Global Wine Values: Australia
Fruit-forward wines with an edge
Kim Marcus
Posted: October 7, 2003
With some of the world's most technologically advanced winemaking and cutting-edge grapegrowing, Australia enters the values ring with a strong advantage. Add to those factors a warm, dry climate delivering optimal conditions during the growing season and a fruit-forward wine style that is gaining popularity the world over, and it's easy to see why Australian reds and whites are almost always near the top of the value charts.
The quintessential Down Under red wine is Shiraz, which is the Australian name for what is known as Syrah in most of the rest of the world. In the values category, Shiraz usually offers ripe, full-bodied reds marked by plum and dark cherry flavors. These are wines that go down easy, with soft tannins and spicy finishes. Australian vintners also like to blend their grapes. Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz are often combined, with the Cabernet contributing appealing herbal and berrylike flavors.
The Riverina Estate Cabernet Sauvignon South Eastern Australia Bushman's Gully 2001 represents one of the best quality/price ratios in this report . This wine is plush and polished, with currant and berry flavors. It comes from an emerging region and illustrates why Australia can produce so many good wines at low prices: inexpensive land, mechanized harvesting that reduces labor costs, and deft winemaking that squeezes the most flavors possible from the grapes.
Australia's white wine offerings are led by Chardonnay. In this price range, many of the wines show fresh fruit flavors dominated by citrus, peach and pineapple, with spicy elements as well; more buttery-tasting wines usually cost more due to the expense of fermenting and/or aging in pricey oak barrels.
Australian Values
Cabernet Sauvignon and Blends
| Wine |
Score |
Price |
RIVERINA ESTATE Cabernet Sauvignon South Eastern Australia Bushman's Gully 2001 |
88 |
$5 |
| |
OXFORD LANDING Cabernet Sauvignon-Shiraz South Australia 2000 |
87 |
$9 |
| |
ALICE WHITE Cabernet-Shiraz South Eastern Australia 2002 |
87 |
$8 |
| |
PENFOLDS Cabernet Sauvignon South Eastern Australia Rawson's Retreat 2002 |
86 |
$9 |
| |
ANGOVE'S Cabernet Sauvignon South Australia Classic Reserve 2000 |
85 |
$9 |
| |
HARDYS Cabernet Sauvignon-Shiraz South Eastern Australia Nottage Hill 2000 |
85 |
$8 |
| |
LINDEMANS Cabernet Sauvignon South Eastern Australia Bin 45 2002 |
85 |
$8 |
| |
ALICE WHITE Cabernet Sauvignon South Eastern Australia 2002 |
85 |
$8 |
| |
ROTHBURY Cabernet Sauvignon South Eastern Australia 2001 |
84 |
$7 |
| |
BLACK SWAN Cabernet Sauvignon South Eastern Australia 2002 |
83 |
$8 |
| |
Shiraz and Blends
| Wine |
Score |
Price |
LINDEMANS Shiraz South Eastern Australia Bin 50 2002 |
86 |
$8 |
| |
ROSEMOUNT Shiraz-Cabernet South Eastern Australia 2002 |
86 |
$9 |
| |
BULLETIN PLACE Shiraz South Eastern Australia 2000 |
85 |
$8 |
| |
DE BORTOLI Shiraz-Cabernet Savignon South Eastern Australia 2002 |
85 |
$8 |
| |
KISSING BRIDGE Shiraz South Eastern Australia 2000 |
