I have the good fortune to be based in Australia for an extended period for work. I have certainly been giving my all to try as many good wines as I can through business dinners, wine festivals, tastings, vineyard visits, etc…
The big ask - what are some must-try Australia wines?
Open to anything, any style. The harder to find, more unique the better.
Based on a fabulous recent bottle of “Margaret” cabernet from Woodlands, I would keep an eye out for their wines.
Some of my favourites:
There’s a range of others, many well known (Henschke, Penfolds) that might be in your wheelhouse. Other producers to look for are Cullen, Pierro and Moss Wood (WA), Yarra Yering (Vic). Clearly a lot of big Barossa producers, but I don’t tend to distinguish between them much. The four wines I listed above are what I consider the best from Oz (ahead of Grange etc).
Some of my favorites are Wendouree, Henschke ‘Cyril Henschke’ Cabernet (or the Hill of Grace if you have that kind of budget - I’ve never tried it myself), Mount Mary Quintet or Pinot (but not the Triolet).
You should ping Jeremy Holmes. He’s a Burgundy nut who’s in the trade in Oz. I bet he’d have a good handle on good producers that don’t make it to these shores.
Thanks so far!!
Agree with comment the Giaconda and Leeuwin AS Chards. I had the 2012s side by side and, as they opened up, could only wish they had 5-10 more years on them!!
Was lucky enough to have an 89 Hill of Grace gifted to me. Best Australian to date.
Will definitely be on the lookout for Cyril Henschke(love most anything by Henschke), Wendouree, and Woodlands.
I’ve really enjoyed Wild Duck Creek’s Shiraz Reserves and their Duck Muck both with maybe 10-15 years on them.
Jasper Hill Emily’s Paddock
Tahbilk Shiraz 1860 Vines
their syrah’s from the early '90s are incredible.
Here are some, including one or two very good but lesser known ones–especially the Principia. From about 6 years ago.
Try get your hands on Tyrrell’s Vat 9 Shiraz and Tyrrell’s Vat 1 Semillon.
In a perfect world, particularly for the Semillon, a mature vintage (say somewhere between 1998-2004) would be ideal.
Either way, these are uniquely Australian and will probably surprise you if your experience of Australian wine to date has been big fruity reds.
Some other producers which I would happily buy anything from:
Luke Lambert
Hoddles Creek
Mayford
Ochota Barrels
Fraser Gallop
Where abouts in Australia are you based? If its Sydney, I can offer some wine bar suggestions as well.
Here is a starting list:-
Riesling - Crawford River, Grosset, Pikes Merle, Nick O’Leary
Semillon - Tyrells vat 1 (especially with age)
Chardonnay - Oakridge 864, Giaconda, Shaw & Smith Lenswood, LEAS, Pierro
Pinot Noir - Holyman Project X, William Downie Gippsland,
Shiraz - Wendouree (all reds), HOG, Grange, Henschke Mt Edelstone,
Red blends - Ruggabellus, Cullen Diana Madelaine
CS - Balnaves Tally, Moss Wood, Yeringberg, Wynns John Riddoch
Torbeck Run Rig
Astralis
Henry’s Drive
Lots of great wines down under!
Went to Iron Gate Estates when I visited the Hunter Valley in 2014. Really enjoyed their wines, especially the Oaked Semillion
That’s a pretty broad question, so without knowing particular tastes and interests here’s some suggestions based completely on my whims
Arras Sparkling
Primo Joseph Sparkling Red
Juniper Cabernet
Blue Poles Allouran (Merlot/Cab Franc blend)
Yalumba Virgilius Viognier
Tabhilk 192 Vines Marsanne
Bests Bin Shiraz 0 and Old Vine Pinot Meunier
Sorrenberg Gamay
Castagna - Anything from them
Ravensworth - pretty mauch anything from them as well
Fortifieds - Campbells/Stanton & Killeen/Morris Muscat. Grant Burge 20 yr old Tawny. Go to Seppeltsfield in the Barossa if you can and do the tour
Riesling
Crawford River - The standard and Young Vines are both great, if you want something a bit different the 2011 Noble Dry is very interesting
Mt Horricks (the 2016 is great), Pikes Merle
Pinot Noir - Giant Steps (Yarra), Bindi (Macedon), Kooyong/Port Philip, Moorooduc, Ten Minutes by Tractor (Mornington)
Depends. What are you looking for? Old school? Stick with South Australian. Elegance? Anywhere else (WA, Tasmania, Victoria.) People from Sydney will say Hunter Valley. Don’t believe them 
Riesling - Seppelt’s Drumborg
Semillon - Tyrell’s Vat 1
Pistols at dawn James? ![[basic-smile.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/8/83717c74df9b0ce202453063bc4f11baf0ee6b8a.gif "smile"){kind=small}
Rockford Basket Press Shiraz
+1 on John’s recommendation. I try to buy a 4 pack of the Margaret every year. It’s Woodlands mid tier Bordeaux blend (when compared with their straight Cab) with Cab Sauv, Merlot, and some Cab Franc and Malbec thrown into the mix. Retail it runs for $40-$45AUD per bottle. Their top of the line Cab is also very good and built for long term ageing but is much more dear and varies widely from ~$100AUD to ~$150+ depending on vintage.
Out of curiosity John, what vintage did you recently taste?
Also, I recommend the Fraser Gallop Parterre Cab, that should be maybe $5 less than the Margaret. Clive Otto makes that wine and he’s producing good Cabs annually. Deep Woods Reserve Cab Sauv from Margaret River is also very well regarded and priced. The '14 won the Jimmy Watson and would be $65 if you found it retail but the '12 and '13 would be closer to $55 and more readily available.
Beyond those I’d be looking for Hunter Valley Semillon (Tyrrell’s Vat 1, Brokenwood ILR) as they’re quite impressive age-able whites. Other producers I’d recommend are Ochota Barrels (love their Grenache), Brash Higgins (especially Barry’s straight Cab Franc), Mac Forbes (pretty much his entire range),
Also, if you like Riesling there’s a whole slew that are worth a look and reasonably priced down here.
If you happen to make it over to Perth let me know and I’ll open a few bottles for you.
Plus 1 on the Grosset & Mt. Horrocks Rieslings.
Look for Clonakilla Shiraz/Viognier for a very northern Rhone type of expression in Oz. They are out in Canberra and fairly isolated from most of the Aussie wine producing regions.
Older Wynns Michael [Shiraz] or John Riddoch [Cabernet].