Top 100 Wines by Year Every year James Halliday selects his Top 100 wines from the many thousands he samples. Featuring wines of all varieties and at a range of prices, it's an invaluable guide to the very best of Australian wine. The Top 100 also includes an overview of the year in wine, looking at the major trends and the key issues facing grape growers and winemakers. The Top 100 is first published in The Australian in November and is available on Wine Companion at the same time. Below are all of James' Top 100 wines, dating to 2001. Top 100 wines of 2016 Top 100 wines of 2015 Top 100 wines of 2014 Top 100 wines of 2013 Top 100 wines of 2012 With a handful of exceptions, only the 244 wineries awarded five red stars in my annual Australian Wine Companion were invited to participate in the table wine and Australian sparkling section. The exceptions were wineries with a track record of producing very good wines sold for $20 or less. In the end, 1256 table wines, 74 Australian sparkling wines and 75 champagnes were submitted, a grand total of 1405.

Top 100 wines of 2011 I know I’m not going to get much sympathy when I say this year’s selection for the Top 100 was a marathon effort, with a record 1887 wines entered. The 7am to 7pm tasting day went on relentlessly and seemingly endlessly, with a short lunch break and one or two hours between 3pm and 5pm to deal with the mountain of emails and other writing deadlines. food and wine best dessertI have christened my desk the Bermuda Triangle, where all sorts of letters, email print outs, and other important pieces of paper mysteriously disappear.best wine spas worldwide Top 100 wines of 2010best dessert wine list Top 100 wines of 2009best way to ship a wine bottle

Top 100 wines of 2008 Top 100 wines of 2007 Top 100 wines of 2006 Top 100 wines of 2005 Top 100 wines of 2004 Top 100 wines of 2003 Top 100 wines of 2002 Subscribe to Wine Companion today Access over 100,000 wine reviews Instantly access Wine Companion mobile Create your own virtual cellar Discover extended wine region contentwine for sale free shipping Get 100 new tasting notes every monthbest cheap red dry wine Unlock exclusive member only search enhancements Become a member today and receive a $50 wine voucher.The Top 100 Australian Wines of 2016 encapsulates the growing divide between the classic wines and producers and the current generation of younger makers who are redefining the notions of great Australian wine. This revitalization has touched almost every corner of every winegrowing region and the wines included here are genuinely innovative rather than just better versions of something that already exists.

Of the classics, there’s clear evidence in the Top 100 that the established producers who have custodianship of gifted terroirs are making the most of their land. Tyrrell’s 2014 Old Patch Shiraz is the Wine of the Year for 2016 and this is as unique an expression of great old vine Hunter shiraz as you will ever find. It’s a once in a century wine. It is also a wine that has the proven capacity to age extremely well for many decades, possibly a century’s time. At No. 2 Clonakilla’s 2015 Shiraz Viognier is another very different expression of Australian shiraz that has found almost unthinkable heights of near perfection. The complexity, the layering and the depth in this wine are staggering. Its charm is irresistible, and the way in which winemaker Tim Kirk has crafted a wine so immediately seductive and one that also has unbridled potential to age and build is a rare feat of genius. A tricky refinement of a classic Margaret River cabernet-based wine comes in at No. 3.

The Tom Cullity is a wine that takes a very established and highly-regarded wine (formerly the Heytesbury) and confidently tweaks it into another spectrum of greatness. This wine is the product of a very successful collaboration between proprietor Paul Holmes à Court and winemaker Virginia Willcock. Fraser McKinley takes out the No. 4 position with his 2015 Sami-Odi Mahé & Ribo Shiraz. This is sourced from one of the best vineyards in the Barossa and crafted intelligently and thoughtfully into a full-bodied beauty that embraces all the Ebenezer terroir has to offer with such a deft touch. His Little Wine #6 is also near the top of the list, a stroke of genius and a wine that follows instinct not rules. At No. 5 you’ll find Penfolds, Australia’s most famous name, but it is not their most famous wine. In fact, it is a white wine, the Reserve Bin 15A Chardonnay from the Adelaide Hills. This is a wine that has been steadily outpacing the opposition in Australia’s hotly-contested chardonnay scene for many years, and the stunning 2015 vintage has delivered a wine that soars to extreme heights of quality.

I think you’ll enjoy this list. There’s plenty of shiraz but also big-statement pinot noir, chardonnay, cabernet-based wines and a smattering of grenache, riesling, sangiovese, viognier, gamay and even a mondeuse. Blends of the red persuasion have also claimed their rightful space in this Top 100, a testament to the traditional and innovative ends of the spectrum. —Nick Stock, contributing editorShow All Tasting Notes 1Tyrrell's Shiraz Hunter Valley Old Patch 2Clonakilla Shiraz Canberra District Shiraz Viognier 3Vasse Felix Cabernet Sauvignon Margaret River Tom Cullity 4Sami-Odi Shiraz Barossa Valley Mahé & Ribo 5Penfolds Chardonnay Adelaide Hills Reserve Bin A 6Bindi Pinot Noir Macedon Ranges Block 5 7Wendouree Cabernet Sauvignon Clare Valley 8Giant Steps Pinot Noir Yarra Valley Sexton Vineyard 9Tolpuddle Chardonnay Coal River Valley Coal River Valley Penfolds Shiraz South Australia Grange Sami-Odi Shiraz Barossa Valley Little Wine #6