85 |
$6 |
| |
MCGUIGAN Shiraz South Eastern Australia The Black Label 2001 |
85 |
$8 |
| |
PEACE South Eastern Australia 2002 |
85 |
$8 |
| |
TYRRELL'S Shiraz South Eastern Australia Moore's Creek 2002 |
85 |
$8 |
| |
ALICE WHITE Shiraz South Eastern Australia 2002 |
85 |
$8 |
| |
PEACE Shiraz South Eastern Australia 2002 |
84 |
$8 |
| |
STONEHAVEN Shiraz South Eastern Australia 2001 |
84 |
$6 |
| |
BLACK SWAN Shiraz South Eastern Australia 2002 |
83 |
$8 |
| |
BLUE TONGUE Shiraz South Eastern Australia 2002 |
83 |
$7 |
| |
DE BORTOLI Shiraz South Eastern Australia Deen Vat 8 2001 |
83 |
$6 |
| |
HARDYS Shiraz South Eastern Australia Stamp of Australia 2001 |
83 |
$6 |
| |
ROTHBURY Shiraz South Eastern Australia 2001 |
83 |
$7 |
| |
CROCODILE ROCK Shiraz Murray Valley 2001 |
82 |
$6 |
| |
STONEHAVEN Shiraz-Cabernet Sauvignon South Eastern Australia 2001 |
82 |
$6 |
| |
YELLOW TAIL Shiraz South Eastern Australia 2002 |
82 |
$7 |
Other Red
| Wine |
Score |
Price |
ROSEMOUNT Grenache-Shiraz South Eastern Australia 2001 |
86 |
$9 |
| |
HARDYS Merlot South Eastern Australia Nottage Hill 2001 |
85 |
$8 |
| |
ALICE WHITE Merlot South Eastern Australia 2002 |
85 |
$8 |
| |
LINDEMANS Merlot South Eastern Australia Bin 40 2002 |
84 |
$8 |
| |
ROTHBURY Merlot South Eastern Australia 2001 |
84 |
$7 |
| |
PENFOLDS Merlot South Eastern Australia Rawson's Retreat 2002 |
82 |
$9 |
White
| Wine |
Score |
Price |
OXFORD LANDING Sauvignon Blanc South Australia 2002 |
87 |
$9 |
| |
KISSING BRIDGE Chardonnay South Eastern Australia 2001 |
85 |
$6 |
| |
LINDEMANS Chardonnay South Eastern Australia Bin 65 2002 |
85 |
$8 |
| |
OXFORD LANDING Chardonnay South Australia 2002 |
85 |
$9 |
| |
PEACE Chardonnay South Eastern Australia 2002 |
85 |
$8 |
| |
PENFOLDS Chardonnay South Eastern Australia Rawson's Retreat 2002 |
85 |
$9 |
| |
ROSEMOUNT Chardonnay-Sémillon Australia 2002 |
85 |
$8 |
| |
ROTHBURY Chardonnay South Eastern Australia 2002 |
85 |
$8 |
| |
STONEHAVEN Chardonnay South Eastern Australia 2002 |
85 |
$8 |
| |
ALICE WHITE Chardonnay South Eastern Australia 2002 |
85 |
$8 |
| |
ALICE WHITE Sémillon-Chardonnay South Eastern Australia 2002 |
85 |
$8 |
| |
ANGOVE'S Chardonnay South Australia Bear Crossing 2002 |
84 |
$7 |
| |
JACOB'S CREEK Chardonnay South Eastern Australia 2002 |
84 |
$9 |
| |
LINDEMANS Sémillon-Chardonnay South Eastern Australia Cawarra 2002 |
84 |
$8 |
| |
PENFOLDS Chardonnay South Eastern Australia Koonunga Hill 2002 |
84 |
$9 |
| |
ANGOVE'S Chardonnay South Australia Classic Reserve 2002 |
83 |
$9 |
| |
COCKATOO RIDGE Chardonnay South Australia 2002 |
83 |
$7 |
| |
HARDYS Chardonnay South Eastern Australia Nottage Hill 2002 |
83 |
$8 |
| |
DE BORTOLI Chardonnay Riverina dB 2002 |
82 |
$6 |
| |
HARDYS Chardonnay South Eastern Australia Stamp of Australia 2002 |
82 |
$6 |
| |
ROTHBURY Chardonnay South Eastern Australia 2001 |
82 |
$7 |
| |
WYNDHAM ESTATE Chardonnay South Eastern Australia Bin 222 2002 |
82 |
$9 |
| |
YELLOW TAIL Chardonnay South Eastern Australia 2002 |
80 |
$7 |
| |
