Barossa Shiraz 2024: 20 wines that show-off the region's fresh new approach

Elegance, energy, nuance, sophistication. A fresh set of descriptors immediately springs to mind while I’m tasting through all of the 2024 Barossa Shiraz wines submitted for the annual Decanter vintage report.

A wind of change is evident in a raft of beautiful, medium-bodied wines that embrace complexity in addition to power.

Winemakers at the vanguard of a movement that celebrates Shiraz differently include Michael Hall, Alex Head of Head Wines, Amelia Nolan at Alkina, Craig Stansborough of Purple Hands Wines and, appropriately, Michael Corbett of The Vanguardist.

I first identified these new-school wines three years ago, during Decanter’s inaugural vintage report tasting for the 2022s, which profoundly heralded the arrival of the new Barossa.

Change was overdue. I won’t lie; I had grown weary of Barossa’s early millennium obsession with brutish power, with exaggerated ripeness amplified through assertive oak and fierce tannins.

Daring to differ

However, global warming has prompted radical vineyard transformations. Improved soil health and vineyard management provide grapes with better balance and fruit that retain acidity while reaching optimal ripeness.

Wines no longer need to speak at an exaggerated volume to show their strength.

As Torbreck winemaker Ian Hongell succinctly puts it: ‘We can have great beauty and power in the same glass.’

This is certainly evident in his wines The Struie (a blend of Barossa and Eden Valley fruit) and The Gask (from the Eden Valley) – but they represent only a portion of Barossa’s new elegance.

A raft of favourites have caught my attention. Purple Hands celebrates the earthy vitality of the southern Barossa in three vivacious Shirazes.

Alkina has plugged into the complex geology of its Greenock vineyard to reveal onion-layers of complex, savoury berry and mineral notes in wines of filigree beauty.

Biodynamic viticulture profoundly influences Yalumba’s The Steeple Shiraz and Kalleske’s estate Shiraz.

Variety of expression

There’s also a great variety of expression. Michael Hall lets each vineyard tell its own tale: Flaxman’s Valley Syrah shows an energetic mid-palate laced with blueberry and black plum; while stern Stonewell Road Shiraz has a fleshy texture held taut by sooty tannins.

Barr-Eden from Mengler’s Hill proudly displays gnarly Shiraz character in tightly wound blackberry, tempered by a lick of granite.

It stands in stark contrast to The Cutting’s deliciously savoury take on old-vine Stonewell Shiraz, embracing red fruit and earthiness in long, languid flavour lines.

Vanguardist’s BV Syrah from Ebenezer has solid, earthy structure and crisp fruitiness, being serious and playful in the same moment.

Embracing new expressions

It takes a certain amount of courage to embrace this new expression.

Winemaker Reid Bosward left Kaesler Wines, noted for its weighty old-vine Shiraz, and has adopted a strikingly different approach for his own Bosward Wines.

His 2024 Shiraz is a delight – bright and engaging, yet with firm tannins and resonating bass notes to show substance that matches its lively spirit.

Such fresh interpretations of Shiraz provide a window into a vivacious, new, optimistic Barossa.

Get some in your glass and marvel at the difference.

Barossa 2024: David's top 20

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