The best wines of 2023

Out of the incredibly exciting and very competitive shortlist of wines put forward by the Tasting Team, these 19 were the standouts at the blind judging earlier this year.

SPARKLING WHITE

SPARKLING WINE OF THE YEAR

Gilbert Family Wines Blanc de Blancs 2016, Orange

Intentionally tensile and bone dry, with zero dosage. Given that natural acidity in Australia is never Champagne’s equal, a savvy move. The partial oak fermentation, too, endowing breadth and grip across the mid palate, while toning the fervent drive of quince, bitter almond and citrus zest. Toast, too, after 50 months on lees. Long and of such exactitude that it pulls the saliva from the mouth in readiness for the next glass. And the next. A great fizz. NG 12.2% alc.

RRP $66 / 2030 / Gilbert Family Wines

gilbertfamilywines.com.au

SPARKLING RED

Teusner MC Sparkling Shiraz 2017,

Barossa Valley

That bright purple spume of bubbles that erupts when you first pour a glass is quite something, huh? Deep notes of plum, cherry and black fruits, dotted with exotic spice, charcuterie, licorice, milk chocolate and earthen tones.

The pure dark fruit envelopes you when you take a sip, with comforting fruit sweetness, an expansive palate shape and a super-plummy, meaty-edged exit. Great drinking. DB 14% alc. RRP $65 / 2030 / Teusner

teusner.com.au

SPARKLING ROSÉ

Pipers Brook Vineyard Kreglinger

Brut Rosé 2017, Tasmania

Delectable red cherry and wild-strawberry fruit seduces from the outset, graced with the signature Turkish delight of Piper’s River, but it’s the creamy, silky texture of barrel and lees work that really sets apart this sublime creation. TS 12.5% alc.

RRP $75 / 2027 / Kreglinger Wine Estates

kreglingerwineestates.com

ROSÉ

Spinifex Luxe 2021, Barossa

It’s been a minute between Luxe releases. Winemaker Pete Schell is a fan of Bandol rosés and the Luxe is a tip of the hat to the rosé styles of the mediterranean. This year, a blend of 68/26/6% mataro/cinsault/vermentino. Red cherry, watermelon and pomegranate with hints of soft spice, crushed rock, blood orange and wild herbs. Slinky and textural with crisp acidity and a wicked stony, savoury finish. DB 12.5% alc. RRP $35 / 2024 / Spinifex

spinifexwines.com.au

OTHER WHITES (& BLENDS)

Briar Ridge Vineyard Albariño 2021, Hunter Valley

Maker Alex Beckett has a good handle on this, as he does with fiano, a wine whose evolution I am following with great anticipation. Everything done right: hand picked, fermented spontaneously, with a small portion (15%) in older barriques and a brief period on skins in the press and on lees, post-fermentation.

All texture-building exercises. Yet albariño’s pithy stone, frangipani, saline oyster shell to white pepper riffs are not subsumed, but accentuated. Fine textural detail, energetic trajectory and succulent length, the whirl of acidity whetting the palate for the next glass. This is exceptional. Kudos! NG 13.1% alc.

RRP $30 / 2024 / Briar Ridge Vineyard

briarridge.com.au

SEMILLON

Brokenwood Sunshine Vineyard

Semillon 2014, Hunter Valley

The wine’s magic has nothing to do with the winemaking and everything to do with the site and 7 years in bottle. The perfumed bouquet of lemon zest, frangipani and toast leads into a mouth-watering citrus- and honey-accented palate. The length, finish and aftertaste sing in perfect harmony. JH 11.5% alc.

RRP $66 / 2030 / Brokenwood

brokenwood.com.au

SAUVIGNON BLANC

Flowstone Wines Queen of the Earth Sauvignon Blanc 2020, Margaret River Intense, sweaty, concentrated...this is a rippling pool of flavour. The oak impact is significant

(as usual), meaning it is built to last. Margaret River excels at concentrated sauvignon blanc and this big, oaky style is becoming more and more prevalent, led by a cohort of brilliant, skilled producers – one of whom is Flowstone’s Pym. So: here we have quenching wine, stuffed to the gills with salted pineapple, crunchy, ripe Granny Smith apples, saline acidity...and lots of other good green things. Delicious. EL 12.8% alc.

RRP $55 / 2037 / Flowstone Wines

flowstonewines.com

RIESLING

Henschke Julius Riesling 2021,

Clare Valley

Citrus and passionfruit blossom soar as you swirl the glass, and the palate achieves the seemingly impossible with the volume of turbocharged fruit. It reaches every receptor in the mouth and there’s no hint of added acidity, the balance and length faultless. JH 11.5% alc.

RRP $47 / 2034 / Henschke

henschke.com.au

WINE OF THE YEAR

WHITE WINE OF THE YEAR

Best’s Wines Foudre Ferment Riesling 2021, Great Western

A wine style that started a minor revolution in Australia when it was first made, with extended skin contact, wild fermentation and maturation on lees in foudre. Each vintage it tingles and impresses and in a good year like 2021, it excels. Jasmine florals, bergamot, lime cordial, lemon curd and peach-skin aromas. A wine of some complexity and nuance, featuring bright, vibrant fruits and a soft mealy texture with a hint of savouriness. Seamless and sustained. JP 11.5% alc.

RRP $35 / 2030 / Best’s Wines

bestswines.com

CHARDONNAY

Stella Bella Wines Luminosa Chardonnay 2020, Margaret River

Wild fermented in French barriques; neither fined nor filtered. A very complex wine of immediate power, with a deliberately funky bouquet, then changing tack with the glorious purity and focus of the palate, white peach, grapefruit and cashew/almond combining in a single stream of joy. JH 13.6% alc.

