Halliday Wine Companion Top 100 Wineries 2024: 76–100

Best wineries Australia

The wineries ranked 76–100 in the Halliday Top 100 Wineries showcase South Australia, Victoria, New South Wales, Western Australia and Tasmania, with South Australia accounting for 10 of the featured producers. The Adelaide Hills wineries are Gentle Folk, Murdoch Hill and, of course, Shaw + Smith. Also making the list for some of the best Coonawarra wineries are Parker Estate and Penley Estate. Looking for a McLaren Vale shiraz? The Clarendon Hills Astralis Syrah is an Australian icon wine.

Winemaker of the Year Liz Silkman's label Silkman Wines features at number 78. And if you're after Hunter Valley winery accommodation, you can't go wrong with a visit to Pooles Rock.

Seven Victorian wineries feature across six regions. Beechworth wineries include Fighting Gully Road and Eldorado Road. If you're heading to the Geelong wine region, then Scotchmans Hill is a must, as is its chardonnay, pinot noir and syrah. For wineries near Ballarat, Eastern Peake is just a 25-minute drive from Ballarat Central. Norm Latta and Di Pym established Eastern Peake over 40 years ago, and it's now under the guidance of their son, Owen.

View the Top 100 Wineries: 1–25

View the Top 100 Wineries: 26–50

View the Top 100 Wineries: 51–75

Gentle Folk | Fighting Gully Road | Silkman Wines | Deep Woods Estate | Scotchmans Hill | Delamere Vineyards | Best’s Wines | Tapanappa | Parker Coonawarra Estate | Flowstone Wines | Eastern Peake | Castle Rock Estate | De Bortoli | Eldorado Road | Pooles Rock | Murdoch Hill | Flametree | Collector Wines | Pewsey Vale Vineyard | Clarendon Hills | Spinifex | Penley Estate | Adelina Wines | Shaw + Smith | Tahbilk

76. Gentle Folk

In another life, Gareth and Rainbo Belton were both marine scientists specialising in phycology (the study of marine plant life) before wine lured them to the Adelaide Hills’ Basket Range. Friends Alex Schulkin (The Other Right) and James Erskine (Jauma) were influential at the time, and the Gentle Folk brand was perhaps more associated with some of the vin de soif wines they initially made, and a decidedly natural vibe. The essence of that is true now, in the best sense, in that the vines are farmed with organic practices and the only winery addition is a little sulphur. The core of the range, though, is a suite of single-site chardonnay and pinot noir of effortless purity, detailed texture and clear site-specific delineation. Add to that the ‘Village’ wines, which draw in other varieties, such as sangiovese, gamay and syrah, from a range of vineyards, and with general trend towards mid-weighted drinkability but at no expense to detail and character, and Gentle Folk is one of the Hills’ most exciting producers.

5 ★ winery | Halliday profile | Gentle Folk | @gentlefolkwine

77. Fighting Gully Road

Mark Walpole is a viticulturist’s viticulturist. A legend in the field (no pun intended). He is also unusually generous with his knowledge and his time. There are few people in the industry so respected and liked. Mark also makes wine. This sometimes seems to be forgotten, such is his prestige amongst the vines. He also happens to make excellent wine. Chardonnay, of course, both from the home site and the fabled Smiths Vineyard, Beechworth’s first, pinot noir and syrah, but the broader portfolio takes on a distinct Italian accent. That’s a passion of Mark’s, and throughout his career he has collected vines, first on his family property in the King Valley, and now in a more targeted way at Fighting Gully Road. Mark makes industry-leading examples of aglianico, verdicchio, and, most famously, sangiovese, and when paired with his superlative expressions of Beechworth hero varieties, this is a very special address indeed.

