Top 20 red wines over $40
Which wine has James Halliday called ‘the greatest Australian pinot noir I’ve ever tasted’? Discover this all-time great among his pick of Australia’s best reds of the year.
James Halliday has selected not one, not two, but four 99-point wines in this year’s Top 100 list. Each is included in the below list but, he insists, there may be one which stands tall among them.
A wine that comes from a perfect vintage, he writes, and is the “greatest Australian pinot noir I have tasted”.
“It will stand unbounded by the might of Burgundy, and there’s more to come.”
Read on to discover the Top 20 Australian red wines over $40.
HALLIDAY'S TOP 100
Drink like James Halliday with this offer
The Australian Wine Club is offering a mixed dozen from James Halliday’s Top 100 - including a 99-point sensation - for $27.99 a bottle. Find out more.
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Which wine has James Halliday called ‘the greatest Australian pinot noir I’ve ever tasted’? Discover this all-time great among his pick of Australia’s best reds of the year.
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Best Australian red wines under $40
Australia’s premier wine critic James Halliday has selected the very best value Australian red wines on the market – and it includes a ‘beautifully-balanced bargain’.
The so-so 2020 vintage had its problems, but the ancient (1847 planted) vines provided the backbone of this ultra-elegant, medium-bodied, French-oaked shiraz. Its perfect texture and balance nullify the vintage challenge.
■ 98 points, $55, 14.1% alcohol
■ Drink to 2045
■ turkeyflat.com.au
Barossa Valley shiraz doesn’t come much better than this. The vintage was perfect, but few nailed the opportunity as well as winemakers Kym Teusner and Javier Moll. The silky elegance and balance are coupled with purity and freshness in a manner seldom seen.
■ 99 points, $70, 14.5% alcohol
■ Drink to 2046
■ teusner.com.au
Whole bunch 15-20%, 15 days on skins, 33% in concrete vessels, the balance in stainless steel and used oak. A magical combination of techniques to produce blackberry, licorice and dark chocolate flavours, the tannins so fine they are silky.
■ 97 points, $75, 13.5% alcohol
■ Drink to 2041
■ mmadvineyard.com
From a vineyard planted 1919, and now run biodynamically. Picked on March 4 and matured for 16 months in French barriques. This is a beautiful wine in every way – balance, flavour, purity – and sensibly priced.
■ 97 points, $80, 14.5% alcohol
■ Drink to 2049
■ yalumba.com
A mix of whole bunch and berry fermentation and maturation in large format French oak. A glorious shiraz, bursting with life and promising a 40-year life span, so perfectly framed and balanced are its black cherry and blackberry fruit duo, tannins obediently bending the knee to the fruit.
■ 98 points, $130, 13.5% alcohol
■ Drink to 2062
■ yarrayering.com
How appropriate: one of the very best vintages of this sacred vineyard – sacred because there’s never been a replant if a vine died. Matured for 18 months in French oak, the tannins amazingly silky, the fruits still bright as a spring day. This deserves its price.
■ 97 points, $360, 14% alcohol
■ Drink to 2047
■ tahbilk.com.au
Matured in French oak (20% new) for 18 months. It opens with gloriously heady scents of wild herbs, spice and pepper, thence flawlessly balanced dark berry fruits, velvet tannins and quicksilver acidity. A 30-plus year future, yet ready for consumption now.
■ 99 points, $950, 14.5% alcohol
■ Drink to 2050
■ henschke.com.au
A blend of contract-grown Barossa shiraz and Eden Valley cabernet, 50 dozen made. From a so-so vintage, but that’s not obvious, as the black berry/cherry fruits are delicious, the tannins fine, the finish long.
■ 96 points, $45, 14% alcohol
■ Drink to 2035
■ flaxmanwines.com.au
Includes 9% petit verdot. On skins for 30 days; matured for 13 months in Taransaud barriques (39% new). While very intense, its perfect balance makes it light on its feet. Cassis in abundance leads the palate, pirouetting through the tannins on the lingering finish.
