Australia’s finest: Langton’s Top 40
The Langton’s classification is arguably Australia’s best barometer of fine wine. Here, Sarah Ahmed picks her favourite wines from a tasting earlier this year.
It’s been nearly 30 years since Australia-based auction house Langton’s began championing Australia’s finest wines by creating, in effect, a more fluid equivalent of Bordeaux’s famed 1855 classification.
The Langton’s classification started in 1990 with only 39 wines, including just one ‘exceptional’ wine.
In 2010, that had grown to 123 wines, and today 21 wines are classed as ‘exceptional’, the highest tier in the system.
Find out more about the Langton’s Classification: Australia’s fine wine ‘form guide’
Names such as Henschke’s Hill of Grace and Penfolds Grange have been stalwarts, yet as Australia’s fine wine scene has grown and adapted more styles have been added.
Shiraz is an obvious winner with unmistakable style and power, while Cabernet from Coonawarra has also excelled.
Alongside these are several examples of distinct cooler Rieslings of the Clare Valley, classic Semillon from the Hunter and both Chardonnay and Cabernet from Margaret River, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. Look out for more of those wines soon. But first…
Sarah Ahmed’s Top 40 from Langton’s
Tasting notes and ratings are only available to Decanter Premium members. Copy above written by Decanter staff.
Grosset, Polish Hill Riesling, Clare Valley, Polish Hill River Valley, South Australia, Australia, 2015
Grosset, Australia’s Riesling King, launched his eponymous label with two single vineyard Rieslings. From leaner, meaner ‘hard rock’ slate soils, Polish Hill produces lower...
2015
GrossetClare Valley
Grosset, Springvale Riesling, Clare Valley, Watervale, South Australia, Australia, 2015
The Watervale sub-region’s generous ‘soft rock’ red loam over limestone translates into a more expressive, fruit-driven style. While Polish Hill builds on the finish,...
2015
GrossetClare Valley
Leeuwin Estate, Art Series Chardonnay, Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia, 2011
2011 saw consistently warm, above-average late summer temperatures, with 40mm of January rain refreshing the vines. Picking took place between 8 and 20 February. The...
2011
Leeuwin EstateMargaret River
Tyrrell’s, Vat 1 Semillon, Hunter Valley, New South Wales, Australia, 2010
Convinced that Semillon is all about patience, in 1989, Bruce Tyrrell hid a stash of 1,000 cases of Vat 1 from his father to bottle-age...
2010
Tyrrell’sHunter Valley
Bass Phillip, Reserve Pinot Noir, Mornington Peninsula, Gippsland, Victoria, Australia, 2012
Measly yields (around 270 grams of fruit per vine), the product of high density planting, account for Pinot pioneer and obsessive Phillip Jones’ success....
2012
Bass PhillipMornington Peninsula
Paringa Estate, The Paringa Pinot Noir, Mornington Peninsula, Victoria, Australia, 2010
Since planting Paringa Estate in 1985, Mornington Peninsula pioneer Lindsay McCall has picked the eyes out of his vineyard for this muscular flagship Pinot, which...
2010
Paringa EstateMornington Peninsula
Noon, Eclipse, McLaren Vale, South Australia, Australia, 2014
First made by Drew Noon’s father in 1976 (and called 'Burgundy'), this old vine Grenache-dominated red has evolved into an unusual, highly expressive blend of...
2014
NoonMcLaren Vale
Balnaves, The Tally, Coonawarra, South Australia, Australia, 2008
This flagship wine comes from the crème de la crème of some 45 different batches of Cabernet Sauvignon – in 2008, Dead Morris Vineyard (79%)...
2008
BalnavesCoonawarra
Cullen, Diana Madeline, Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia, 2013
A low yielding year of 4 tons per hectare, owing to hail and storms during the ripening period. The grapes were harvested between 20 February...
2013
CullenMargaret River
Parker Coonawarra Estate, First Growth, Coonawarra, South Australia, Australia, 2010
This estate favours South Australia’s historic Reynell Cabernet clone which, says winemaker Phil Lehmann, 'produces piercingly varietal flavours in the blackcurrant spectrum'. Notes of roast...