5 ★ winery | Halliday profile | Fighting Gully Road | @fightinggullyroad

78. Silkman Wines

Liz Silkman was crowned Winemaker of the Year at the 2025 Halliday Wine Companion Awards for her work both at First Creek and Silkman wines. Liz and Shaun Silkman founded Silkman Wines as a small “side hustle” outside the family winery, but it has risen alongside First Creek to be one of the Hunter Valley’s hottest tickets. It’s in the numbers, with the Silkman wines a sea of gold. Of the 14 wines submitted, all received 95 points or above, with six of them 97 points or above. That’s quite a tally, but it’s the paradigm shifting that Liz has achieved in getting there that is where the thrills are at. Respectful of tradition, she is able to turn out wines that both reference the past and project the future, wines of incredible depth and detail that also have an easy charm. The Hunter Valley could lean on its significant history for attention, but the region is genuinely exciting right now both for the progressive approach of established makers, and the establishment of progressive makers. Liz Silkman does both with real aplomb.

5 ★ winery | Halliday profile | Silkman Wines | @silkmanwines

79. Deep Woods Estate

Julian Langworthy is the winemaker across Fogarty Group’s operations, but he made his name at Deep Woods Estate, scooping up an incredible swag of accolades in the process. Those gongs include a Jimmy Watson and being crowned the Halliday Wine Companion Winemaker of the Year in 2019. The Fogarty Group bought the estate in 2005, with Julian coming on board in 2011. In that time, Deep Woods has ascended to the dress circle of top estates. Like many Margaret River estates, the portfolio is relatively expansive, with quality to be found right through to the most modest of price points, but it is the reserve range that secures its reputation as one of the greats.

5 ★ winery | Halliday profile | Deep Woods Estate | @deepwoodsestate

80. Scotchmans Hill

Robin Brockett joined Scotchmans Hill in 1988 as the vineyard manager, taking the winemaking reins in 1990, which was also their first commercial vintage. That’s a long tenure, with Robin riding a change of ownership in 2014 that now sees the leading Bellarine estate owned by a consortium of local families. Today, there are seven ranges, with the Scotchmans Hill and Cornelius single vineyard wines leading the pack. Those wines earned 10 scores of 95 or higher in the 2025 Companion, and that’s not just for chardonnay and pinot noir, but also for shiraz and pinot gris. That’s a fair measure of just how accomplished Robin is across the board, and just what a guarantee of quality the Scotchmans Hill name is.

5 ★ winery | Halliday profile | Scotchmans Hill | @scotchmanshill

81. Delamere Vineyards

Delamere is rightly regarded as a top maker of sparkling wine, but it’s more than that. Fran Austin’s celebrated near-decade-long stint at Bay of Fires tends to give weight to that reputation. But Delamere is very much about teamwork, with Fran and her husband, Shane Holloway, sharing the winemaking duties. Shane had purchased the 1981-planted vineyard in 2007, with Fran joining him in 2011. It’s a site that was originally planted with some serious intent. Only chardonnay and pinot noir were committed to the rich, ironstone-laced soils, and at a reasonably dense 7500 vines per hectare – uncommon at the time. In 2013, they doubled the land under vine and increased the clonal diversity. Delamere is a sparkling winemaker of great distinction, from compelling non-vintage cuvées to vintage wines with long lees ageing. But they are just as distinguished in their making of still wines, from the estate range through to pinnacle individual block selections.

5 ★ winery | Halliday profile | Delamere Vineyards | @delamerevineyard

82. Best’s Wines

The venerable old vines at Best’s in the Great Western subregion of the Grampians are national treasures. For many reasons, ancient vines are uncommon in Victoria, and what makes the ones at Best’s even more special is the range of varieties. The Concongella Block contains 39 varieties, some of them still unidentified, while the plantings of dolcetto, pinot noir and pinot meunier are thought to be the oldest in the world. History. Best’s oozes it, from those vines to the roof of the winery that still bears the Best’s Cellars sign that was painted to help pilots navigate the first Adelaide to Melbourne flights in 1920. Best’s marquee old vine bottlings are genuine treasures, extremely limited pieces of history. Even at the top of the tree, they are fairly priced for their quality and scarcity. That the Concongella Blanc, a genuine field blend of the 18 white varieties on the original Nursery Block, sells for $35 is almost scandalous. Best’s is certainly not just about rarities though, making some of the finest value shiraz and riesling on the market.

