Here Are the Best Australian Wines, According to the James Halliday Companion Awards

Here Are the Best Australian Wines, According to the James Halliday Companion Awards

If you’re familiar with the world of Australian wine, you’ll know that the annual James Halliday Wine Companion Awards is a big old deal. This year, over 8,500 wines and 50 new wineries were blind-tasted by founder James Halliday and a handful of other wine pros, and a shortlist was given for the 2024 James Halliday Wine Companion Awards back in June.

Wineries from Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia, Western Australia, and New South Wales are represented in this year’s shortlist, and the list of winners has now officially dropped.

Here are the wineries that topped the list.

James Halliday 2024 winners

Winery of the Year: 

  • All Saints Estate – Rutherglen 
  • Winner: Bleasdale Vineyards – Langhorne Creek First Creek Wines – Hunter Valley 
  • Giant Steps – Yarra Valley 
  • Leogate Estate Wines – Hunter Valley Oakridge Wines – Yarra Valley 
  • Penley Estate – Coonawarra 
  • Pepper Tree Wines – Hunter Valley 
  • Yalumba – Eden Valley 
  • Yangarra Estate Vineyard – McLaren Vale

Winemaker of the Year:

  • Colin McBryde – Adelina Wines, Clare Valley
  • Gerald Naef – Patina Wines, Orange
  • Jim Chatto – Pepper Tree Wines, Hunter Valley
  • Winner: Kate Goodman – Penley Estate, Coonawarra
  • Mark Messenger – Juniper Estate, Margaret River
  • Michael Downer – Murdoch Hill, Adelaide Hills
  • Paul Dahlenburg – Eldorado Road & Baileys of
  • Glenrowan, Beechworth/Glenrowan
  • Sam Middleton – Mount Mary, Yarra Valley
  • Samantha Connew – Stargazer, Tasmania

Viticulturist of the Year:

  • Bart Maloney – Vasse Felix, Margaret River
  • Dr Dylan Grigg – Consultant, Various
  • Jacob Stein – Robert Stein Vineyard, Mudgee Liz
  • Riley – Scarborough Wine Co & Mistletoe Wines, Hunter Valley
  • Winner: Mark Walpole – Fighting Gully Road, Beechworth
  • Michael Lane – Yangarra Estate Vineyard &
  • Hickinbotham Clarendon Vineyard, McLaren Vale
  • Rhys Thomas – Swinney, Frankland Rive
  • Stuart Proud – Thousand Candles, Yarra Valley

Best Value Winery:

  • Billy Button Wines – Alpine Valleys
  • Bleasdale Vineyards – Langhorne Creek
  • Bondar Wines – McLaren Vale
  • Bremerton Wines – Langhorne Creek
  • Briar Ridge Vineyard – Hunter Valley
  • Carillion Wines – Hunter Valley
  • Dappled Wines – Yarra Valley
  • De Bortoli – Yarra Valley
  • Mordrelle Wines – Adelaide Hills
  • Winner: Oakridge Wines – Yarra Valley
  • Two Hands Wines – Barossa Valley
  • Xanadu Wines – Margaret River

Best New Winery:

  • Entropy Wines – Gippsland
  • Fleet Wines – Gippsland
  • Gaffy & Neal – Mornington Peninsula
  • Gentle Folk – Adelaide Hills
  • Winner: Joshua Cooper Wines – Victoria
  • MMAD – McLaren Vale
  • Neldner Road – Barossa Valley
  • Nightfall Wines – Coonawarra
  • Terrason Wines – Victoria
  • Winmark Wines – Hunter Valley

Dark Horse Winery:

  • Winner: Anderson & Marsh – Alpine Valleys
  • Curator Wine Company – Barossa Valley
  • Emilian – Yarra Valley
  • Mount Eyre Vineyards – Hunter Valley
  • Topper’s Mountain Wines – New England

There were two new additions to the James Halliday Hall of Fame, also. Those were:

  • James Halliday Hall of Fame: Wine – Seppeltsfield 100-Year-Old Para Vintage Tawny 1923, Barossa Valley, SA (100 points)
  • James Halliday Hall of Fame: Wine Industry – Prue Henschke of Henschke Wines, Keyneton, SA

Moving over to varietals, here are the winning wines for the 2024 James Halliday Companion Awards:

  • Red Wine of the Year: Yangarra Estate Vineyard Old Vine Grenache 2021, McLaren Vale, SA – 99 points
  • White Wine of the Year: Landaire at Padthaway Estate Chardonnay 2021 Padthaway – 98 points
  • Sparkling Wine of the Year: Sittella Wines Grand Prestige Late Disgorged 2010 Pemberton – 97 points
  • Riesling of the Year: Limefinger Solace Riesling 2022 Clare Valley – 98 points
  • Chardonnay of the Year: Landaire at Padthaway Estate Chardonnay 2021 Padthaway – 98 points
  • Semillon of the Year: Pepper Tree Wines Museum Release Limited Release Tallawanta Single Vineyard Semillon 2013 Hunter Valley: 99 points
  • Sauvignon Blanc of the Year: Domaine Naturaliste Sauvage Sauvignon Blanc 2021, Margaret River – 96 points
  • Pinot Gris/Grigio of the Year: Mayer Bloody Hill Villages Healesville Pinot Gris 2022 Yarra Valley – 96 points
  • Other Whites & Blends of the Year: John Kosovich Wines Bottle Aged Reserve Chenin Blanc 2018 Swan Valley – 98 points
  • Rosé of the Year: Sutton Grange Winery Fairbank Rosé 2022 Central Victoria Zone – 97 points
  • Pinot Noir of the Year: Giant Steps Applejack Vineyard Pinot Noir 2022 Yarra Valley – 98 points
  • Grenache & Blends of the Year: Yangarra Estate Vineyard Old Vine Grenache 2021 McLaren Vale – 99 points
  • Shiraz of the Year: Murdoch Hill The Landau Single Vineyard Oakbank Syrah 2021 Adelaide Hills – 99 points
  • Cabernet Shiraz Blend of the Year: Bleasdale Vineyards Wellington Road Shiraz Cabernet 2021 Langhorne Creek – 98 points
  • Cabernet Sauvignon of the Year: Bleasdale Vineyards The Iron Duke Cabernet Sauvignon 2021 Langhorne Creek – 98 points
  • Cabernet & Family of the Year: Houghton C.W. Ferguson Cabernet Malbec 2020 Frankland River – 98 points
  • Other Reds & Blends of the Year: Yarra Yering Dry Red Wine No. 3 2021 Yarra Valley – 97 points
  • Sweet Wine of the Year: De Bortoli (Riverina) Noble One Botrytis Semillon 2020 Riverina– 96 points
  • Fortified Wine of the Year: All Saints Estate Museum Muscat NV, Rutherglen – 100 points

If you’re wondering who the winners were for the 2023 James Halliday Wine Companion Awards, here are some of the biggest awards.

Major James Halliday award winners 2023

  • Winery of the Year – Pooley Wines, Tasmania
  • 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

This article has been updated to reflect the shortlist for James Halliday Awards 2024. 


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