2020 The Pinnacle Shiraz Awarded 97 Points in Halliday Wine Companion 2024
We are thrilled to announce that the 2020 The Pinnacle Shiraz has been awarded an incredible 97 points and highly reviewed in the Halliday Wine Companion 2024:
"Fabulous wine. Powerful, complex and long. Pure plum into meaty spice into forest berries into fragrant herbs. You can taste the fruit, the soil and the wood, but it all presents as one. And then there's the finish. What a finish. Structured, textural, flavoursome and long. This wine is the complete package."
The 2020 The Pinnacle was also featured in the Halliday 'Top Rated by Variety' list alongside some of Australia's iconic Shiraz wines. Describing the top Shiraz wines for this year, the tasting team said: "Every wine here is a beautiful example of its type and yet there are so many fine and different types. One of the (many) great strengths of Shiraz is that there's a high level of transparency in the way its region shows through."
We are delighted that the Halliday team have recognised the strength of our Shiraz and the incredible terroir of the Pyrenees wine region. Not only that, but Dalwhinnie has also been recognised as a Top 5 Red Star winery, defined as an "outstanding winery regularly producing wines of exemplary quality and typicity". This year, just 167 wineries were given this esteemed rating, described as "truly the best of the best" by the tasting team.
The 2021 vintage of our exciting new Tasmanian wine, Three Valleys Pinot Noir, was awarded 94 points in the 2024 Companion. The 2020 vintage is currently available and was also awarded 94 points in the companion last year.
We also received some excellent scores for our upcoming Moonambel releases. The 2020 Moonambel Shiraz was awarded 96 points, the 2020 Moonambel Cabernet Sauvignon 95 points and the 2021 Moonambel Chardonnay 94 points. These award-winning wines will be released to members next year via email, shop our current releases here.
Over 8,500 wines from 1,100 wineries across Australia were submitted into this year's companion, with Editor in Chief Campbell Mattinson stating: "We’ve unearthed some gems and honoured the very best of the best Australia has to offer. Our love for wine has only become stronger after tasting over 8,500 wines across the year – it was a pleasure to taste alongside our expert judges.”
A huge congratulations to Chief Winemaker Julian Langworthy, Viticulturist Sam Bartlett and the Dalwhinnie team on these wonderful reviews.
Halliday Wine Companion 2024 Reviews
2020 The Pinnacle Shiraz
97 Points
"Fabulous wine. Powerful, complex and long. Pure plum into meaty spice into forest berries into fragrant herbs. You can taste the fruit, the soil and the wood, but it all presents as one. And then there's the finish. What a finish. Structured, textural, flavoursome and long. This wine is the complete package."
2020 Moonambel Cabernet Sauvignon
96 Points
"It's easy enough to list the flavours: spearmint, boysenberry, dark chocolate and pure blackcurrant, but it's the arrangement and more so the flamboyant flourish of them that really impresses. This is Dalwhinnie in dynamic good form. Integrated tannin ripples through the back half of the wine, as do sweet woodsmoke characters, and the finish is full of running and then some."
2020 Moonambel Shiraz
95 Points
"Pyrenees Shiraz matured in all-French oak. It's by no means a massive wine but it feels voluminous thanks to the spread of flavour and the way it expands through the palate. This is a very good wine. Satsuma plum, soy, sweet spice and jellied cherry notes blend with star anise, cedar and woodsmoke. It's lively, exotic, generous and sophisticated; it's many things."
2021 Three Valleys Pinot Noir
94 Points
"Pinot Noir from three plots in the Huon Valley, Lower Derwent Valley and Coal River Valley fermented and matured in French oak separately before blending and bottling. It sports a bright aromatic profile of red cherry, redcurrant jelly and raspberry coulis with hints of blood orange, exotic spice, shiitake broth, rhubarb, sous bois, dried cranberries and smoked meats. Spiced sour morello cherries and fine tannins feature as the wine departs with a graceful air."
2021 Moonambel Chardonnay
94 Points
"Raciness and flavour, combined with aplomb. Citrus, pear, slate and flint characters launch from the outset, candied fruit and cedar notes emerging as it travels through the mouth. There's nothing lacking about this wine, and yet it seems zippy and refreshing; it will build flesh as it matures, and be better again for it."
Shop all top-rated Halliday Wine Companion 2024 wines here.