5 ★ winery | Halliday profile | Best’s Wines | @bestswines

83. Tapanappa

Brian Croser’s Tapanappa is triangulated across three regions. And three distinguished sites, as he likes to call them. The heart is the original Tiers Vineyard in Piccadilly, which was always kept in family hands, and thus was not whisked away when Petaluma was. It was the first vineyard planted (1979–80) in the Adelaide Hills in the 20th century, with some of those vines replaced at higher density in 2003, and it turns out some of our most exciting and distinctive chardonnay. The others are the Whalebone Vineyard in Wrattonbully, home to cabernet et al, and Foggy Hill, his pinot noir site on the Fleurieu Peninsula. Brian Croser’s laser focus on variety-to-site specificity, meticulous farming and his vast experience as a winemaker result in some of the most exciting wines of place made today.

5 ★ winery | Halliday profile | Tapanappa | @tapanappa

84. Parker Coonawarra Estate

Parker Estate was established in 1985 by John and Faye Parker on classic terra rossa soils in Coonawarra’s south. The estate has changed hands twice, with the Hesketh family purchasing it in 2013 from the Rathbone Group. And while Parker Estate now has its own beer and a range of gins, the core vision of the Parker family remains in celebrating classic Coonawarra varieties: cabernet and shiraz. The estate Abbey Vineyard is the heart of the estate, with cabernet the heartbeat. Those plantings are of the famed Reynell clone, which is thought to have come via Busby from Château Lafite before phylloxera wiped those vines out. While there is a democratically priced range from sourced fruit, it is the First Growth and Terra Rossa labels, from the Abbey Vineyard and Kidman Vineyard (shiraz), that cement Parker Estate’s reputation as a giant of the region.

5 ★ winery | Halliday profile | Parker Coonawarra Estate | @parkercoonawarraestate

85. Flowstone Wines

Flowstone was established in 2013 by Stuart Pym with the backing of the Giglia family. Stuart had quite a career up to then, with pivotal tenures at Voyager Estate, Devil’s Lair and Stella Bella. And Flowstone’s wines have had tremendous success with Margaret River’s key varieties, but Stuart has deviated a little from the norm. He has long worked with both gewürztraminer and touriga nacional, as well as making a multilayered, multi-variety (including savagnin) aromatic white blend. Perhaps most influentially, he has also made sauvignon blanc a key pillar of Flowstone, championing it as just as worthy of the same regional status accorded to chardonnay and cabernet. And, after a decade, the wines are powerful evidence that he is right. And if one legendary winemaker is not enough, Stuart’s long-term partner and colleague Janice McDonald joined him at Flowstone in 2022. The Flowstone wines are even more compelling and exciting than when they first burst on the scene, and it’s clear there’s plenty of excitement to come.

5 ★ winery | Halliday profile | Flowstone Wines | @flowstone_wines

86. Eastern Peake

A young Owen Latta was thrust into serious winemaking at the age of 15 when his dad, Norman, was sidelined and he had to step up, juggling school and vintage. That could be a little off-putting for a teenager, but not for Owen. Eastern Peake had started as a grape-growing enterprise for the late Trevor Mast, but at his later urging, Norman started to make wine from the pinot noir and chardonnay that they had planted through the '80s and '90s. The vineyard and winery are in Coghills Creek, near Ballarat, part of the sprawling Western Victoria zone but without its own regional GI. An ease of categorisation eludes Eastern Peake, and it suits it, too. Owen is well-known for his Latta Vino label, and for wines that are thoughtful and paradigm shifting, while his wines at Eastern Peake are much more classical but distinctive, coming off their basalt and grey loam soils. The wines have risen in stature under his stewardship, and he has introduced grower vineyards to thoughtfully broaden the excellent range.