Vasse Felix Chardonnay Margaret River Heytesbury Oakridge Chardonnay Yarra Valley 864 Funder & Diamond Gareth Belton Pinot Noir Adelaide Hills Forest Range Giaconda Shiraz Beechworth Estate Vineyard Pikes Riesling Clare Valley The Merle Castagna Beechworth Un Segreto Yarra Yering Yarra Valley Dry Red Wine No. 1 Deep Woods Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Margaret River Reserve Tyrrell’s Shiraz Hunter Valley 4 Acres By Farr Pinot Noir Geelong Tout Près Chatto Pinot Noir Huon Valley Isle Sami-Odi Shiraz Barossa Valley XIV Helm Riesling Canberra District Premium Giant Steps Pinot Noir Yarra Valley Primavera Vineyard Head Wines Grenache Barossa Valley Ancestor Vine Torbreck Barossa Valley RunRig By Farr Chardonnay Geelong Three Oaks Tolpuddle Pinot Noir Coal River Valley Coal River Valley Henschke Shiraz Eden Valley Hill of Grace Vineyard Bindi Pinot Noir Macedon Ranges Original Vineyard Seppelt Riesling Henty Drumborg

Shaw & Smith Chardonnay Adelaide Hills Lenswood Vineyard Arras Sparkling Tasmania Blanc de Blancs Collector Shiraz Canberra District Reserve Cullen Cabernet Sauvignon Margaret River Vanya Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignon Margaret River Cape Mentelle Cabernet Sauvignon Margaret River Nick O'Leary Shiraz Canberra District Bolaro Woodlands Cabernet Merlot Margaret River Margaret S.C. Pannell Shiraz McLaren Vale Koomilya DC Block Shaw & Smith Pinot Noir Adelaide Hills Adelaide Hills Wendouree Cabernet Malbec Clare Valley Best's Shiraz Great Western Bin No. 1 Yalumba Grenache Barossa Valley Tri-Centenary Yabby Lake Pinot Noir Mornington Peninsula Block 6 Yabby Lake Pinot Noir Mornington Peninsula Block 1 Head Shiraz Barossa Valley The Blonde Dominique Portet Chardonnay Yarra Valley Origine Best's Pinot Noir Great Western PSV 141 St Hallett Shiraz Barossa Old Block Deep Woods Estate Chardonnay Margaret River Reserve

Shaw + Smith Shiraz Adelaide Hills Balhannah Vineyard Holyman Pinot Noir Tamar Valley Project X Dominique Portet Cabernet Sauvignon Yarra Valley / Pyrenees André Pierre Eldridge Estate Pinot Noir Mornington Peninsula Eldridge Clone 1 Torbreck Barossa Valley The Factor S.C. Pannell Grenache McLaren Vale Old McDonald Deviation Road Sparkling Adelaide Hills Beltana Blanc de Blancs Right Reverend V Riesling Mount Barker Temperantia Hardys Chardonnay Tasmania Eileen Hardy Hurley Vineyard Pinot Noir Mornington Peninsula Garamond Penfolds Cabernet Sauvignon South Australia Bin 707 Penfolds Cabernet Shiraz South Australia Bin 389 Henschke Pinot Noir Adelaide Hills Lenswood Giles Wirra Wirra Grenache McLaren Vale The Absconder The Story Syrah Syrah Grampians Westgate Vineyard Ochota Barrels Grenache McLaren Vale A Sense of Compression Dormilona Chardonnay Margaret River Clayface Tyrrell's Shiraz Hunter Valley Vat 9

Seppelt Shiraz Grampians St Peters A. Rodda Beechworth Cuvée de Chez Giaconda Chardonnay Beechworth Estate Vineyard Dr Edge Pinot Noir Tasmania Shadowfax Mondeuse Port Phillip Zone Yangarra Grenache McLaren Vale Old Vine Fighting Gully Road Sangiovese Beechworth Heggies Vineyard Riesling Eden Valley S.C. Pannell Syrah Adelaide Hills Adelaide Hills Sailor Seeks Horse Pinot Noir Huon Valley Tyrrell's Shiraz Hunter Valley Johnno's Michael Hall Syrah Adelaide Hills Murdoch Hill Syrah Adelaide Hills The Landau Two Tonne Tasmania Pinot Noir Tamar Valley The Dog & Wolf Ochota Barrels Pinot Noir Adelaide Hills A Forest Yarra Yering Yarra Valley Dry Red Wine No. 3 Mount Mary Yarra Valley Quintet Balnaves of Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon Coonawarra The Tally Mac Forbes Syrah Yarra Valley Healesville Yabby Lake Chardonnay Mornington Peninsula Block 6 Yangarra Shiraz McLaren Vale Small Pot Whole Bunch