My Australian wine highlights of 2025

After a packed trip Down Under at the end of 2024 – when I clocked up substantial air miles between Western and South Australia, plus a trip to Tasmania and visits in Victoria – 2025 was UK-based. But thanks to Zoom tastings, fantastic generic and merchant tastings in London with producers flying in – plus a revolving door of visiting winemakers at Decanter HQ, it almost felt like I never left. Choosing the best bits from a year of tasting is a tall order, but in this roundup I’ve focused on the wineries, wines, grapes and styles that have excited me the most. These aren’t necessarily my highest-scoring Aussie wines of 2025 – check out our Wines of the Year reveal in the January issue for more on those. But these are the wines that I think will give you a taste of the diversity, quality and excitement that can be found in Australia at the moment. [caption id="attachment_572765" align="alignnone" width="1300"] Julie catches up with Sam Harrop MW of Bird in Hand Credit: Jiayue Jenny Li[/caption] [subscriber-content] Great Grenache If there’s one variety that I feel really hit its stride in 2025 it has to be Grenache . The year kicked off with the first-ever Aussie Grenache Decanter panel tasting , where an impressive 63% of the wines were ranked Highly Recommended or above. The buzz around Grenache continued in April at the Next Generation Australian Grenache tasting organised by Amelia Jukes. With a mix of familiar names – from Yalumba to Yangarra – alongside new discoveries such as Mark Bulman (see below) , it showcased how this Rhône grape is flourishing in Australia. [caption id="attachment_572770" align="alignnone" width="860"] Lucy Hill-Smith of Yalumba at the Next Generation Australian Grenache tasting Credit: Julie Sheppard[/caption] Site specific This is due in no small part to a trend I’m calling micro-regionality. In my 2025 Aussie snapshot , published to mark Australia Day on 26 January, I talked about how site-specific winemaking has now become widespread Down Under. Increasingly single-vineyard – and even single plot – wines are highlighting very specific terroirs, showing the considerable work being done by winemakers to refine their understanding of their own land. A perfect example is the work done at Alkina by Pedro Parra (aka Dr Terroir) to isolate distinct polygons. While the Australian wine scene has always been gloriously unfettered by European-style appellation rules, thinking in terms of grand cru or premier cru sites is now a genuinely helpful comparison when it comes to talking about top Aussie terroirs. [caption id="attachment_476009" align="alignnone" width="1300"] The vineyard at Alkina in Barossa Valley has been mapped into individual polygons Credit: Charmaine Grieger[/caption] Australia’s grands crus Take Blewitt Springs in north-east McLaren Vale , South Australia. In this subregion – championed by producers including the much-missed Peter Fraser of Yangarra – the arid, sandy loess over ironstone soils produce the ethereal Grenaches that are helping to put the variety on the map. Or Wilyabrup, a premium pocket of Western Australia’s Margaret River , where ironstone soils and a maritime climate fashion long-lived Cabernet and Chardonnay . Or Victoria’s cool Mornington Peninsula , just 967ha of diverse volcanic soils surrounded on three sides by ocean, and home to world-class Pinot and Chardonnay. Then there’s Tasmanina’s Tamar Valley , source of stunning sparkling wines. I could easily continue the list… We’ll be exploring this more in 2026 with an article highlighting Australia’s greatest vineyards in the June issue, in celebration of the 70th vintage of Henschke ’s Mount Edelstone from Eden Valley , widely considered Australia’s first single-vineyard wine. Meanwhile you’ll spot a few single-vineyard wines in my highlights list below. [caption id="attachment_572739" align="alignnone" width="1300"] Grenache vines in Yangarra's High Sands vineyard in Blewitt Springs, McLaren Vale Credit: Julie Sheppard[/caption] Old and new Mixing heritage and innovation is something Australian wineries seem to do with ease. I was reminded of this repeatedly through the year as winemakers popped into Decanter HQ with their latest vintages and invariably something new they’d been working on too. Take Sam Barry of Jim Barry Wines , with the latest 2024 Florita Riesling – and a 2015 that showed just how beautifully Clare Valley Rieslings age (see below). We also tasted a brand new wine – Slate Hill Riesling 2023, set for release in February 2026 – the result of an ongoing collaboration with Ernst Loosen of legendary Mosel estate Dr Loosen. Their joint venture LoosenBarry Rieslings both rip up the rule book and pay homage to traditional ways of doing things. It’s a similar story at Hugh Hamilton Wines in McLaren Vale, as I discovered when sixth generation Mary Hamilton paid a visit in September. Founded in 1837 by Richard Hamilton, today the winery is Australia’s leading producer of Georgian grape Saperavi , a variety pioneered by her father Hugh. Look out for The Oddball single-varietal Saperavi, but also the compelling Black Ops Saperavi-Shiraz I’ve recommended below – a blend that puts a clever twist on an Australian staple. [caption id="attachment_572753" align="alignnone" width="860"] Mary Hamilton of Hugh Hamilton Wines Credit: Julie Sheppard[/caption] One-stop shop And this is Australia’s USP: it really does deliver anything a wine lover could desire. Do you want archetypal varietal wines – a Hunter Valley Semillon or a Barossa Shiraz perhaps? Then you’ve got it. Do you want elegant classics as good as anything from Bordeaux , Burgundy or Champagne ? You’ve got that too. Do you want twists on any of those classics? Tick. What about thrilling new wave styles made from Italian , Portuguese or Rhône grapes? Oh yes: Australia can do that too. And what’s more, all of these wonderful wine styles are continually evolving. [caption id="attachment_557523" align="alignnone" width="1300"] Julie chats Barossa Shiraz with Torbreck's Ian Hongell[/caption] The big picture My final big tasting of the year proved this point perfectly. Always an annual highlight, Matthew Jukes showcased his 100 Best Australian Wines on a chilly November afternoon. It was a long roll call of Australia’s biggest hitters: Tyrell’s , Penfolds , Yalumba , Grosset , Seppeltsfield , Vasse Felix , Leeuwin Estate , to name a few favourites on the day. But there was also the juicy and smashable Pizzini Lambrusco Salamino from Victoria’s King Valley; Pikes Luccio Fiano from SA’s Clare Valley; Swinney’s Farvie Mourvèdre from Frankland River in WA; Valley Vignerons Sangiovese from Payten & Jones in Yarra Valley. The choices are plentiful – and it’s frustrating that this message isn’t getting out to a wider international audience, who still think of ‘sunshine in a bottle’ Chardonnay and big bold Shiraz as Australia’s calling cards. As my 2025 tastings proved, that misconception is completely outdated and the picture is so much more kaleidoscopic and joyful. It’s a genuine delight to spend my time exploring Aussie wines and I can’t wait to see what 2026 brings... [caption id="attachment_572773" align="alignnone" width="860"] The Matthew Jukes 100 Best Australian Wines tasting Credit: Julie Sheppard[/caption] [/subscriber-content] Julie’s Australian highlights: 10 wines to try [wine-collection] Related content Australia newsletter: sign up today! La dolce vita Down Under: 10 Australian wines made with Italian varieties Margaret River icon wines: Latest releases

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