2023: The Year Of Dalwhinnie
2023 has been a remarkable year for Dalwhinnie, with reviews and awards at both a national and international level. This year has seen the prestige of our wines elevated once again to sit alongside the great wines of Australia, and the world.
Halliday Wine Companion
Earlier this year Dalwhinnie was recognised as a Top 5 Red Star winery (defined as an "outstanding winery regularly producing wines of exemplary quality and typicity") in the Halliday Wine Companion 2024. This year, just 167 wineries were given this esteemed rating, described as "truly the best of the best" by the tasting team.
Additionally, we were the only Pyrenees winery named in Halliday's prestigious inaugural list – the Halliday Top 100 Wineries of 2023 – coming in at number 92. According to Chief Editor Campbell Mattinson this is a list of "the best Australian producers of now." On Dalwhinnie, Mattinson said:
“The grapes here are grown on the most stunning of sites; it’s one of the few vineyards that every Australian wine lover should visit at least once. A recent change in ownership and winemaking has seen these Pyrenees wines roar back into elite contention. Welcome back, Dalwhinnie."
Our 2020 The Pinnacle Shiraz was highly reviewed and awarded an incredible 97 points in the 2024 Companion: "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.
Decanter World Wine Awards
The Decanter World Wine Awards is the largest and most influential wine show in the world. This year judges from 30 countries reviewed 18,250 wines from across the globe.
Our 2020 The Eagle Shiraz was awarded a Gold Medal this year, marking the third consecutive year that The Eagle Shiraz has been awarded a Gold Medal at this prestigious international show. Only 705 wines received a Gold Medal in 2023.
2020 The Eagle was listed in the top 36 Shiraz wines in the world, and it was also the only Shiraz from the Pyrenees to be awarded 95 Points and a Gold Medal.
Although this wine is not yet released, the 2018 The Eagle was awarded a Gold Medal at the Decanter World Wine Awards 2021 and can be purchased online or at our cellar door.
Exciting New Wine Wins Trophy on Release
Our latest release, the 2022 LDR Shiraz, was awarded a Trophy for Best Shiraz at the Perth Royal Wine Awards 2023. This year's competition was very tight, with over 215 Shiraz wines entered.
Chief Winemaker Julian Langworthy said: “This award is recognition that we have maintained the traditions of the iconic, award-winning Dalwhinnie wines.
"Fruit was sourced from the original 'The Eagle' Vineyard on the Dalwhinnie estate in the heart of the Pyrenees. This high-altitude site is well suited to the production of complex Shiraz and I wanted to celebrate the beauty of this single vineyard with a unique, new school expression of this varietal."
This wine was also awarded 3 Gold Medals at national wine shows this year.
We hope you share our pride in seeing Dalwhinnie again receiving the recognition it so richly deserves and we can't wait to see what the future brings. We look forward to continuing to share our journey, and our iconic wines, with you - our Dalwhinnie members.
Visit us at our cellar door
We also welcome you to our cellar door for tastings. We are open Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday from 10:00am to 4:30pm (closed Christmas Day and Boxing Day).
To browse our range of wines online, click here.