What next for Shiraz? Here’s 15 quality Shiraz to show where we’re at

The next few years will be an interesting ride for Australian Shiraz.

It’s certainly been an up and down over the last few years, and the drama has played out in grape prices. After hitting a peak in 2000, Shiraz fruit prices have dropped significantly over the past few years, with premium grapes from non-inland wine regions going from $1801 to $1592/tonne (this report goes into more detail).

Obviously, that’s just grapes, and you can simply correlate the dip in grape prices with the circa 200% Chinese tariffs (which wiped out a billion-dollar, premium red-wine-heavy market almost overnight). But this isn’t just a China tariff thing – the broader trends for Shiraz is negative, with prices falling consistently for all exports (wines over $5/litre have dropped almost 60% in the past four years).

It’s not just prices; the national Shiraz crush is going backwards, as this Wine Austalia graph (FYI tonnage is on the y-axis) shows:

2007 and 2024 aren’t on this graph, although they make the stats even more stark, as the 2024 Shiraz crush was the smallest since 2007. Chardonnay has now overtaken Shiraz as Australia’s most crushed grape.

The interesting bit is about what comes next – now that the Chinese market doors are back open, the wine is flowing ($214m worth has been exported to China since March this year), although most of it is cheap bulk wine, not the industry’s saviour.

From my seat, I’ve never seen so much discounted premium Shiraz at a local wholesale level (and this is my 25th year in wine), which reflects that we’re in an oversupply world dogged by flat (or dropping consumption). Lots of what’s being shifted cheaply is what you’d call ‘traditional’ styles of Shiraz (and lots of South Australian juice) without a home, but not exclusively. A high-class boutique winemaker told me just a few weeks ago that they had plenty of cool Syrah to sell because, although the wine was ‘well reviewed and drinking brilliantly’, cool climate spicy Syrah was ‘a slow mover’. They also said, ‘If it said Pinot on the label, it would have been gone yonks ago’.

It’s a weird time, too, as I’d argue that we’re entering a grand era of the grape, where (finally) oak and alcohol excess isn’t the only thing that makes great Shiraz. There is a place for both the plum-soaked, richer style and the moderate, spice-forward Syrah mode, let alone the medium to full-bodied style in the middle.

On that point, let’s talk about some of the good wines. I’ve pulled together a collection of 15 Australian Shiraz that represent some very classical (or indeed contemporary) regional styles.

Balgownie Estate Shiraz 2021

Talking about classical expressions, Balgownie’s 1969-planted vineyard in Bendigo makes such openly authentic wines that really show their Bendigo-ness. Central Victorian 110%. Sure, I’d take the Balgownie Cabernet wines over the Shiraz every day of the week (especially in warm vintages), but the Shiraz can be the eye-catcher. This 2021 is an archetypal release, if so formative that I had to wrestle with it for half an hour to work out what was really going on – it’s an unresolved and bold Balgownie Shiraz. On the one hand, it has classic mint chocolate oak and fruit, with just a little fudgy warmth, but the savouriness and even-handed tannins mark this as a classy wine. It’s a full-bodied red, with powerful fruit flavours that have weight but stray from the plum of, say, the Barossa, and into another shade of dark fruit, and with a palate that packs a little something in reserve. Texture baby! This tasted different with every glass, too, which is always a sign of great wines (hello complexity). You can see the 14.4% in the little pushes of warmth and plusher kirsch sort of bits, but that cocoa dust powdery savouriness tends to roll on and on to hide any of the alcohol. It doesn’t quite match perfectly, but the structural DNA here is rock solid.

Best drinking: Winemaker Tony Winspear can probably tell us when it will be in the zone, but I can see that another 2-3 years will see more cohesion and again it’s a twenty-year wine no probs. 18/20, 93/100+. 14.4%, $50. Would I buy it? I have the 2021 Cab on the bench and I’ll probably fall in love with that, but heck, for $50 this is a relative no-brainer.

d’Arenberg The Dead Arm Shiraz 2015

It’s always great to see a mature release of a modern red, but with some Shiraz the question is more about whether the wine actually improves or just gets broader/older (side note – drink your old wines, don’t let them die in the cellar). This Dead Arm is nine years old and looking fine, although I wouldn’t really want to hold on for much longer. Lots of chunky black and red fruit in a ticker McLaren vale style, the flavours a little soupy and super ripe, but balanced out with some of the illed earth d’Arenberg charm. This has some of the dusty forwardness of an aged red, rather than feeling primary, and the oak now presents as a seam of coffee and brick dust. Plenty of mature drinking pleasure though, even if it’s largely driven by mid palate roundness.

Best drinking: for Christmas. 17.7/20, 92/100. 14.5%, $110. Would I buy it? Just a glass.

