At its most rudimentary level, wine sustains us. At the Top 100 level, however, excellence is determined by those wines that announce themselves with a thunderclap of amazement before a lightning strike of such beauty that it is almost ineffable. In essence, these are wines that wow us because they ask us how a seemingly simple sum of place, grape and craft can render such profundity.
Assembling the Top 100 wines is a forensic process. It requires debate, provocation, arguments and fisticuffs, largely with oneself! As much as looking at scores across the last year of tasting – which serve more as a guideline than last word – along with retasting and reshuffling, the process is one of ascertaining which wines are stamped resolutely with that inimitable zip code, or sense of place, that is so crucial when sorting the wheat from the chaff.
It can be taken for granted that wines of this caliber boast the fundamentals inherent to high quality: exceptional balance, length, intensity and complexity. But they have something more! Some tasters might include concentration as another qualitative signpost, but in an era when unfettered freshness, transparency and levity are increasingly prized, concentration is not the imperative it once was, assuming the grapes are optimally ripe. Of course, what was considered optimal at the turn of the century – when late “hang time” desiccated fruit and ambitious extraction were prized by certain commentators – is very different today, demonstrating the protean nature of wine as much as the tastes of those who drink it.
No wine culture is more protean than Australia. It is a vast landmass of spellbinding diversity – climatic and geological. Yet it has a relatively small population and has been traditionally reliant on exports as a result. Subsequently, trade disputes with China at the beginning of the pandemic proved a bane for large-scale wine producers. They may have proven, however, to be an opportunity for smaller ones.
With time on their hands, those who dug deeply into their wells of creativity also tapped into a growing affection at the domestic level for Australia’s smaller-scale wines, particularly those crafted by conscientious makers farming the right grapes in the right places, code of ethics intact. There is no better example than the inexorable rise of Australian grenache, particularly the best from McLaren Vale. Grenache is the most exciting thing that has happened in Australia in generations.
Sadly, there is a litany of stellar producers I was forced to leave out of this Top 100 list because of their minuscule production levels. Yet top wines include the glorious No. 1, the Yangarra Grenache McLaren Vale Ovitelli 2021, which is biodynamically farmed and crafted in eggs to the tune of around 150 days on skins.
In the Top 10 are wines like the Thistledown Grenache McLaren Vale This Charming Man Old Vine Clarendon 2021 and Alkina Grenache Barossa Valley Polygon No. 3 2020, each fidelitous to old bush vines and a melody of sandy, ironstone and schist soils flecked with limestone, respectively. These are wines of red fruits over dark and an exotic timber of complexity suggestive of a Moroccan souk. They are peppery, sandy and with an almost nebbiolo-like tannic gristle, melded with saline freshness. These are wines of wonder, like pinot noir that feels intuitive and right in the landscape, with a Mediterranean warmth. They rival the very finest in the world! As with a raft of others across the list, they are all from the superb 2021 vintage, a growing season that was moderate and long.
Australia’s isolation also breeds fearless creativity. Certain styles shift in syncopation with international trends, while others stride out fearlessly on their own. The tensile guise of contemporary Australian chardonnay is an example. 15 years ago, too many wines were picked early on acidity and held on lees for too long. They were excessively reductive and anorexic of feel. Today, the envelope has been pulled back to promote restraint, tension, flavor and fealty to place, rather than its obfuscation by excessive meddling.
The best Australian chardonnay, including the iconic Giaconda, are rivaled only by top Burgundy. Yet perhaps the most exciting swag of wines I had from any producer this tasting season were those crafted by the young winemaker Owen Latta at Eastern Peake. Subtle oxidative handling imbues notes of curry powder and chamomile to his chardonnay, reminiscent of better wines from Ganevat in the Jura. The Eastern Peake Chardonnay Ballarat Two Mile Hill 2021 is slotted at No. 4, yet his wines are smattered throughout the Top 100, as are the sturdy pinot noirs from Tasmania’s Stefano Lubiana, all ensuring thrilling drinking no matter where one turns.
As for Australia’s palette of classics, it remains relatively steadfast, if not considerably more sophisticated. Wines are finer tuned to a dial of mellifluous detail, rather than heft. This reflects domestic consumption levels that rival European cultures and the fact that drinking with food is a norm rather than exception.
The best shiraz, for example, are floral, mid-weighted and draped in spice; the acidity, juicy. The tannins, lithe and sinuous, are often derived from judicious whole-bunch inclusion. The Castagna Shiraz Beechworth Genesis 2019 and Murdoch Hill Syrah Adelaide Hills Oakbank The Landau 2022 are two exceptional examples, although both come under the syrah moniker that is often used in cooler climates.
For Australian cabernet and blends, better tannin management – with gentler, more propitiously timed agitation – has led to higher-quality offerings. The Frankland Estate Frankland River Olmo’s Reward 2020, a franc-dominant wine, serves up a gossamer weave, and it is only topped by the Mount Mary Yarra Valley Quintet 2021, the finest Quintet in a decade and a rival to its imperious sibling, the Mount Mary Yarra Valley Triolet 2021. The Triolet 2021 is arguably Australia’s most understated white and likely its greatest, particularly with age.
The list is not intended to be tendentious, but a reflection of the Aussie zeitgeist. Perfect scores are not my thing, but hopefully you read the reviews and get a sense of just why these wines proved so thrilling.
Drinkers and winemakers alike seek a coda of freshness, drinkability and place, sure, but also wines grown with respect: wines that incorporate an ethical approach to the land, the water that sustains it and a long gaze into a brighter future, as much as wines that make us want to reach for a third glass before the bottle is empty.
– Ned Goodwin MW, Senior Editor
Note: The list of wines below is comprised of bottles tasted and rated in 2023 by the tasters at JamesSuckling.com. You can sort the wines below by vintage, score and alphabetically by winery name. You can also search for specific wines in the search bar.