5 ★ winery | Halliday profile | Eastern Peake | @easternpeake

87. Castle Rock Estate

Wendy and Angelo Diletti bought the 55ha property that would become Castle Rock Estate in 1981. After an exhaustive search to find ideal land for grape growing, they found a site with around 300 metre elevation, a cooler easterly aspect and good water resources. In Western Australia’s vast Great Southern region, the vineyard sits in the Porongurup Ranges, with Wendy and Angelo’s son Rob the longtime winemaker and a hugely respected figure in the industry. The site favours cool-climate grapes, with riesling, pinot noir, chardonnay, grüner veltliner and sauvignon blanc all excelling. If Castle Rock just made riesling, it would be a superstar. But it also makes some of the state’s finest pinot noir, excellent chardonnay and exceptional, elegant expressions of syrah and cabernet sauvignon.

5 ★ winery | Halliday profile | Castle Rock Estate | @castlerockestate

88. De Bortoli

Steven Webber’s influence on winemaking in the Yarra Valley, and more broadly, is hard to overestimate. From around the time the millennium flipped over, De Bortoli’s Yarra Valley operation turned into somewhat of an academy for some of the brightest winemaking talents, many who have gone on to have profound influence on our wine landscape. Webber has always promoted these talents, encouraging them to take wing – something he deserves real credit for. But while they may have gone on to star-stud the wine firmament, he has never lost his infectious enthusiasm and quest to seek new opportunities – grape varieties, sites, methods – to make ever better wines. The De Bortoli Yarra Valley wines come off the original estate vineyards and the lauded Lusatia Park, which they acquired in late 2015, and they also have substantial vineyards in Heathcote and North East Victoria. Pinot noir, chardonnay and syrah all shine, as do gamay and cabernet. Webber is also a dab hand with Italian varieties, and his work with grenache is something to watch.

5 ★ winery | Halliday profile | De Bortoli | @debortoliyarravalley

89. Eldorado Road

Paul Dahlenburg and Lauretta Schulz had worked long wine careers in the businesses of others before they ventured out on their own, settling in Beechworth just outside the small town of Eldorado. Nero d’avola, fiano, durif and the rare aucerot were planted in the granitic soils of their carefully selected site. They subsequently leased the Battely Vineyard, which has shiraz, durif and white Rhône varieties, and the Silk Road Vineyard, planted to shiraz in the 1960s. The other significant site is in Glenrowan, with vines, mainly shiraz but with some trebbiano interspersed, from the 1890s. It’s a wonder it has survived, with at least three decades of neglect, but over the last 15 years Paul has been nursing a section back to health, from which is made the Persévérance Old Vine Shiraz. The Eldorado Road wines are a reflection of those long careers, intensely individual, built around a deep understanding of all facets of wines, and a maturity that doesn’t rely on chasing a market. Indeed, the market chases them.

5 ★ winery | Halliday profile | Eldorado Road | @eldoradoroad

90. Pooles Rock

Xanthe Hatcher has been the Pooles Rock winemaker since 2019, and her output has been extremely impressive. Pooles Rock was founded in 1988, gaining particular attention for chardonnay and semillon over the years. After founder David Clarke OAM passed away, the Agnew family (Audrey Wilkinson) acquired Pooles Rock and Cockfighters Ghost in 2011, injecting new life into the brands. Fruit comes off both estate and grower sites, centred around the Hunter holy trinity of shiraz, semillon and chardonnay. And those whites that made Pooles Rock such a star are certainly still singing under Xanthe’s watch, with six wines (one a museum release) attracting gold medal scores, and the 2023 Soldier Settler and Single Barrel releases of chardonnay checking out with 97 and 98, respectively, in the 2025 Companion. With the 2024 vintage looking to yield excellent wines, the upcoming releases are ones to eagerly watch out for.

5 ★ winery | Halliday profile | Pooles Rock | @poolesrockwine

91. Murdoch Hill

Michael Downer’s family vineyard is in Oakbank, planted to vines by his parents in 1998 on land his grandfather bought in 1939. Michael worked a thorough practical apprenticeship here and overseas after studying winemaking at Adelaide University, returning to the family business in 2012. In his time, he has reshaped the business into a leading light of the Adelaide Hills, with perhaps his chardonnay bottlings the most acclaimed. The original Erinka Vineyard has chardonnay on the 20ha site, but it’s most suited to other varieties, shiraz being a prime example. Sourcing pinot noir and chardonnay from prime grower sites was key until the family bought an exceptional site planted to the grapes in Lenswood (planted 1989). That vineyard has already turned out stellar wines, and will prove a nucleus for Murdoch Hill going forward, with full viticultural control only enhancing the already stratospheric quality of the range. Murdoch Hill’s pinot noir program has also risen to meet the status of the chardonnay, while the syrah trio from the estate through the Landau right up to the Orion are all regional leaders at their price points.

