Shiraz is the grape variety that put Australian red wine on the international map. South Australian icons such as Penfolds Grange and Henschke’s Hill of Grace remain among the greatest wines from anywhere in the world thanks to their long history and ability to age well for many years.

But while these legendary wines are an important part of the Australian wine scene, the local shiraz styles are continually evolving, particularly into more elegant, cooler climate, and in some cases more food friendly, wines. 

Shiraz as a grape variety, like chardonnay, is particularly flexible so that it can make delicious wines from a whole range of wine regions. This fact is now seeing new plantings around the world including some surprising places, such as Colchagua in Chile and Central Otago in New Zealand. Potentially it may also pop up in decent numbers some time in the future at the home of cabernet sauvignon, Bordeaux.  

Australian shiraz has a whole range of features that makes it worth hunting down. Firstly it is packed full of flavour thanks in part to its thick skins, which in the best cases gives fruit that is highly complex. This ranges from warmer climate jammy dark fruits and cola through to spicier, red fruits from cooler climates. It also can be a wine for early drinking with supple tannins through to wines that are deeply tannic and need decades to soften and come around.

Here are our favourite new discoveries that are ready to enjoy right now.

Castle Rock Estate Porongurup Shiraz 2018
92 Points – $34

This is such a good example of the cooler climate shiraz from a great year in the Great Southern of Western Australia. It has slightly blue fruit characters with a mix of spices and black pepper contributing to its lift and energy. Velvety smooth with a fine tannin and silky oak integration, it all stacks up well as a wine for drinking over the next few years.

Two Hands Waterfall Block Shiraz 2018
94 Points – $110

This is a unique wine coming from the suburbs of Adelaide. If you don’t believe me, search for Waterfall Gully Road in Burnside on Google Maps and you’ll spy the patch of vines on the edge of the city, one of the last urban vineyards anywhere in the world. It crafts a very unique style of Australian Shiraz with an attractive mix of sweet and savoury fruits – plum jam, bush mint, red earth and pepperberry fruits supported by generous oak. It is not a massive wine on the palate – generous but reserved with some firmish tannins that provide plenty of backbone to support its lingering, silky, subtle finish. Easy to miss but by the second glass you will know this is something special.

Leeuwin Estate Art Series Shiraz 2018
96 Points – $42

This marks the continuing evolution of Margaret River shiraz from Leeuwin Estate – this is pretty close to the best since the project to kick start this variety was launched some years ago. It has a sumptuous fruity mix on the palate with gravelly textured tannins and neatly weighted oak, which is a mix of new and slightly older. The new just adds a touch of spicy lift leaving the wine delicious and generous. 

Brown Brothers Shiraz, Mondeuse Cabernet Sauvignon 2013
96 Points – $90

Have you heard of Mondeuse? No, I hadn’t either. It’s been around for a while though; the vines used for this unique blend planted over 100 years ago at Brown Brothers Milawa vineyard. John Charles Brown (2nd generation winemaker) created this blend in 1954, fermenting the three varieties together, and they still make it the same way today – with good reason. Firstly, I beg you to decant this wine and enjoy it slowly over a few hours. Your patience will be rewarded as the layers reveal themselves.

It pours a brilliant magenta and smells like fresh blackberries, aniseed powder, dried oregano and freshly turned earth. With time a decadent pheromone musky note evolves alongside graphite mountainside, spicy air-dried charcuterie and perfumed porcini mushrooms.

Despite the inky colour, firm tannins and 14.5% alcohol, it still sits surprisingly light on the palate, both concentrated and supple. There is something both hedonistic and pure about this wine; delicacy dancing with earthy, sensual power. 

Mitchell Wines Peppertree Vineyard Shiraz 2016
95 Points – $35

Wines like this show the advantage of bottle age in regions such as the Clare Valley where young reds can be brutish, even overwhelming with their dense ripe fruit. But give them a couple of years to settle and their more subtle characters emerge, as is seen right here.

The key to this wine is fantastic balance from start to finish. Quite deeply coloured, it’s ripe and generous but also carries great subtlety too – dark cherry, liquorice and old oak are topped with white pepper, eucalyptus and violets plus a hint of whole bunch spice. There is definitely something Rhoney going on here too. That is followed by a dry, juicy and mid-weight palate with some Clare Valley earthy flavours tied in to dark fruits and supported by long drying tannins with baking spices right on the finish. So much going on here, it is a belter, great value and has plenty of aging potential.