Eisenstone Mattscheoss Vineyard Greenock Shiraz SV901 2022

Stephen Cook’s Eisenstone wines deserve celebrating. You can read a longer dive into the story here, but the ethos here is pretty simple – A1 Barossa Valley Shiraz grapes from vineyards across the region, all treated the same way in the winery to give a proper terroir expression. There are two levels to the range (and a new super duper wine, which I’ll get to at a later date), with parish-level expressions as a starting point (from places like Greenock, Moppa, etc) and then single vineyard wines from shit-hot named vineyards. Uniformly, these bold Barossan wines are super impressive – decadent, powerful, expressive tastes of what Shiraz from different parts of the Valley can taste like. I had a quick look at some of the wines over lunch a few weeks back and now working through them all on the bench for thoroughness (and they look so good). This SV901 comes from the Mattscheoss Vineyard in the western Barossa and has that purpleness that Greenock is all about. It’s lush. I can’t help but think about Violet Crumbles in the palate profile, but we’ll mark that down as synaesthesia. Gee, it’s dark purple wine. Full-bodied, with mouthfilling berry fruit, a little mushroom, but mainly mouth-filing choc berry flavours. This 2022 version looks a bit warm and heady right now, a little bit too much lavishness, but that flavour volume is undoubted. Super impressive Barossa Shiraz.

Best drinking: good now, even better in a year or two and will drink for a decade no probs. 14.5%, $125. 18.5/20, 94/100. Would I buy it? These are so worth it (Grange level fruit for $125? Yeah do it). I’ll reserve my judgment on which of the Eisenstone SV wines I’d buy until I work through them all.

Eisenstone Greenock Shiraz SR801 2022

This is the next tier down from the single vineyard wine above, yet still sourced from the Matcheoss Vineyard and sees the same treatment in the winery (50% new oak for 20 months). Fascinating to see the differences – there’s that deep, deep maroon-purple colour and very purple fruit profile. This feels slightly more diffuse than the SV release, warmer, with a plum pudding richness and a little less x-factor. More mid-palate driven than the full-service package. What’s not in doubt is impact – this is such a bold Barossan wine that really sings the tune of Greenock Shiraz.

Best drinking: good now, will be good for decades. 18/20, 93/100. 14.5%, $90. Would I buy it? I’d take the SV upgrade, although this is v.impressive wine.

Gundog Estate Hunter’s Shiraz 2023

The Hunter’s Shiraz comes from a selection of vineyards across central Pokolbin, and this electric purple wine shows the gloss and impact of the great 2023 vintage. Generous, pulpy purple fruit with boysenberry and plum and grape Hubba Bubba gummy generosity. There is a slight jammy element in there, too, a drying warmth that makes the palate skip a few beats and dries you out. Otherwise, it is luxurious and quite full, purple-fruited, ripe Hunter red.

Best drinking: now to fifteen years easy. 17.7/20, 92/100. 14%, $45. Would I buy it? A few glasses.

Gundog Estate Marksman’s Shiraz 2023

Marksman is reserved as Matt Burton’s best barrels Canberra wine, and this 2023 release is excellent. As an aside, can I talk about the details that come with every Gundog wine? Matt gives pH and TA (3.58 and 6.3g/L) plus vineyard sources, inspo, back story and the lot. Please, more winemakers, be like Matt! FWIW, this Shiraz comes from the Wallaroo Vineyard in Hall, the ACT/NSW border, and the Long Rail Gully Vineyard at Murrumbateman. I love the fragrant dark spiced cherry fruit of this style, with these contrasting lines of riper, darker berries and then prettier bits, too. Silken, yet with more than a little rotundone spice, the balance between fruit, fine spice and refined tannins is excellent, and only needs a little more time in bottle to be at full expression. Clever modern Canberra red of refinement and flavour.

Best drinking: delicious now, but a few more years in a bottle will be worth it, and then it will be a twenty-year wine. 18.5/20, 94/100+. 13%, $80. Would I buy it? Sure would.

Gundog Estate Shiraz 2023

Confusingly enough, this is just called the Gundog Estate Shiraz, and yet it’s very much a premium red (with cheaper wines below it) in the ever-sprawling Gundog range. Anyway, we’re in Canberra here again, and another lovely moderate wine for some colour and contrasts. Juicy purple fruit, just a little sausage Syrah-like notes, the drive coming through the mid-palate driving the wine with fine tannins. It’s a bit simple but also a lovely balanced red – pretty, juicy, finely judged. It is not as defined as the Marksman, but it feels just right and very smart. Big yes.

Best drinking: already good now. 18/20, 93/100. 13.5%, $45. Would I buy it? Worth a few glasses.

