Wine

Top 50 Wines of 2016

The Wine Selectors Tasting Panel tastes over 3000 wines from Australian producers per year. Here is the best of the best, the top wines that wowed them in 2016.

Not many people know this, but I’ve always loved statistics. When I was younger, it was all sports related – D.K Lillee’s bowling average, Chicka Ferguson’s try scoring tally, that sort of stuff. These days I am using that love of maths to discover interesting info about wine. Throughout the year our Tasting Panel puts their collective expert palates to the test to determine what wines we send to our members. The wine tasting process is extremely rigorous. The wines are opened the morning of the tasting to allow them to breathe, placed into a bottle cover so no-one can see the label, and poured in brackets that group varietals or styles. The Panel tastes each and every wine and gives them a score out of 20, as per judging at an official wine show. This happens every Friday (and sometimes Wednesday) at Wine Selectors with our Panel tasting up to 100 wines a week. That equates to literally thousands of wines a year, from nearly every producer in every wine region across Australia. So collecting a year’s worth of scores from the Panel reveals some amazing statistics. And from that we can gather some pretty cool information. For instance, not only does it show which producers are leading the charge, what regions had a good vintage and what varietals are doing well – it also shows the changing face of wine.

On Trend

That’s the exciting thing about wine – it is always changing. That’s a pretty simple sentence, but when you look at it from different angles, it really says a lot. Yes, it is changing in the bottle as it ages and develops, changes in weather from season to season determine the outcome of how the wine will taste, and there are changes in winemaking techniques and equipment that will improve the taste and the scope of a wine. Ultimately though, I think the biggest change in wine is driven by consumers. Fashion leads demand and if the demand is big enough, it will drive supply. This scenario is pretty evident when looking at our Top 50 wines of 2016. Even before you look at who made the Top 50, just the wines submitted tell a startling story – Aussie drinkers are demanding greater variety. How do we know? Well, in 2016 our Panel tasted more alternative wines than ever before and we are not just talking about a couple of Grigios. Try these on for size: Bianco d’Alessano, Garganega, Muller Thurgau, Verduzzo – and they’re just the whites, they also sipped Aglianico, Lagrein, Montepulciano, Saperavi and Saint Macaire – and that’s only a third of the list of alternative varietals they looked at. How many have you heard of, let alone tried? The exciting thing is, you probably will get to try some of these soon, because quite a few of them are performing exceptionally well – good enough to make it to our Top 50 wines of 2016. For instance, the Serafino Wines Bellissimo Lagrein (placing inside the Top 10, no less), The Pawn Wine Co En Passant Tempranillo and the Bird in Hand Montepulciano. There’s also Touriga, Fiano, Vermentino, Marsanne and more. Yep, it’s an exciting time to be a drinker of Australian wine.

Traditional Stars

Of course, our traditional varietals also excelled in 2016. Our two biggies, Shiraz (12) and Chardonnay (9) dominated the tallies, but it must be pointed out that their styles have changed to suit the drinking public. The top scoring wine, the Di Giorgio Family Chardonnay 2015, is lean and minerally, described as having “aromas of flint, struck match and oyster shell with a refined palate of intense fig, melon and nectarine,” while the top scoring Shiraz, the Ryan’s Reserve Vanessa’s Vineyard 2014 is a medium to full-bodied Hunter wine with “a ripe and lively core of red and black fruits with hints of Chinese spice.” Riesling was also a big surprise packet this year. Panellist Trent Mannell reckons Riesling is going to be one of the trending wines of 2017 and if the quality of current vintages is anything to go by, he may be right. The Ferngrove Off Dry Limited Release Riesling 2016 from Western Australia’s Great Southern region was simply superb, taking out second spot overall and was described by the Panel as “impossible to put down”. In all, there were four Rieslings in the Top 50, all from different regions, which goes to show this varietal’s versatility. Read more about the rise of Australian Riesling in this article

Diversity and Consistency

In a nod to diversity, the Top 10 wines were made up of eight different varietals from eight different regions. That’s a real wow moment right there. Chardonnay, Riesling, Marsanne, Shiraz, Muscat, Semillon, Cabernet Merlot and Lagrein – Coonawarra, Great Southern, Nagambie Lakes, Hunter Valley, Rutherglen, Margaret River, Barossa, Adelaide Hills. What that tells us is that viticulturists are getting better at knowing what works in their region and how to get the best out of their grape. It also says that winemakers are becoming more skilled at taking that perfectly grown grape and making great wine.

Out of the Top 50 there were only two producers who featured more than once – Howard Park (Marchand & Burch Chardonnay and Howard Park Flint Rock Pinot Noir) and Brown Brothers (Devil’s Corner Pinot Noir and Innocent Bystander Known Pleasures Shiraz). The same two producers both had two wines each in last year’s Top 50, so it speaks volumes of their ability to consistently produce top wines. And speaking of consistency, it must be noted that the Brown Brothers Devil’s Corner Pinot Noir 2015 replicated the success of the 2014 that featured in last year’s Top 50. This is a huge result, as anyone can have a great vintage, but to do it consistently is the mark of a great producer.

