Best Australian Shiraz under £25 to buy
Our expert tasters pick out 10 great Australian Shiraz buys – perfect winter warmers
Australian Shiraz is one of the world’s greatest wine styles, as evidenced by such famous names as Henschke and Penfolds.
It’s understandable you need to dig deep in your pockets at that top echelon, where wines are in the same league as the finest Rhônes, but what is the quality like at a more modest price level?
Throughout 2020, Decanter’s experts tasted a host of great Australian Shiraz wines that punch well above their weight.
While many come from the warm, ripe, rich heartland of Australian Shiraz – the Barossa Valley and McLaren Vale – cooler regions such as Clare Valley, Adelaide Hills and even Margaret River are also represented.
From just £10, these 10 wines offer all the classic flavours of Australian Shiraz: the super-ripe, powerful dark berry fruit from warmer inland areas; to more peppery, spicy, sappy examples in higher-altitude spots.
And the big names are there too: Grant Burge, Shaw & Smith and Jim Barry, among others.
Australia doesn’t dominate the Shiraz market as it once did – with excellent bargains to be had from the Rhône as well as South Africa, South America, California and beyond.
But for a crowd-pleasing, winter-warming red for under £25, you can’t go wrong with these 10 buys.
Australian Shiraz: 10 top wines under £25 to try
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Grant Burge, Filsell Old Vine Shiraz, Barossa, South Australia, Australia, 2018
<p>A slightly cooler vintage in the southern Barossa, where Filsell grapes are sourced, has seen powerful black fruits fill the palate – stronger and richer...
2018
Grant BurgeBarossa
Shaw & Smith, Shiraz, Adelaide Hills, South Australia, Australia, 2016
93
<p>Lovers of Côte-Rôtie will find plenty to enjoy here: generous, complex and layered aromas and flavours that run the gamut of bacon fat, chocolate, mulberry, raspberry, black pepper and anise to lifted violets and even tropical mango tones. At once massive yet poised, with a silky textured palate, well-integrated oak and lovely acid balance.</p>
2016
Shaw & SmithAdelaide Hills
Wynns Coonawarra Estate, Black Label Old Vines Shiraz, Coonawarra, South Australia, Australia, 2018
Generous and round in its flavours, this has the type of heft and girth in a medium-bodied style that keeps traditional Shiraz fans smiling. Judicious...
2018
Wynns Coonawarra EstateCoonawarra
Oliver's Taranga, Shiraz, McLaren Vale, South Australia, Australia, 2017
92
A blend of 10 estate blocks up to 70 years old (multiple soils, clones and vines), some with extended maceration, matured for 17 months in French (70%) and American oak hogsheads, 20% new. A grind of pepper on top of generous, creamy blackberry and mulberry fruit, with mocha notes and a savoury frame of ripe but present, textural, earthy tannins. Satisfying and good value.
2017
Oliver's TarangaMcLaren Vale
Ebenezer & Seppeltsfield, Shiraz, Barossa Valley, South Australia, Australia, 2018
91
Paul Lindner of Barossa winery Langmeil worked with M&S to source Shiraz grapes from the Ebenezer and Seppeltsfield areas of this famous region, maturing the wine in both French and American oak barrels. It's a full-bodied, dense and lavish drop, bursting with jammy blackberry, liquorice, toasted coconut, sweet baking spices and caramel hints on the finish. One for roast lamb.
2018
Ebenezer & SeppeltsfieldBarossa Valley
Rabbit & Spaghetti, Icon Reserve Shiraz, South Australia, Australia, 2017
90
Stylistically this is a big wine but it’s made in small steps. Individual parcels of fruit are fermented in small open-topped fermenters. Each is hand-plunged during a cool, long ferment before basket-pressing and aging in French oak, 30% new. It’s a bright, inky Shiraz with damson and raspberry jam fruit, dried herbs and a chewy liquorice edge.
2017
Rabbit & Spaghetti
Robert Oatley, Shiraz, McLaren Vale, South Australia, Australia, 2017
90
Ripe, juicy and fruit-forward, brimming with dark brambly fruit, a dash of mocha and savoury herbal undertones. Well-integrated tannins, subtle oak and balancing acidity deliver both muscle and finesse to the fresh, structured palate.
2017
Robert OatleyMcLaren Vale
Vasse Felix, Classic Shiraz, Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia, 2018
90
Vasse Felix's 2020 Sauvignon-Semillon (also £12) has been rightly fêted by other wine press, but while it's not a traditional Margaret River grape, don't discount this Shiraz. It's smooth and voluptuous, brimming with succulent brambles and red plums, a dusting of pepper and a light tannic grip.
2018
Vasse FelixMargaret River
Laithwaites, Willy Willy Shiraz, South Eastern Australia, Australia, 2019
89
Named after the aboriginal term for the red dust storms that occur towards the end of a dry summer, this has aromas and flavours of ripe hedgerow fruits, with a slick texture and a hint of chocolate and spice on the finish. It remains fairly light on its feet despite the alcohol, thanks to the freshening acidity.
2019
Laithwaites
Jim Barry, The Lodge Hill Shiraz, Clare Valley, South Australia, Australia, 2017
88
A Clare Valley Shiraz from the Lodge Hill (altitude at 480m), one of the highest points in the Clare Valley. Purple coloured, with bright sweet red cherries and raspberry on the nose. Refreshing acidity and juicy red berries on the palate, with moderate but fine tannins. This is a quaffable and salivating example with warming mouthfeel to finish.
2017
Jim Barry