RRP $70 / 2030 / Stella Bella Wines

stellabella.com.au

PINOT NOIR

Lowestoft La Maison Pinot Noir 2020, Tasmania

The 2020 vintage secures Lowestoft among Tasmania’s A-league, but it’s going to be a long time before the full magnificence of its flagship is realised. The coiled potential on display here is something to behold, with pristine and precise black and red cherry fruit intricately woven with the perfumed allure of whole bunches and the fine-grained framework of topclass French oak. Brilliant. TS 13.8% alc.

RRP $130 / 2045 / Lowestoft

lowestoft.wine

GRENACHE (& BLENDS)

Chalk Hill Alpha Crucis Old Vine Grenache 2020, McLaren Vale

From 90yo Blewitt Springs bush vines. The bouquet is expressive and enticing, as is the gorgeous, juicy and mouth-watering mediumbodied palate. Moving the wine back and forth in the mouth unlocks rivulets of earthy spices, running through the pomegranate and red forest fruits. Precision and purity. JH 14% alc. RRP $55 / 2030 / Chalk Hill

chalkhillwines.com.au

OTHER REDS (& BLENDS)

Koomilya Cabernet Touriga 2018, McLaren Vale

A mid-weighted and immensely savoury wine that is compact, portentous and so tightly bound to a ferrous orb of tannins that it makes one revel in the anticipation of the next sip. Italian of feel. Steely of resolve. Earthenware, herb, violet, biltong and a dusty swathe of dried plum and tobacco. The tannins are reminiscent of certain Wendouree cuvées or better, great Taurasi. I want to drink this whole bottle solo, so good it is. NG 13% alc.

RRP $70 / 2033 / Koomilya

pannell.com.au/koomilya

SHIRAZ

Battles Wine Granitis Shiraz 2020,

Perth Hills

The power of suggestion is strong – this is granitic, mineral, shaley and cooling. The fruit is pungently inky and intense, speaking of mulberries, raspberries, blood plums and vanilla pod. The tannins are like fine-grit sandpaper, they shape and impact the voluminous fruit and keep it all hemmed in. This is bloody and raw, like a mainline into the dirt. It’s wild, but it’s also compact, controlled, restrained, flowing and sleek. EL 13.8% alc.

RRP $40 / 2036 / Battles Wine

battleswine.com.au

CABERNET SHIRAZ

Hickinbotham Clarendon Vineyard

The Peake Cabernet Shiraz 2020, McLaren Vale

A nose tingling with a visceral energy, such is the mineral-clad spine to this wine. Rich and powerful, to be sure, as the sweetness of shiraz and its blue-fruit aspersions meander across cabernet’s bones of finely tuned tannins, dried herb and cedar-oak cladding. Yet the overall effect is one of umami warmth, savoury depth and immense potential. This is an iconic wine and deservedly so. NG 14% alc.

RRP $200 / 2038 / Hickinbotham Clarendon Vineyard

hickinbothamwines.com

CABERNET SAUVIGNON

Bleasdale Vineyards The Iron Duke Cabernet Sauvignon 2020,

Langhorne Creek

The bright colour is as it should be, the bouquet rimmed with the violets that are often talked about. Notes of cedar and cassis are not far behind in their appeal. Then the glory of this magnificent wine’s palate takes total control of all the senses, the sheer intensity of the fruit making the finely tempered tannins and French oak applaud from the wings of the stage.

JH 14% alc.

RRP $79 / 2050 / Bleasdale Vineyards

bleasdalevineyards.com.au

CABERNET AND FAMILY

RED WINE OF THE YEAR

Mount Mary Quintet 2020, Yarra Valley

A blend of 44/30/18/4/4% cabernet sauvignon/ merlot/cabernet franc/malbec/petit verdot. From a cool year, with the poor flowering reducing the crop of the Quintet varieties by around 50%, this is an essay in elegance and understatement. A medium, bright and translucent ruby red, this is beautifully perfumed with aromas of just-ripened blackcurrants, red cherries, rose petals and gentle cedar notes from the oak. The palate is exceptionally pure fruited and gently textured. The wine finishes with these incredibly silky, long tannins that are in perfect harmony with the fruit and acid. This majestic wine is gorgeous to drink even now but those that still have some in their cellar in 10–15 years (if not longer) will be grateful. PR 13.2% alc.

RRP $165 / 2035 / Mount Mary

mountmary.com.au

SWEET

Brown Brothers Patricia Noble Riesling 2019, Victoria

Hand-picked botrytis-affected riesling fruit from King Valley, given 24 hours’ skin contact. Year after year, this wine is incredibly consistent in style and quality. Deep golden hues with the scent of dried apricot, orange marmalade, cumquat, orange peel and dried fig. The palate is dense and sticky, beautifully balanced and textural and deliciously layered in concentrated citrus. Stunning! 375ml. JP 10.8% alc.

RRP $36 / 2025 / Brown Brothers

brownbrothers.com.au

FORTIFIED

Seppeltsfield 100 Year Old Para Vintage Tawny 1922, Barossa Valley

There’s no surprise that this release easily lives up to its unique 100-point rating. The heady bouquet (as usual) is followed by a palate of pure joy; as it enters the mouth, the viscous big bass drum beats with every known spice, and every known preserved and dried fruit. Then the finish has the acidity to provide balance, but the sometimes-searing spear of volatile acidity doesn’t heat the aftertaste. In the world of wine, no other winery makes a single-vintage-dated 100yo release of truly extraordinary complexity. JH 21.4% alc.

RRP $1500 / Seppeltsfield

seppeltsfield.com.au