Paisley Maeve Shiraz 2021

You won’t die wondering with the opulent Barossan reds of Derek at Paisley. This wine, named after a fierce Celtic goddess, is a big, big wine in a big, big bottle. Choc bounty oak, lashings of dark purple fruit, huge walls of sweet choc coconut plummy waves. It’s lush, a bit OTT, and warmish, but oh man, the waves of flavour mark this as such an impressive release. You could pay much more money for less flavour. This really has a place.

Best drinking: good now, will live for years and years (although it’s not going to get ‘better’ per se). 18/20, 93/100. 14.9%, $48. Would I buy it? A glass or two.

Pikes Eastside Shiraz 2022

Such pleasurable Clare Shiraz for very few dollars. Medium to full-bodied, but in a generous rather than firm mode. Plush black and red fruit, choc mint, a liquid licorice blackness and dark fruit plushness that doesn’t stop and with just enough tannins to keep it interesting. Smooth, charming, perhaps not especially detailed, but hey it’s $29 (and much less retail). Bargain.

Best drinking: good now, no hurry. 17.7/20, 92/100. 14.5%, $29. Would I buy it? Several glasses no probs.

Sweetwater Estate Shiraz 2022

Let’s check in on more from the Hunter Valley, hey? From the hand of Bryan BC Currie at Hungerford Hill, and this is a pretty smooth talker for 2022 (a cooler, wet year that produced less obvious reds). This is medium-bodied more red fruit than dark fruit, and shows some oak generosity. It’s bigger than the alcohol suggests, but again, not heavy. Purple/red fruit, a dash of Hunter earth, the palate polished and juicy, maybe a little tart medium bodied in that very Huter Valley way. I’d perhaps like more tannins, but the overall package is silken, regional and impressive.

Best drinking: good now, and will be alive in fifteen years easy. 18/20, 93/100. 13.5%, $70. Would I buy it? let’s share a bottle.

Tahbilk Shiraz 2021

100% pure Tahbilk. Ridiculously well priced given how this wine ages too. It’s a juicier wine this vintage, but youcan’t throw the red and black earth Central Victorian vibe. Licorice, just a little horsehair, bitter black fruit and a bit of pan juice savouriness, medium bodied, and driven b earthnand tannins. This has a subtle savoury heart, and enough berry fruit, to make it timeless, even if it’s a hit rough-edged.

Best drinking: good now or whenever. 17.5/20, 91/100. 14%, $23.95. Would I buy it? A glass.

Taylors Masterstroke Shiraz 2021

We’re back in McLaren Vale and also, a style that tastes like the early noughties, and bound to win fans. It’s luscious, oak-sweet, vanilla coated, with a palate of squishy, powerful dark purple fruit. Plush, generous and very big brand South Australian, it’s going to snare trophies based on flavour impact, even if the dominant oak and lush fruit combine to make something just a bit sweet rather than savoury enough.

Best drinking: now or in a decade. It’s going nowhere. 17.7/20, 92/100. 14.5%, $60. Would I buy it? A glass.

Taylors St Andrews Clare Valley Shiraz 2021

A step up the Taylors quality ladder and this feels very Clare Vlley. Oceans of chocolatey, formic, heavy toast oak. It’s a bit of an oak caricature in a way but it’s not a bad wine, just en mode. Bourbon vanilla a nod to some American oak in the mix?. The palate is sorted, though – plush, oak enlivened, ripe and chocolatey. Proper. Made to win trophies, but easy to appreciate the plushness and that Clare Valley power which makes this feel like $75 worth of wine.

Best drinking: I know this will look better in five years time. 18/20, 93/100. 14.5%, $75. Would I buy it? Worth a few glasses.

Tim Smith Wines Barossa Shiraz 2022

Charismatic Barossa Shiraz from Tim Smith. Has the trademark seamlessness that Tim does so well, with an excellent, almost molten flow of deeply rich Barossa fruit with an old vine intensity to it. Lavish, purple, but deeply rich and molten Barossa Shiraz. Just a little warm tugging at the finish is the only distraction. Unquestionably attractive wine.

Best drinking: Tim thinks you can ‘leave some in your dungeon for quite some time if patience persists’ but I’d drink it within the next ten years for maximum pleasure. 18/20, 93/100. 14%, $45. Would I buy it? Half bottle easy.

Zonzo Estate Shiraz 2022

Zonzo Estate is probably better known as a Yarra Valley Italian restaurant/wedding venue and maker of a ridiculously popular limoncello spritz, but with Caroline Mooney in the winery, the wines are super serious (if too serious sometimes). This Yarra Shiraz is one of my Zonzo picks and it has a proper cool climate Yarra Shiraz feel to it, with violets, and deep purple/red fruit. before some slightly bitter black tannins. The peppery lines, iodine and bittersweet blueberry fruit give this real Syrah vibes, even if it’s just a bit firm. Worth a longer look after another 12-24 months to see where it goes.

Best drinking: As above. 17.7/20, 92/100. 14%, $30. Would I buy it? A few glasses easy.