The Halliday Wine Companion Awards celebrate the top wines in Australia – as chosen by our esteemed wine critics who spend the year tasting and reviewing wine from across the country. Below, you'll find Australia's best shiraz, along with the ratings awarded by the Tasting Team.
Toni Paterson MW captured the essence of the bracket well when she said, ‘Wonderful to see so many expressions and personalities on the table." Shiraz is always a challenge to judge in this setting, because every wine represented in this category is worthy of being included; to try to split them is painfully difficult.
This decision, however, fell out easily. Clear as day, a victory by a large margin; the 2022 JC Block Shiraz from Koomilya is certainly one of Australia’s greatest wines.
2026 Best Shiraz of the Year in Australia
Koomilya JC Block Shiraz 2022, McLaren Vale
99 points (PD*) | Price when tasted $120

There are three single-block iterations of Koomilya shiraz: GT, DC and JC. All are superb, but it is the JC that is cementing its reputation as one of Australia’s greatest wines. The survey may be relatively short, but I’m convinced. The '21 was breathtaking and this its equal, or thereabouts. The JC has a distinct shape, a harmony, an engulfing perfume, a blend of flavour depth with spice and dusky florals, and an effortlessness. Then the fragrance in the mouth billows up, envelops, stops you in your tracks. It’s suffused with place, the bush-fringed site, with a sense of fallen gums subsumed into the soil, intertwining with the ripe but not juicy deep red fruits, along with a rusty iron note, salumi and panforte. As said, one of Australia’s great wines. – Marcus Ellis
-
The best shiraz and syrah from the 2026 Companion
-
Koomilya
JC Block Shiraz 2022
McLaren Vale -
Brokenwood
Graveyard Vineyard Shiraz 2023
Hunter Valley -
Henschke
Hill of Grace 2021
Eden Valley -
Bekkers
Single Vineyard Selection Clarendon Syrah 2023
McLaren Vale -
Brokenwood
Tallawanta Vineyard Shiraz 2023
Hunter Valley -
Henschke
Mount Edelstone 2021
Eden Valley -
Mayer
Syrah 2024
Yarra Valley -
Mount Pleasant
Maurice O'Shea Shiraz 2023
Hunter Valley -
Penfolds
Grange Bin 95 2020
South Australia -
Sami-Odi
Hoffmann Dallwitz Syrah 2023
Barossa Valley -
Serrat
Shiraz Viognier 2024
Yarra Valley -
The Standish Wine Company
Lamella 2022
Eden Valley -
Tyrrell’s Wines
Old Patch Shiraz 2023
Hunter Valley -
Agricola Vintners
K'Sands 2023
Barossa Valley -
Agricola Vintners
Flaxman Valley Shiraz 2023
Eden Valley -
Alkina Wine Estate
Polygon No.1 Shiraz 2021
Barossa Valley -
Altera Terra
Fidelis Shiraz 2021
Canberra District McLaren Vale Pyrenees -
Altera Terra
Fidelis Shiraz 2022
Pyrenees McLaren Vale Macedon Ranges -
Bondar Wines
Midnight Hour 2023
McLaren Vale -
Brokenwood
Verona Vineyard Shiraz 2023
Hunter Valley -
Brokenwood
Rayner Vineyard Shiraz 2023
McLaren Vale -
Chalk Hill
Alpha Crucis Seaview Syrah 2022
McLaren Vale -
Charles Melton Wines
Voices of Angels Shiraz 2021
Adelaide Hills -
Clarendon Hills
Onkaparinga Syrah 2023
McLaren Vale -
Clarendon Hills
Astralis 2023
McLaren Vale -
Eisenstone
Hoffmann Dallwitz Vyd. X11 Ebenezer Shiraz 2021
Barossa Valley -
Eisenstone
d'Or X10 Shiraz 2021
Barossa Valley -
First Drop Wines
Fat of the Land Ebenezer Single Vineyard Shiraz 2021
Barossa Valley -
Frankland Estate
SmithCullam Syrah 2023
Frankland River -
Giaconda
Shiraz 2022
Beechworth -
Grampians Estate
St Ethel's 1878 Vines Shiraz 2021
Grampians -
Greenock Creek Wines
Roennfeldt Road Shiraz 2020
Barossa Valley -
Henschke
Hill of Roses 2021
Eden Valley -
Hentley Farm Wines
Clos Otto Shiraz 2022
Barossa Valley -
John Duval Wines
Eligo 2021
Barossa -
MMAD Vineyard
Blewitt Springs Shiraz 2023
McLaren Vale -
Mount Langi Ghiran
Langi Shiraz 2022
Grampians -
Mount Pleasant
1946 Vines Rosehill Vineyard Shiraz 2023
Hunter Valley -
Mount Pleasant
1880 Vines Old Hill Vineyard Shiraz 2023
Hunter Valley -
Mulline
Single Vineyard Modewarre Syrah 2024
Geelong -
Murdoch Hill
Orion Oakbank Syrah 2023
Adelaide Hills -
Oakridge
864 Close Planted Block Syrah 2023
Yarra Valley -
Ox Hardy
1891 Ancestor Vines Upper Tintara Vineyard Shiraz 2021
McLaren Vale -
Paralian Wines
Springs Hill Vineyard Shiraz 2024
McLaren Vale -
Paul Nelson Wines
Loam Syrah 2023
Frankland River -
Penfolds
St Henri Shiraz 2021
Barossa Valley McLaren Vale -
Sami-Odi
Little Wine #14 Syrah Non Vintage
Barossa Valley -
Seville Estate
Shiraz 2023
Yarra Valley -
Syrahmi
La La Shiraz 2019
Heathcote -
Tahbilk
1860 Vines Shiraz 2021
Nagambie Lakes -
Tyrrell’s Wines
Vat 9 Winemaker's Selection Shiraz 2023
Hunter Valley -
NewTyrrell’s Wines
4 Acres Shiraz 2023
Hunter Valley -
NewTyrrell’s Wines
8 Acres Shiraz 2023
Hunter Valley -
Vanguardist Wines
Syrah 2023
McLaren Vale -
Wendouree
24B Shiraz 2022
Clare Valley -
Yarra Yering
Underhill 2023
Yarra Valley
Learn more about shiraz.
Join Halliday Wine Club to drink the very best of Australian wine
Are you an explorer, enthusiast or collector? No matter the Halliday Wine Club plan you choose, each month we'll deliver two bottles of 95+ point wines direct to your door. From $89 per month. You can skip, pause or cancel anytime. Join now.The 2026 Halliday Wine Companion is available now. Secure your copy of Australia's most comprehensive wine guide at all good bookstores.
This is an edited extract from the 2026 Halliday Wine Companion, with reviews by Dave Brookes, Jane Faulkner, Jeni Port, Katrina Butler, Marcus Ellis, Mike Bennie, Philip Rich, Shanteh Wale and Toni Paterson MW. Cover art by James Coe.
*Panel decision – score awarded by the Halliday Tasting Team at the annual Awards judging.