Wine
Noble Futures – The Way Ahead for Australia's Big Reds
The first cuttings that arrived in Australia had a decidedly French accent, but are Cabernet and Shiraz still the varieties du jour?
For years, Australian wine has hung its hat on the classic varieties of Cabernet and Shiraz. Our nascent industry relied on cuttings from the esteemed and well-respected varieties of France; these included the noble Bordeaux Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz, the mainstays of the Rhôhe Valley: intelligent choices for the warm climates of South Australia, where they prospered and eventually pushed Australian reds towards global recognition.
In our deference to all things Francophile, did we put all our grapes in the one basket? Is there still an insatiable appetite for classic French varieties as there has been in previous generations? Giles Cooke, Master of Wine and winemaker at McLaren Vale’s Thistledown, offers his take. “Shiraz and Cabernet are still revered and are very much noble varieties, but they are not ‘cool’ at the moment anywhere: just look at the soul searching that is going on in Bordeaux at the moment,” he observes.
So, as Australian palates have evolved, are we still hung up on the French way? Yes, every Australian bakery sells a croissant, but we’ve evolved. We take the best of things and put our unique stamp on it. While we may have hit peak Cabernet and Shiraz saturation, these are still the two mainstay grapes that have provided us with a global reputation for fine wine.
Cooke sees international markets showing greater attention to Australia’s cool climate wines, and in particular Tasmanian Pinot, yet while the demand for lighter, more fragrant, easily chillable reds appeals to the needs of a new generation, there is no doubting the staying power of the classics. They are built for longevity and can hold firm against the existential threat of curious palates longing for lighter, fresher styles.
Giles Cooke MW, directing harvest at Thistledown in McLaren Vale. The region has seen great success in its focus on Grenache, in addition to the classic reds of Cabernet and Shiraz.
STAYING IN THE GAME
Take the Shiraz Cabernet blend for example – a fusion of two classic French varieties made uniquely Australian and responsible for some of the most epic and noteworthy wines of the last century (think Penfold’s Bin 389 as the most famous example). Most recently attaining global notoriety was Yalumba’s ‘The Caley’ – their love song dedication to this blend that saw the 2021 vintage get an unprecedented 100-point score from wine critic Tyson Stelzer.
It’s a wine style that we have made our own, taking the best from the French but putting an antipodean twist and creating something better than the sum of its parts. The French, due to their many archaic laws, forbade or outlawed this blend. However, the brave new frontier of Australian winemaking applauded innovation, and the two varieties were a no-brainer, with Shiraz filling in the mid-palate and Cabernet lending its benchmark tannins and structure to ensure a seamless blend.
I ask Stelzer, one of our most esteemed wine writers, why our classic reds are so important in a global context and whether their appeal has diminished. “I disagree that the appeal of Cabernet and Shiraz has shrunk,” he counters. “There are good reasons why these varieties have been revered as global benchmarks for centuries, and these reasons have not changed. In my tastings, there is no doubt that these varieties still produce Australia’s best red wines.”
Stelzer and fellow UK wine writer Matthew Jukes have been running The Great Australian Red for over two decades to showcase this unique blend to the world, and bring some focus back to these brilliant blends that have defined Australia’s winemaking history. “We have showcased our winning wines for the wine trade and public in London, New York, San Francisco and of course all around Australia and amazed all of our guests with their quality and diversity.”
Winemaker Sarah Pidgeon of Wynns Coonawarra Estate, testing a maturing red in the barrel room.
Wine writer, judge and chairman Tyson Stelzer at The Great Australian Red tasting.
IF THE SHOE FITS
Cooke agrees this blend should be lauded, but stresses the importance of context and clarity: “We should not abandon these wines – they are an incredibly important part of the Australian wine world, and not just its history. But there is a time and place for those wines, and now we have wines that fill the need for different occasions and cuisines.”
One region that performed an unintentional pivot to new varieties was McLaren Vale, renowned for its rich and long-lived reds. The Vale has seen a massive swing in recent years to Grenache, making it the mainstay grape of the region, which has become the unofficial poster child for a generation craving a lighter and less oak-influenced big red.
“I’d say that we are finally allowing Grenache to reflect the amazing sites that it grows in, rather than forcing it to be made to look like Shiraz,” says Cooke. “It’s certainly an exciting path that Grenache is currently on, and it is one that is naturally sustainable – these are old, dry-grown vineyards planted to a variety that positively revels in the heat.”
On the other hand, the Barossa is never going to change what it’s historically famed for, so don’t expect a Penfolds seltzer in a can or a de-alcoholised Henschke anytime soon. There is no need for established producers to panic and graft over their century-old vines to change their course due to the fickleness of fashion. Instead, the best wines just keep improving, seeing elegance pursued over extract.
Château Tanunda for instance has a rich history of making Shiraz for over 160 years. According to winemaker Jeremy Ottawa, there is no reason to reinvent the wheel; maybe they just need to refine it: “We are lucky that we have such a loyal audience locally and globally,” says Ottawa. “They know what to expect from a Château Tanunda wine. During my tenure, the brief has been to build more elegance and modernise the wine style without losing the core of what we do.”
There is evidence of this amongst many producers, who are ensuring wines show freshness with less oak influence. Over in Coonawarra, for instance, Cabernet is still king, according to Sarah Pidgeon, senior winemaker at Wynns. Cabernet is a variety that sits at odds for many, yet like a comfortable pair of leather slippers or an antique chair, there is a reliability and a consistency with Cabernet.
STRUCTURAL RELEVANCE
Wynns has championed this variety for decades, and produces some of the country’s finest and most collectable wines. “Wynns has a long heritage and history with Cabernet and Shiraz, it is still what people ask us for over and above any other wine styles we make,” says Pidgeon. “More importantly, we have an amazing viticulture team working deeply on future-proofing Cabernet Sauvignon plantings in Coonawarra. There would be few teams in the world with more knowledge and trials going on in the Cabernet space.”
Cabernet is never going to be the trendiest grape, but it doesn’t need to be. The best examples show structure and elegance, thanks to its bold fruit signature and trademark tannin framework, making it ideal for fatty, protein-heavy dishes. Despite intimations of a downturn, it seems French mainstays still rule supreme, and these wines keep evolving at Wynns.
“All Wynns wines are medium bodied and reflective of our lovely cool climate, which suits modern drinking preferences,” says Pidgeon. “We see a lot of love for Wynns from both young and old drinkers.” Particularly popular are Wynn’s V&A Lane wines, made from the first red grapes picked each year. With lower sugar at harvest translating to naturally lower alcohol (typically 12.5%) and crunchy red berry fruit, these are proudly light wines with plenty of detail, intensity, and layers to them. “We like to call the V&A Lane our ‘Pinot drinker’s Shiraz’, just to give people an idea of the palate shape and weight to expect,” Pidgeon explains.
What conversations like this reveal is that while fads and fashions come and go, our focus on Shiraz and Cabernet as the classic varieties is here to stay, for good reasons. We’ll leave the final word with Stelzer, who provides a whole-of.picture perspective on the matter. “The long cycles involved in growing and producing wines dictate that any maker who attempts to follow trends will forever be chasing their tail,” he says. “The importance of Shiraz and Cabernet is as pertinent now as ever. In an increasingly competitive global wine market, our best strategy is to continue to play to our historic strengths.”
From Selector Issue 99, March-April 2026. Subscribe today to keep up with the latest in Australian life, food and wine.