5 ★ winery | Halliday profile | Murdoch Hill | @murdochhill_wines

92. Flametree

Cliff Royle spent a celebrated 12 years at Voyager Estate. He is now a year off the same length of stint at Flametree. They are both esteemed Margaret River producers, but while the former has plenty of vineyard holdings, Flametree have none, preferring to work with prime growers across the region. That gives Royle a good degree of flexibility, targeting growers and subregions that he feels are best suited to varieties. He also works very closely with those growers to ensure the quality and apt profile of that fruit. The SRS range perhaps best displays this nimbleness, with cabernet from Wilyabrup, sauvignon from the relative cool of Karridale and chardonnay and shiraz from Wallcliffe. Those wines collect an embarrassment of awards, both local and international, and they richly deserve them. The Flametree wines are finely crafted, but most importantly they speak so confidently of the land from which they hail.

5 ★ winery | Halliday profile | Flametree | @flametreewines

93. Collector Wines

Alex McKay’s Collector is based in the town of the same name, a short drive out of the ACT, past Lake George on the Federal Highway. It’s an apt name for Alex’s venture, and the name choice was no lazy geographic option. He’s a thoughtful fellow, with his wines named after celebrated found-object artist Rosalie Gascoigne, who celebrated the broader Canberra surrounds with her artworks. He is a collector, too, but of vineyards, sourcing from sites in the Canberra District and further afield, notably Tumbarumba. His quest is to pair variety to site, and always with a quest for elegance of expression, which he matches with adroit winemaking, subtly shaping and framing and never overriding.

5 ★ winery | Halliday profile | Collector Wines | @collector_wines

94. Pewsey Vale Vineyard

Is there a more iconic riesling vineyard in the country? The first vines were planted in 1847, the first for the Eden Valley. The vineyard, like many in the early years of the 20th century, became an economic liability, with vines both removed and abandoned. The remnant vines were propagated and used to repopulate the site in the 1960s, and the same material is still exclusively used for replanting. It’s a complex site, largely contour planted and undulating, with a variety of aspects at 500m elevation on lean soils. It’s complex to farm but ideal for riesling, and so much so that other varieties have been trialled but all have given way to riesling. The brilliant Louisa Rose has been at the helm since 2006, having worked for the Hill-Smith family since 1992. This year, Sam Wigan stepped into her position before vintage began, with Louisa taking on a new role in the company. The current crop of wines, including aged releases, are spectacular. And though they are Louisa’s last, Wigan’s 22 years with the company will ensure a smooth transition.

5 ★ winery | Halliday profile | Pewsey Vale Vineyard | @pewseyvalevineyard

95. Clarendon Hills

If the modern grenache revolution is in its relative infancy, Roman Bratasiuk had his own mini revolt in the 1990s, albeit with a very different timbre to today’s paradigm-shifting wines. A grape with little to no value back then, Roman was convinced of its pedigree in what is now hallowed ground for the grape: Blewitt Springs. He championed, and continues to champion, Blewitt Springs and Clarendon, across a suite of wines, largely grenache and shiraz – including the flagship Astralis – with cabernet blends perhaps less celebrated but just as exciting. Today, with his son Alex by his side, the wines still embody the raw and rugged mineral power of the sites and philosophy, but there is a growing finesse, a refinement of delivery that is ever increasing, making this both an established star and one very much on the move.