2010
Parker Coonawarra EstateCoonawarra
Wynns Coonawarra Estate, John Riddoch Cabernet Sauvignon, Coonawarra, South Australia, Australia, 2012
Made only in top vintages, Wynn’s flagship Cabernet is named after Coonawarra’s pioneer, pastoralist and parliamentarian John Riddoch. Deep-set notes of perfumed cassis and toasty...
2012
Wynns Coonawarra EstateCoonawarra
Woodlands, Thomas Cabernet Sauvignon, Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia, 2012
Top cuvées, each release named after a different family member or friend, come from the Watson’s original 1973 dry-grown vineyard. Spearheading a renaissance following an...
2012
WoodlandsMargaret River
Grosset, Gaia, Clare Valley, South Australia, Australia, 2012
Unexpectedly, perhaps, the Riesling king’s refined Cabernet blend comes from his, and indeed Clare Valley’s, highest vineyard at 570 metres. Planted in 1986, rocky outcrops...
2012
GrossetClare Valley
Houghton, Jack Mann Cabernet Sauvignon, Frankland River, Western Australia, Australia, 2011
A small patch of the Justin vineyard’s 40 year old vines produces Houghton’s best Cabernet, named Jack Mann in tribute to the winemaker who served...
2011
HoughtonFrankland River
Vasse Felix, Heytesbury, Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia, 2011
Under Virginia Wilcock’s watch, Margaret River’s oldest estate is producing elegant Bordeaux varietal reds from 100% estate fruit. Flagship Heytesbury features Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec...
2011
Vasse FelixMargaret River
Wynns Coonawarra Estate, Black Label Cabernet Sauvignon, Coonawarra, South Australia, Australia, 2012
Made from the top 20-25% of Cabernet fruit from Wynns’ sizeable Coonawarra estate, this 57th vintage brims with sophistication and pedigree. Nowadays medium-bodied and matured...
2012
Wynns Coonawarra EstateCoonawarra
Vasse Felix, Cabernet Sauvignon, Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia, 2012
Dr Tom Cullity, Vasse Felix’s founder and a Margaret River pioneer, focussed on Cabernet Sauvignon from the off; Vasse Felix has made a Cabernet every...
2012
Vasse FelixMargaret River
Wolf Blass, Black Label, South Australia, Australia, 2010
Winter rains ended the drought. This and a temperate growing season produced an animated, really expressive 51% Cabernet Sauvignon, 49% Shiraz blend. Reducing the new...
2010
Wolf Blass
Penfolds, Bin 389, South Australia, Australia, 2013
A broodingly youthful "baby Grange" combining chocolate, cassis and blueberry Cabernet aromas with the sweeter, cinnamon, camphor and pepper notes of Shiraz but yet to...
2013
Penfolds
Henschke, Keyneton Estate Euphonium, Eden Valley, South Australia, Australia, 2012
True to the Henschke family’s elegant style, this twist on an Australian classic - Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon - incorporates two extra Bordeaux players, Merlot...
2012
HenschkeEden Valley
Wendouree, Shiraz Mataro, Clare Valley, South Australia, Australia, 2012
Longevity - of vines, wines and style - is Wendouree’s hallmark. First planted in 1892, the cult 12 hectare estate produces deliciously un-reconstructed wines...
2012
WendoureeClare Valley
Clonakilla, Shiraz Viognier, Canberra, New South Wales, Australia, 2013
Similarities between the granite soils and continental climates of the Rhône and Canberra inspired Tim Kirk to make Shiraz Viognier, following a visit to Côte-Rôtie...
2013
ClonakillaCanberra
Henschke, Hill of Grace, Eden Valley, South Australia, Australia, 2010
Planted in 1860, these remarkable 150-year old Shiraz vines unquestionably produce one of the greatest wines of Australia. Its spice, tar and tabasco fragrance is...
2010
HenschkeEden Valley
Penfolds, Grange, South Australia, Australia, 2012
A blend of 98% Shiraz and a leavening of just 2% Cabernet Sauvignon from the Barossa Valley and McLaren Vale. This latest Grange is a...
2012
Penfolds
Penfolds, St Henri Shiraz, South Australia, Australia, 2012
<p>Labelled ‘Claret’ until 1989 says less about St Henri’s traditional dash of Cabernet and more about the elegance which derives from maturation in large, old...
