Last night, the highly anticipated 2023 Halliday Wine Companion Awards were hosted at the prominent Stokehouse restaurant in St Kilda, Melbourne. The ceremony celebrated the best of the best, recognising the nation’s top wines, winemakers, viticulturists and wineries setting the industry benchmark for the Australian wine sphere.
South Australia shone on the night, winning more varietal Awards than any other state. More South Australian wines were shortlisted for varietal Awards than any other state, with 43 wines, representing 35%.
The Awards were hosted by Halliday Wine Companion’s chief editor Tyson Stelzer in front of a crowd of 125 guests. He was joined throughout the night by founder James Halliday AM, as well as the wider Halliday Tasting Team – Ned Goodwin MW, Erin Larkin, Jane Faulkner, Jeni Port, Dave Brookes and Philip Rich – to announce this year’s honourees.
“This year’s results are a wonderful testimony to the tremendous diversity of Australian wine at the top of its game. Our winners hail from the who’s who of large estates in famous regions and from small boutiques in remote outposts. It’s exciting to see unexpected places and estates stepping forward with wines that have topped their classes. It is with immense pride that we introduce the winners of the Halliday Awards 2023, the most anticipated announcement on the Australian wine calendar.”
Halliday Wine Companion chief editor, Tyson Stelzer
The Awards also mark the release of the wine-enthusiast’s bible, the 2023 Halliday Wine Companion, available in stores nationally from today. The book is a comprehensive guide to Australia’s leading wines, wineries, and grape growing regions, including all Award winners and tasting notes. More than 5000 tasting notes are printed in the Companion, with more than 8000 tasting notes available online at winecompanion.com.au.
This year’s major Awards-represented regions include Margaret River, Tasmania, Yarra Valley, Great Western, and Adelaide Hills, with the varietal winners spanning five states: South Australia, Western Australia, Victoria, New South Wales, and Tasmania.
2023 MAJOR AWARD WINNERS
- Winery of the Year – Pooley Wines, Tasmani
- Winemaker of the Year – Glenn Goodall, Xanadu Wines, Margaret River, WA
- Viticulturist of the Year – Tom Carson, Serrat, Yarra Valley, VIC
- Best New Winery – Living Roots, Adelaide Hills, SA
- Dark Horse Winery – L.A.S. Vino, Margaret River, WA
- Best Value Winery – Deeps Woods Estate, Margaret River, WA
- Wine of the Year – Best’s Wines Foudre Ferment Riesling 2021, Great Western – 96 points
2023 VARIETAL WINNERS
- Sparkling White of the Year – Gilbert Family Wines Blanc de Blancs Chardonnay 2016 Orange – 97 points
- Sparkling Red of the Year – Teusner MC Sparkling Shiraz 2017 Barossa Valley – 95 points
- Sparkling Rosé of the Year – Pipers Brook Vineyard Kreglinger Brut Rosé 2017 Tasmania – 96 points
- Rosé of the Year – Spinifex Luxe 2021 Barossa – 93 points
- Sauvignon Blanc of the Year – Flowstone Wines Queen of the Earth Sauvignon Blanc 2020 Margaret River – 96 points
- Other Whites (and Blends) of the Year – Briar Ridge Vineyard Albariño 2021 Hunter Valley – 95 points
- Semillon of the Year – Brokenwood Sunshine Vineyard Semillon 2014 Hunter Valley – 97 points
- Riesling of the Year (two winners) – Henschke Julius Riesling 2021 Eden Valley – 98 points
- Best’s Wines Foudre Ferment Riesling 2021, Great Western – 96 points
- Chardonnay of the Year – Stella Bella Wines Luminosa Chardonnay 2020 Margaret River – 98 points
- Pinot Noir of the Year – Lowestoft La Maison Pinot Noir 2020 Tasmania – 96 points
- Grenache (and Blends) of the Year – Chalk Hill Alpha Crucis Old Vine Grenache 2020 McLaren Vale – 98 points
- Other Reds (and Blends) of the Year – Koomilya Cabernet Touriga 2018 McLaren Vale – 97 points
- Shiraz of the Year – Battles Wine Granitis Shiraz 2020 Perth Hills – 96 points
- Cabernet Shiraz of the Year – Hickinbotham Clarendon Vineyard The Peake Cabernet Shiraz 2020 McLaren Vale– 97 points
- Cabernet Sauvignon of the Year – Bleasdale Vineyards The Iron Duke Cabernet Sauvignon 2020 Langhorne Creek – 98 points
- Cabernet Sauvignon (and Family) of the Year – Mount Mary Quintet 2020 Yarra Valley – 98 points
- Sweet Wine of the Year – Brown Brothers Patricia Noble Riesling 2019 Victoria – 95 points
- Fortified Wine of the Year – Seppeltsfield 100-Year-Old Para Vintage Tawny 1922 Barossa Valley – 100 points
Highlights and insights from this year’s tasting and judging include:
- Riesling is arguably Australia’s best-value grape variety, with 33% earning the Companion’s Special Value rosette.
- A $50 shiraz from one of Australia’s oldest wine regions, Perth Hills, won Shiraz of the Year, the first time this region has won a Companion
Award. - A family winery in Australia’s highest-elevation region, Orange, won Sparkling Wine of the Year.
- Yarra Valley winery, Serrat, is our most-shortlisted winery, nominated for three major Awards and two varietal Awards.
- Best known for semillon, the Hunter Valley was also awarded Other Whites (and Blends) of the Year with a surprise albariño.
- The Murray Darling region received major Award nominations for the first time (Viticulturist and Dark Horse).
- The most-reviewed red variety was shiraz/syrah. The most-reviewed white variety was chardonnay.
South Australia
- South Australia won more varietal Awards than any other state.
- More South Australian wines were shortlisted for varietal Awards than any other state, with 43 wines, representing 35%.
Tasmania
- Tasmanian winery, Pooley Wines won Winery of the Year.
- Tasmania punches above its weight: it makes up just 5% of submitting wineries, yet achieved one major Award win, three further major Award
nominations and two varietal Awards.
Victoria
- Victoria won three varietal Awards including White, Red, and Sweet wines of the year and the ultimate Wine of the Year.
- Yarra Valley winery, Serrat, is our most-shortlisted winery, nominated for three major Awards and two varietal Awards. Tom Carson from Serrat
was awarded Viticulturist of the Year.
New South Wales
- Semillon of the Year was won by Brokenwood.
- Australia’s highest-elevation region, Orange, was the source of the Sparkling Wine of the Year for the first time.
- Other Whites (and Blends) category was won by a surprise Hunter Valley albariño from Briar Ridge.
- 10 wines from NSW were shortlisted for varietal Awards and Usher Tinkler Wines was shortlisted for Best New Winery.
Western Australia
- Western Australia secured more major Award winners than any other state.
- Margaret River has more 5-star wineries than any other region.
ACT: - 41% of wineries rated 5-stars were from the Canberra District.
- Three wines were shortlisted for varietal Awards
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