The best wines to come out of the Barossa’s ‘vintage of the century’ – 2021

2021 has been singled out by many Barossa winemakers as the region’s best vintage in living memory – helping it become known as ‘the vintage of the century’.

According to our own vintage report of 2021, The Barossa Valley experienced mild conditions of generally below-average temperatures for the entire growing season, making for an elegant and classic vintage boasting the best acidities in many years.

Good rainfall made for close-to-average crops, a welcome relief after two tiny drought harvests. Extended and unhurried picking proved to be a blessing, without the labour shortages feared in the wake of pandemic border closures.

Quality was said to be exceptional across every variety, with reds showing great density of colour and flavour and whites pristine aromatics, finesse and high natural acidity.

It ticked all the right boxes for The Barossa, which is still reeling from a tough 2025 harvest. The Barossa weathered frost and drought earlier this year, and it continues to struggle with ongoing economic and oversupply hardships.

Despite still dealing with this, wineries are now starting to release wines from the 2021 vintage, and they are absolute winners. Find here, the best Barossa 2021 wines that have been released so far.

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