David Sly: my top Australian wines of 2022

Significant and ongoing vineyard improvements through many Australian wine regions are having a profound effect on the country’s best wines, which often appear in unexpected places.

Over the past year I’ve had the fortunate opportunity to taste many excellent rare wines and older vintages in their prime. But the wines that stood out for me as the most exceptional of 2022 also carried an element of surprise.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for David Sly’s top Australian wines of 2022

This came in the form of emerging varieties, such as Stephanie Toole’s Nero’d’Avola from Clare Valley and the unique quality of ancient vines, beautifully profiled in The Freedom Shiraz from 1843-planted vines.

I wanted to shine a light on the vastly improving performance of once-maligned regions such as the Riverland in my choice of Unico Zelo’s Fiano, and also to praise the restrained touch that so many Aussie winemakers have found in their reds, here demonstrated by Michael Hall.

I had to include a sublime Clare Riesling from Neil Pike, as well as an impressive biodynamic Grenache from one of Alkina’s micro-parcels in the Barossa. And then, not to let South Australia hog all the limelight, a brace of Tasmanian Chardonnays – one sparkling, one still – from the peerless producers of House of Arras and Tolpuddle; a lovely Frankland River rosé from Swinney Vineyards to fly the flag for the west, and a the Ocean Eight Pinot Noir from Mornington Peninsula to represent Victoria.

It was difficult to shave down a long list of candidates to select only 10 wines, and on another day I could have easily compiled a completely different list – including, perhaps several New South Wales wines, which just missed out on this occasion.