5 ★ winery | Halliday profile | Clarendon Hills | @clarendonhills

96. Spinifex

Softly spoken but relentlessly inquisitive, thoughtful and passionate, Pete Schell makes truly exciting wines from the Barossa, both the Valley proper and the Eden Valley, where he and Magali Gely now own vineyards. Magali’s family were vignerons for generations near Montpellier, while Pete has worked extensively in France, including time in the Languedoc and Provence. That experience suits the Barossa well, with Schell finding remnant patches of unloved varieties to blend with, while also isolating exceptional sites to make leading regional varieties into balanced, harmonious and detailed wines that still embody the insistent drive of the Barossa. It is hard to overstate the influence he has had, both on younger makers working by his side and also on the drinking public. The range, from riesling through a selection of climate-apt white varieties, exceptional rosé and a suite of reds, is unerringly excellent. Spinifex is one of the Barossa’s finest addresses.

5 ★ winery | Halliday profile | Spinifex | @spinifexwines

97. Penley Estate

Penley Estate is one of Coonawarra’s most established names, but its recent history has been one of vigorous reinvention. After Ang and Bec Tolley’s winemaker brother, Kym Tolley, retired, they sought a new direction for the estate. That has seen a reworking from the ground up, with viticulturist Hans Loder implementing sustainable and regenerative practices and winemaker Kate Goodman reworking the traditional brand to capture a raft of cutting edge ‘project’ wines as well as to reimagine the classics. Kate being crowned the Winemaker of the Year in the 2024 Halliday Wine Companion was a clear measure of that program’s success. Kate works with winemaker Lauren Hansen to find expressions that are true to the history of Penley but with a contemporary feel, while they also experiment with blends, picking times, alternative vessels etc. to uncover new approaches that suit the region and today’s drinking preferences. The results, and the balance of history and forward thinking, are achieved with considerable elan.

5 ★ winery | Halliday profile | Penley Estate | @penleyestate

98. Adelina Wines

In the Springfarm subregion of the Clare Valley, abutting the legendary Wendouree, Adelina sports antique vines, with shiraz and pedro ximénez dating back to 1915 and grenache from 1940. Around the turn of the millennium, Col McBryde and Jen Gardner, armed with doctorates and relatively fresh from wine school, set about rejuvenating Jen’s parents’ somewhat dilapidated vineyard. Fast forward, and the wild olives and other pest flora have long since been removed, preferencing native scrub on non-vineyard land, with the site farmed organically since 2012 (certified from 2020). The Adelina home wines – Col also sources from like-minded growers to make excellent negoce wines – are now made with a light touch, and they are lucid correspondents that evoke a special site and its passionate stewardship.

5 ★ winery | Halliday profile | Adelina Wines

99. Shaw + Smith

When the Adelaide Hills was making waves in the 1990s, sauvignon blanc was widely touted as a hero variety. No one ran with that as successfully as Martin Shaw and Michael Hill Smith MW, crafting a wine that was engagingly fruitful but also subtly nuanced enough to appeal to sophisticated palates. It effortlessly weathered the blizzard of budget New Zealand imports, becoming a pillar of the Shaw + Smith portfolio, alongside chardonnay, pinot noir, shiraz and riesling. Now with three sites – Lenswood, Piccadilly and Balhannah – managed by the highly respected Murray Leake, the suite of single site offerings made by Adam Wadewitz is consistently high points for the region.

5 ★ winery | Halliday profile | Shaw + Smith | @shawandsmith

100. Tahbilk

The Purbrick family are the proud custodians of Tahbilk, which is Victoria’s oldest family owned winery, with shiraz vines dating back to 1860. Tahbilk also has a sizable planting of marsanne – the biggest single planting in the world – a variety that Tahbilk has become synonymous with via its perennially great value bottling (it ages well, too). They also boast some of the oldest, if not the oldest, marsanne vines in the world, planted in 1927. Tahbilk is a working museum, featuring 1860s and 1870s underground cellars and the russet-roofed, whitewashed pagoda that features on the labels. Tahbilk is not stuck in time though, with meaningful inputs to revegetate native bush and restore and recreate wetlands that form part of an eco-trail. They have also been accredited as carbon neutral since 2013. And the wines have never been better, leading with shiraz, cabernet sauvignon and, of course, marsanne in current release, old vine and museum release iterations.

5 ★ winery | Halliday profile | Tahbilk | @tahbilkwines

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Top image credit: Eastern Peake.