2012
Penfolds
Rockford, Basket Press Shiraz, Barossa Valley, South Australia, Australia, 2008
Tradition at its best. Small batch, hands on winemaking at Robert O’Callaghan’s retro-fitted bluestone winery employs a 1910 vintage petrol driven Bagshaw crusher, old basket...
2008
RockfordBarossa Valley
Best’s, Thomson Family Shiraz, Great Western, Victoria, Australia, 2010
Produced predominantly from 15 rows of Concongella Clone Shiraz planted by Henry Best in 1866. Savoury notes of black and green peppercorn, coltsfoot, dried herbs,...
2010
Best’sGreat Western
Brokenwood, The Graveyard Shiraz, Hunter Valley, New South Wales, Australia, 2013
Fortunately for wine lovers, plans to locate Pokolbin cemetery on the site of the Hunter’s best-known vineyard of the modern era never came to pass....
2013
BrokenwoodHunter Valley
Torbreck, Runrig, Barossa Valley, South Australia, Australia, 2012
Founder Dave Powell singled out old vineyards principally in the north-west Barossa, where it is drier and yields are super-low. This hedonistic Shiraz Viognier has...
2012
TorbreckBarossa Valley
Wendouree, Shiraz, Clare Valley, South Australia, Australia, 2012
Small, thick-skinned berries with a very high seed content from Alfred Percy Birks’ original 1893 vines define this singular, savoury Shiraz. Under screwcap, fruit expression...
2012
WendoureeClare Valley
Chris Ringland, Shiraz, Barossa Ranges, South Australia, Australia, 2007
Former Rockford winemaker Chris Ringland’s high octane Shiraz from his dry-grown 1910 planted Eden Valley vineyard caught Robert Parker’s eye when he tasted it. High...
2007
Chris RinglandBarossa Ranges
Turkey Flat, Shiraz, Barossa Valley, South Australia, Australia, 2013
They did not plant it, but the Schulz family have been custodians of Turkey Flat’s original 1847 vineyard since the 1860s. The 1847 vines provided...
2013
Turkey FlatBarossa Valley
d'Arenberg, The Dead Arm Shiraz, McLaren Vale, South Australia, Australia, 2011
Old vines with ‘dead arm’, or Eutypa dieback which slowly kills vine wood, reducing yields, provide a double whammy of concentration. In a mild year,...
2011
d'ArenbergMcLaren Vale
Elderton, Command Shiraz, Barossa Valley, South Australia, Australia, 2010
Plum hue with bricking at the rim. Rich and dense with velvety tannins and mature flavours of sweet blueberry fruit leather, panforte, boozy plum pudding,...
2010
EldertonBarossa Valley
Peter Lehmann, Stonewell Shiraz, Barossa Valley, South Australia, Australia, 2008
Peter Lehmann famously championed old vine Barossa Shiraz in the 1980s when growers were paid to grub it up. Created in 1987, this classic barrel-fermented...
2008
Peter LehmannBarossa Valley
Kalleske, Johann Georg Shiraz, Barossa Valley, South Australia, Australia, 2013
Seven generations of Kalleskes have tended the family farm in Greenock since Johann Georg Kalleske migrated to Australia in 1838. From a single vineyard planted...
2013
KalleskeBarossa Valley
Penfolds, Bin 28 Kalimna Shiraz, South Australia, Australia, 2013
First produced in 1959, Bin 28 is Penfold’s earliest Bin-range wine. Though initially sourced from Penfold’s Kalimna vineyard in the Barossa, it has been a...
2013
Penfolds
Torbreck, Descendant Shiraz Viognier, Barossa Valley, South Australia, Australia, 2012
This, the Barossa’s first Shiraz Viognier blend, is so-called because it derives from a single vineyard next to the winery planted to cuttings from old...
2012
TorbreckBarossa Valley
Seppeltsfield, 100 Year Old Para Vintage Tawny, Barossa Valley, South Australia, Australia, 1889
In 1878, Benno Seppelt started a tradition which produced Australia’s most revered fortified Tawny - reserving a puncheon of the vintage’s best ‘Port’ for 100...
1889
SeppeltsfieldBarossa Valley