■ 98 points, $90, 14.5% alcohol
■ Drink to 2051
■ balnaves.com.au
Hand-picked and sorted; aged in French oak for up to 20 months, the best barrels selected for the final blend. Long and precisely balanced; its varietal expression is one of extreme purity.
■ 97 points, $90, 14% alcohol
■ Drink to 2040
■ juniperestate.com.au
High-quality French oak and powerful blackcurrant fruit are all obvious, but the wine has exceptional mouthfeel and varietal expression too. You know there are tannins sewn into the fruit, yet they are hidden. Totally flawless.
■ 98 points, $120, 14.5% alcohol
■ Drink to 2049
■ wisewine.com.au
Hand-picked, open fermented and matured in what are described as “old French oak barriques” for 14 months. Very attractive fresh mouthfeel to the black fruits. A surprise packet. Radically different vinification to prior vintages.
■ 96 points, $50, 14.5% alcohol
■ Drink to 2041
■ terreaterre.com.au
Hand-picked and sorted; 20% whole bunches, the balance crushed, 5-day cold soak, matured for 18 months in French barriques then a further year in bottle prerelease. Super fragrant red berries/cherries interwoven with gentle Asian spices.
■ 97 points, $45, 12.8% alcohol
■ Drink to 2031
■ mountterriblewines.com.au
The hue and depth are typical: this is Tasmania speaking, and an introduction to what is a celestial pinot noir. It’s pure and refined, with wild strawberry, pomegranate and mesmerising red berries of field and forest, all with spices to boot.
■ 98 points, $65, 12.7% alcohol
■ Drink to 2033
■ stargazerwine.com.au
Clones MV6, 114, 115 on 40-year-old vines. 30% whole bunch open fermented, 3-5 day cold soak, 7-10 days post-ferment maceration, matured for 10 months in French oak (25% new). The power and focus of Delamere’s pinots puts them in the top tier in Australia.
■ 98 points, $70, 13% alcohol
■ Drink to 2042
■ delamerevineyards.com.au
5 clones, hand-picked, 8.5% whole bunch wild fermented, 5-day cold soak, two weeks on skins, one baume fermented in used French puncheons, 10 months in oak. A perfumed bouquet of spice, red berries/cherries, then a palate of piercing purity and perfect balance.
■ 97 points, $75, 13.4% alcohol
■ Drink to 2032
■ chattowines.com
Oh man, what a wine. 35% whole bunch, 25% new French oak, 10 months maturation in barrel. The deep colour is a Tasmanian specialty. Then there’s the intensity, the complexity, the length, the pot pourri of spices, the sultry tannins and black cherry fruit. My top pinot of ’22.
■ 99 points, $80, 13.7% alcohol
■ Drink to 2052
■ pooleywines.com.au
Hand-picked, de-stemmed, on skins 10 days, then 10 months maturation in French hogsheads (33% new). Intense aromas of Chinese tea, forest and earthy spices, the palate wonderfully intense with a classic peacock’s tail finish.
■ 97 points, $110, 13% alcohol
■ Drink to 2037
■ bannockburnvineyards.com
This is MV6 clone at its best, the wine deeply coloured. Hand-picked, hand-sorted, gently de-stemmed, wild yeast fermented, 16 days on skins, matured for 11 months in puncheons. Gloriously rich bouquet and palate, both with black cherry and five spice.
■ 98 points, $125, 13.5% alcohol
■ Drink to 2042
■ yabbylake.com
Dry-grown bush vines, hand-picked with multiple passes; 100% whole bunches spent 11 days on skins. The bouquet is extraordinary, with earthy/foresty/spicy aromas, the sumptuous yet woven palate echoing with dark berry flavours. Mourvèdre isn’t meant to be as hypnotic as this.
■ 99 points, $150, 14% alcohol
■ Drink to 2051
■ swinney.com.au