Award-winning shiraz from Taylors, Zonte’s Footstep, Miles from Nowhere and RedHeads

These Australian shiraz – including a $95-a-bottle blockbuster and a 99-point classic – won acclaim at international wine shows, shining a light on our ability to produce premium red wines.

This mixed dozen brings together four international award winners.

Our club president James Halliday describes Australian shiraz as “the great traveller”.

“You could grow shiraz on a telegraph pole in Pitt Street and still produce great grapes,’’ Halliday has told us. “We produce different styles of shiraz across different regions but they keep their varietal integrity.”

The quote sums up neatly our focus on high-quality Australian shiraz this week at The Australian Wine Club. Our mixed dozen deal puts the accent on varietal integrity, bringing together four international award winners spanning four regions.

These wines – which include a blockbuster $95-a-bottle McLaren Vale shiraz – each bring to the fore slightly different flavours and textures, influenced by the climates and soils of their vineyards.

Mitchell Taylor, managing director and winemaker at Clare Valley’s iconic Taylors Wines, began taking notice of the different regional expressions of Australian shiraz while studying winemaking at Charles Sturt University in the 1990s.

“With Clare shiraz, you see these lovely soft velvety blackberry flavours, mid-palate,’’ he says. “Whereas McLaren Vale shiraz tends to have great length and licorice and spice.”

Taylor’s interest in these regional subtleties lead to the creation of the Jaraman range, where grapes from two different regions are blended together. The Taylors Jaraman Shiraz, for example, combines fruit from Clare Valley and McLaren Vale.

“I’m a big believer in bringing the regions together where you believe one plus one can equal three and I think you see that with the Jaraman Shiraz,’’ says Taylor, the third-generation of his family to lead their winemaking operations.

Winemaker Mitchell Taylor. Picture: Supplied

The formula is winning accolades from judges on the global stage, with the 2022 vintage (part of our shiraz mixed dozen offer) winning the Trophy for Champion Red Wine at the prestigious Vinus International Wines and Spirits Competition and being awarded 99 points. The 2023 vintage has just been named Shiraz of the Year at the London Wine Competition.

The awards come as leading wineries like Taylors push to ensure the Australian wine industry is recognised internationally for its ability to produce premium wines rather than just “cheap and cheerful” entry-level options.

“Shiraz is very important when it comes to promoting Australia’s premium wines as we do have great respect around the world for our shiraz,’’ says Taylor, whose family is part of Australia’s First Families of Wine, a group of 12 families committed to collectively marketing Australian wine globally.

“It’s our signature grape and our fighting variety going forward.”

The Taylors brand has been synonymous with the Clare since the 1960s, when Bill Taylor (Snr) purchased a 440-acre land holding at Wakefield River, near Auburn, that would become the foundation of the family’s wine estate.

The Taylors had become familiar with the potential of Clare Valley reds in the late 1950s when, as Sydney wine merchants, they partnered with the Clare Valley Co-operative to distribute their own wines under the Chateau Clare label.

“My grandfather had a love of the great wines of Europe and had a belief that Clare’s terroir could produce wines to rival the best from Bordeaux,’’ Taylor says.

While cabernet remains important to the Taylors business – and has indeed proven Taylor Snr right by winning international competitions against the best from Bordeaux – shiraz has become their most produced variety.

“It used to be neck and neck with cabernet sauvignon but shiraz it is now our number one grape.”

Taylors Jaraman Clare Valley Shiraz 2022

The velvety generosity of Clare Valley shiraz comes together with the spice and structure of fruit produced by three McLaren Vale grape growers. Classic mulberry and blackberry aromas and flavours flow, combining with coconut, cinnamon, cherry tobacco and vanilla dusting. Plush, juicy and super enjoyable. Trophy for Champion Red Wine at the Vinus International Wines and Spirits Competition. 14.5% alcohol, RRP $34 a bottle.

SPECIALS $29.99 a bottle in any dozen; $28.99 in Regional Shiraz dozen.

Zonte’s Footstep Z-Force McLaren Vale Shiraz 2018

Big and bold. Awash with blackcurrants, plums, blackberry pie, fruitcake spice, pepper and dark chocolate. A feast for the senses. Structured tannins hold the show together, moving to a long finish. Seven Golds, including three Double Golds. 97 points, Winestate magazine. 14.5% alcohol, RRP $95 a bottle.

SPECIALS $28.99 in Regional Shiraz dozen.

Miles From Nowhere Best Blocks Margaret River Shiraz 2020

Margaret River’s signature elegance on display here. More red fruit than the blues and blacks of Clare and McLaren shiraz: think pomegranates, red currant herbaceousness, earthy freshness and black pepper spice. There’s an intense purity to the fruit on the palate that underscores the wine’s class. Best Wine from Australia Trophy, Concours International de Lyon. 14.5% alcohol, RRP $30 a bottle.

SPECIALS $23.99 a bottle in any dozen; $28.99 in Regional Shiraz dozen.

RedHeads 1888 Barossa Valley Shiraz 2023

Our shiraz selection wouldn’t be complete without a classic Barossan. It’s all here: lifted aromas of blackcurrants, plums, Chinese spice and vanilla leads to ripe black and red fruits, with decadent hints of Black Forest cake and vanilla. Excellent balance and power, backed by crunchy juicy acidity. Gold medal, Catavinum World Wine & Spirits Competition. 14.5% alcohol, RRP $50 a bottle.

SPECIALS $28.99 in Regional Shiraz dozen.

REGIONAL SHIRAZ DOZEN Three bottles of each wine above for $28.99 a dozen. SAVE $279.

Order online or phone [phone] Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm AEST. Deals are available only while stocks last. The Australian Wine Club is a commercial partnership with Laithwaites Wine, LIQP770016550.