Vintage and Age

The stats show that The Hunter Valley (8), McLaren Vale (7) and Great Southern (7) had great vintages, with 2014 living up to the hype for reds and 2015 for white wines.It was also interesting to note the power of age. Nearly all the wine we buy is consumed soon after we’ve bought it (the same day in my case). However, some producers are lucky enough to be able to hold onto some of their wine to release it at a date when it has aged to perfection – the Tahbilk Marsanne 2010 and Tyrrell’s Vat 1 Semillon 2011, for example. Of course, you can do the same thing, provided you have the ideal storing conditions and you can keep your hands off it. Or, if that seems too hard, you can just check out this list of amazing wines, tally up the ones you like, do the stats and get amongst them.

The Best Australian Wines of 2016

Di Giorgio Family Chardonnay 2015 (Coonawarra)

Ferngrove Off Dry Limited Release Riesling 2016 (Great Southern)

Tahbilk Marsanne 2010 (Nagambie Lakes)

Saddler’s Creek Ryan’s Reserve Vanessa Vineyard Shiraz 2014 (Hunter Valley)

Stanton & Killen Classic Rutherglen Muscat NV (Rutherglen)

Howard Park Wines Marchand & Burch Australian Collection 'Porongurup' Chardonnay 2015

Tyrrell’s Wines Vat 1 Semillon 2011 (Hunter Valley)

Henschke & Co Tappa Pass Shiraz 2013 (Barossa)

Hamelin Bay Wines Five Ashes Vineyard Cabernet Merlot 2014 (Margaret River)

Serafino Wines Bellissimo Lagrein (Adelaide Hills) 2013

The Pawn Wine Co. En Passant Tempranillo 2013 (Adelaide Hills)

 Briar Ridge Stockhausen Black Label Semillon 2016 (Hunter Valley)

Tyrrell’s Wines 'Stevens' Single Vineyard Shiraz 2014 (Hunter Valley)

Scotchmans Hill Sauvignon Blanc 2015 (Geelong)

Innocent Bystander Known Pleasures Shiraz McLaren Vale 2014 (McLaren Vale)

Byron & Harold The Partners Chardonnay 2015 (Great Southern)

Brown Brothers Devil’s Corner Resolution Pinot Noir 2015 (Tasmania)

De Iuliis Steven Vineyard Shiraz 2014 (Hunter Valley)

Howard Park - 'Flint Rock' Pinot Noir 2015 (Great Southern)

Rutherglen Estates Durif 2014 (Rutherglen)

Frankland Estate Isolation Ridge Vineyard (Organic) 2013 (Frankland River)

Seville Estate Chardonnay 2015 (Yarra Valley)

Woods Crampton Pedro Grenache Shiraz Mataro 2015 (Barossa)

Dandelion Vineyards Sister’s Run Shiraz 2014 (Barossa)

Forest Hill Vineyard Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2013 (Mount Barker) try the 2011 vintage here

Driftwood Artifacts Chardonnay 2014 (Margaret River)

Lisa McGuigan Platinum Selection Chardonnay 2015 (Hunter Valley)

Bleasdale Vineyards The Powder Monkey Single Vineyard Shiraz 2013 (Langhorne Creek)

Hart & Hunter Single Vineyard Twenty Six Rows Chardonnay 2015 (Hunter Valley)

Rockcliffe Quarram Rocks Sauvignon Blanc Semillon 2016 (Great Southern)

Taylors Wines Riesling 2015 (Clare Valley)

Bird in Hand Montepulciano 2014 (Adelaide Hills)

Alkoomi Black Label Riesling 2009 (Frankland River)

Pertaringa Wines Undercover Shiraz 2014 (McLaren Vale)

Shaw Vineyard Estate Olleyville Cabernet Sauvignon 2015 (Canberra)

Five Geese Shiraz 2014 (McLaren Vale)

Leconfield Wines Richard Hamilton Centurion 122-Year-Old Vine Shiraz 2014

SC Pannell Wines Grenache Shiraz Touriga 2014 (McLaren Vale)

Shadowfax Pinot Gris 2015 (Geelong)

Dominique Portet Fontaine Rose 2015 (Yarra Valley)

McWilliams Wines Mount Pleasant High Altitude Sauvignon Blanc 2015 (Orange)

Tulloch - 'Cellar Door Release' Vermentino 2016 (Orange)

Oliver’s Taranga Vineyards Fiano 2015 (McLaren Vale) Try the 2016 vintage here

Montara Winery Chalambar Road Shiraz 2009 (Grampians)

Henry’s Drive Vignerons Henry’s Drive H Syrah 2012 (Padthaway)

Margan Family Limited Release Chardonnay 2013 (Hunter Valley)

Bremerton Walter’s Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 (Langhorne Creek)

Vasse Felix Chardonnay 2015 (Margaret River)

d’Arenberg The Dry Dam Riesling (off dry) 2015 (McLaren Vale/Adelaide Hills)

Kirrihill Wines Montepulciano 2014 (Mount Lofty)