is encased in a magnificent splay of smoky, exotic spice that declares both place and vine age. High cocoa dark chocolate and liquorice carry a finish of effortless persistence. The tannin profile is something to behold, with a silky, supple finesse and yet with confidence and enduring potential.
94 POINTS // $35
Mecklen
Old Vine
Barossa Valley Grenache 2024
From 103-year-old, dry-grown vines in the Cockatoo Valley, this is a magnificent Barossa Grenache at a bargain price. All the depth and complexity of old vines is beautifully highlighted with brightness and detail in the cool 2024 season. Supple, silky tannins, like only grand old vines can contrive, weave a long and delicious finish.
93 POINTS // $30
Welland
Valley & Valley
Barossa Shiraz 2024
A blend of Barossa and Eden Valleys, this is a well-crafted Shiraz that captures the bright freshness and detail of the impressive and cool 2024 harvest. AP John American oak is well deployed to support fine-grained tannins and dark chocolate oak complexity. It’s delicious now and will hold for the medium-term.
92 POINTS // $30
Dandelion vineyards
Lionheart of the barossa
Shiraz 2023
From old vines, many over 100 years of age, this is a standout of bargain Barossa Shiraz. Winemaker Elena Brooks has long been a master of brightness and fine-grained structure, and the cool 2023 season has certainly played to her strengths. I love the juxtaposition here between depth of black fruits, finely textured tannins and bright natural acidity. If this is what modern Shiraz is about, the Barossa certainly has a bright future (in every sense!).
90 POINTS // $60
Gibson
Reserve
Barossa Shiraz 2023
Blended from 20 components from different sites, this is a selection from French oak barrels, in which it was matured for 18 months. It’s a supple take on Barossa Shiraz, with classic milk chocolate flavours and textures. Sweet, ripe berry/cherry/plum fruit is supported by soft, fine tannins, making for an immediately approachable style.
97 POINTS // $200
Wolf Blass
Platinum Label Medlands Vineyard Barossa Valley Shiraz 2021
There’s an inherent power and endurance on grand display here that characterise the magnitude that is Wolf Blass, set with a detail and precision true to the magnificent, cool 2021 harvest. From a vineyard first planted in Dorrien in 1882, it’s set with deep blackberry fruit, liquorice and high cocoa dark chocolate. Already more than five years of age, yet with a fine-boned tannin tension, honed framework and lingering persistence that will carry it for decades yet!
97 POINTS // $300
Henschke
Mount Edelstone Eden Valley Shiraz 2022
There’s a unique character to Mount Edelstone that is most profound in the cooler seasons, of which 2022 goes down among the greats in the 70-year history of this legendary wine. All the classic hallmarks of sage, bay leaf and black pepper are more pronounced than ever, intricately framed in magnificently fine tannins and lively acidity, projecting profound endurance and grand promise.
96 POINTS // $74
Yalumba
The Signature Barossa Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz 2023
From six vineyards dating from 1935, the mild 2023 season has produced a benchmark of this definitive blend. I love the way it unites fragrant violets and depth of black fruits with vibrant acidity and those strong, velvety tannins that have become Kevin Glastonbury’s signature. It’s polished to perfection and ready for a very long life.
95 POINTS // $45
Teusner
Avatar 2024
Avatar has been a benchmark of Barossa GMS since long before the blend was trendy and the cool 2024 season has produced a highlight in its hallowed lineage. I love the way Kym Teuner has seamlessly woven these three varieties, delivering bright, tangy red berry fruits, beautifully supported by fine-grained tannins. A masterpiece!
95 POINTS // $220
Penfolds
RWT Bin 798 Barossa Valley Shiraz 2024
Embracing the depth and frame of the Barossa, the dry and warm 2024 harvest has made for an RWT of power and presence. Deep in colour and in black fruit presence, it’s layered with liquorice and high cocoa dark chocolate. Firm, finely structured fruit and oak tannins draw out a long finish and promise an impressive future.
95 POINTS // $70
Teusner
Albert Barossa Valley Shiraz 2023
Two of Kym Teusner’s favourite old blocks at Seppeltsfield and Tanunda unite a great vintage for Albert, with a clarity and confidence imposed by a mild, long-ripening season. A magnificent core of black fruit is at once bright and deep, immaculately set off by firm, fine-grained tannins and impeccable acid poise. It’s commanding and delicious in equal measure.
95 POINTS // $175
Saltram
The Journal Centenarian 100-Year-Old Vine Barossa Shiraz 2023
Eden Valley vines dating back to the early 1900s have risen to the cool and wet 2023 season, producing a Shiraz of impressive depth, detail and structure. A core of ripe satsuma plum and glossy blackberry fruit is laced with high cocoa dark chocolate and framed in commandingly enduring tannins and bright acidity that perfectly tone ripe alcohol.
94 POINTS // $115
Kaesler
Old Vine Shiraz 2023
From three estate vineyards planted in 1961 and 1965, the cool 2023 season has heightened detail and brightness, while upholding classic Barossa depth in blueberry, satsuma plum, cherry liqueur, liquorice and dark chocolate. French oak puncheons have been well-managed to provide structural support to fine, neatly resolved tannins. It holds impressive persistence. Quintessential Barossa Shiraz, delicious now and with medium-term potential.
