Wine guide
Regions
Australia Fine Wine
That Australia has a fine wine industry could be a bit of an oxymoron to some. Surely you need years of historical pedigree, coupled with outstanding winemaking skills and long cultivated terroir to make a wine truly exceptional?
Well, yes and no. While we have yet to see how ageing affects wine from the new world country, producers such as Penfold’s Grange, Jim Barry and Henschke are making a damn good stab at producing an icon wine. So fast-tracked is their reputation in fact that when Langton’s began their classification (similar to the 1855 Bordeaux classification) in 1990 they had 31 fine wines on their list with just one “exceptional” wine (Penfold’s Grange if you're wondering). Twenty years later there were 123 wines, 21 of which were in the exceptional category. The latest classification took place in 2014 (like St. Emilion, Australia re-classifies its fine wines regularly) and has 139 with 21 in the top tier.
Although there are over 100 different types of grape grown Down Under, and 65 different regions, there is still a vast gap between winemakers and wine growers. Australian wine producers tend to buy in the majority of their grapes and drive them across the country rather than grow and bottle on site. This makes it hard to describe the individual regions per se, as while the wine may be bottled in say the Clare Valley, it could be made with grapes that have come from thousands of miles away (Australia is very big remember).
The Barossa Valley is perhaps Australia’s best-known regions, likely to produce the most interesting product for investors. Torbrek’s The Laird, Penfolds Grange’s Bin 95 are both Barossa, while Henschke's Hill of Grace comes from the next door Eden Valley. All three are 100% Shiraz blends as well as being classed in second, third and fourth place in Australia's most expensive wine list (the number one spot goes to Chris Ringland’s Three Rivers, another Barossa Valley beauty that has been awarded Robert Parker’s perfect 100 points four times in seven years). And who said the Aussies didn't do fine wine?
Well, yes and no. While we have yet to see how ageing affects wine from the new world country, producers such as Penfold’s Grange, Jim Barry and Henschke are making a damn good stab at producing an icon wine. So fast-tracked is their reputation in fact that when Langton’s began their classification (similar to the 1855 Bordeaux classification) in 1990 they had 31 fine wines on their list with just one “exceptional” wine (Penfold’s Grange if you're wondering). Twenty years later there were 123 wines, 21 of which were in the exceptional category. The latest classification took place in 2014 (like St. Emilion, Australia re-classifies its fine wines regularly) and has 139 with 21 in the top tier.
Although there are over 100 different types of grape grown Down Under, and 65 different regions, there is still a vast gap between winemakers and wine growers. Australian wine producers tend to buy in the majority of their grapes and drive them across the country rather than grow and bottle on site. This makes it hard to describe the individual regions per se, as while the wine may be bottled in say the Clare Valley, it could be made with grapes that have come from thousands of miles away (Australia is very big remember).
The Barossa Valley is perhaps Australia’s best-known regions, likely to produce the most interesting product for investors. Torbrek’s The Laird, Penfolds Grange’s Bin 95 are both Barossa, while Henschke's Hill of Grace comes from the next door Eden Valley. All three are 100% Shiraz blends as well as being classed in second, third and fourth place in Australia's most expensive wine list (the number one spot goes to Chris Ringland’s Three Rivers, another Barossa Valley beauty that has been awarded Robert Parker’s perfect 100 points four times in seven years). And who said the Aussies didn't do fine wine?