94 POINTS // $165
Kaesler
'Age of Light' Cabernet Sauvignon 2023
Proof that there’s more to the Barossa than old vines, Kaesler’s flagship Cabernet is sourced from its ‘Kids’ block of vines of just six years of age, situated directly behind the winery. The mild and elongated 2023 harvest has sustained brightness and freshness even in the wake of extreme ripeness, furnishing a core of accurate blackcurrant and cassis, well framed in fine-grained tannins and classy Bordeaux oak.
92 POINTS // $100
Hentley Farm
Von Kasper Cabernet Sauvignon 2023
Barossa Cabernet shines in the cool seasons, and I admire the brightness and elegance on display here. The estate H-Block on the western bank of Greenock Creek has furnished Cabernet of blackcurrant and cassis depth, framed in savoury, nutty French oak (35 per cent new) that promises to integrate neatly in time.
92 POINTS // $35
Camino
Barossa Valley Tempranillo 2024
It’s the bright, tangy, red-fruited side of Tempranillo that I have always admired most, and it takes a cool season like 2024 to bring out its best in these 20-year-old vines in the southern Barossa. Raspberry and strawberry fruit are energised by crunchy acidity and fine-grained, nicely managed tannins.
92 POINTS // $35
Camino
Grenache Blanc de Noir 2024
Grenache made as a still white – and why not, in the cool 2024 harvest! It works, too! This is radical for the Barossa, particularly from 1912-planted Lyndoch vines! Jason Barrette has executed it with care, crushing with zero skin contact and wild fermenting and maturing for six months in stainless-steel barrels, with lees stirring for texture and complexity. Thanks to its cool harvest, it’s more lively and energetic than you’d expect for old-vine Lyndoch Grenache, and all the better for it! It’s food-friendly and fun!
92 POINTS // $28
Pewsey Vale
Eden Valley Estate Riesling 2025
I love the way this fabled site and its talented custodians have interpreted this warm and dry season, upholding unexpected zest and charge, while capturing heightened spice and character. Perfect vine balance and astute picking decisions are reflected in pristine, signature kaffir lime and granny smith apple character of concentration and pitch-perfect natural acid tension.
90 POINTS // $25
Biscay Road
Barossa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2022
Planted in 1981 on the edge of Tanunda and Bethany, this is a bargain Barossa red that captures the deep, juicy blackberry fruit that we love of the Barossa and the blackcurrant edge that declares Cabernet. French oak brings high cocoa dark chocolate and firm tannins to the equation.
90 POINTS // $25
Biscay Road
Barossa Valley Shiraz 2022
Planted on cracking clay Biscay soils on the edge of Tanunda and Bethany in 1981, this is a ripe Barossa Shiraz that upholds brightness and integrity in the cool 2022 season. The roast nut complexity of French oak puncheons eloquently supports the tangy blackberry fruit and fine-grained tannins of Barossa shiraz.
97 POINTS // $485
Henschke Hill
of Roses Eden Valley Shiraz 2021
The ‘young’ vines of the Hill of Grace vineyard were 32 years old when the 20th release of Hill of Roses was harvested. There’s an effortless calm to this place, enlivened magnificently by the cool 2021 vintage. Dark fruits, deep exotic spice, bright acidity and a super-fine weave of confident tannins unite in seamless harmony rarely seen in such youth. Impeccable line and length confirm one of the greats.
97 POINTS // $485
Henschke Hill
of Roses Eden Valley Shiraz 2021
The ‘young’ vines of the Hill of Grace vineyard were 32 years old when the 20th release of Hill of Roses was harvested. There’s an effortless calm to this place, enlivened magnificently by the cool 2021 vintage. Dark fruits, deep exotic spice, bright acidity and a super-fine weave of confident tannins unite in seamless harmony rarely seen in such youth. Impeccable line and length confirm one of the greats.
97 POINTS // $485
Henschke Hill
of Roses Eden Valley Shiraz 2021
The ‘young’ vines of the Hill of Grace vineyard were 32 years old when the 20th release of Hill of Roses was harvested. There’s an effortless calm to this place, enlivened magnificently by the cool 2021 vintage. Dark fruits, deep exotic spice, bright acidity and a super-fine weave of confident tannins unite in seamless harmony rarely seen in such youth. Impeccable line and length confirm one of the greats.
97 POINTS // $485
Henschke Hill
of Roses Eden Valley Shiraz 2021
The ‘young’ vines of the Hill of Grace vineyard were 32 years old when the 20th release of Hill of Roses was harvested. There’s an effortless calm to this place, enlivened magnificently by the cool 2021 vintage. Dark fruits, deep exotic spice, bright acidity and a super-fine weave of confident tannins unite in seamless harmony rarely seen in such youth. Impeccable line and length confirm one of the greats.
97 POINTS // $485
Henschke Hill
of Roses Eden Valley Shiraz 2021
The ‘young’ vines of the Hill of Grace vineyard were 32 years old when the 20th release of Hill of Roses was harvested. There’s an effortless calm to this place, enlivened magnificently by the cool 2021 vintage. Dark fruits, deep exotic spice, bright acidity and a super-fine weave of confident tannins unite in seamless harmony rarely seen in such youth. Impeccable line and length confirm one of the greats.