2025 Halliday Top 100 Wines: Best red wines over $50

Australia is known for the quality of its red wines, and the 20 on this list have been deemed by the Halliday Tasting Team to be the best in the $50+ category. 

Here, you'll find wines from both stalwart producers and undiscovered gems, bound by their incredible quality and refined complexity.

And while a couple tip the scales at or close to $1000, many more hover around or below $100. 

2024 Ansted & Osicka 1970 Block Balgownie Cabernet Sauvignon, Bendigo

Sadly now destined for development, the original Balgownie vineyard planted by Stuart Anderson in '70 made another stunning wine in '24 in the hands of Heathcote winemakers Tobias Ansted, former Balgownie winemaker, and Simon Osicka. Gives Bendigo cabernet some TLC which sets it soaring. Revels in the kind of complexity that old vines bring with deep, concentrated black fruits with a full spectrum of cabernet characters: cassis, blackberry, loganberry, dark olive, tilled earth, leaf, clove and herbs balanced perfectly in fine tannins laid out against a gentle cedary oak background. Gets the pulse racing, it's that good. A wine for posterity. – Jeni Port

97 points | $60 | Screw cap | 13.7% alc. | Drink to 2040 | Ansted & Osicka profile | Winery website 

2022 Balnaves of Coonawarra The Tally Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, Coonawarra

Hand picked from the Dead Morris vineyard and co-fermented with 9% petit verdot. Matured for 14 months in 36% new fine-grain Taransaud French oak barriques. A choir of purple-clad gospel singers harmonise through bilberries, blackberries and cherries. There is a swirl of lilac and caraway seed spice that echoes throughout. Acidity is fine tuned to the powdery, silt-like tannins. It's vibrant, with more savoury, sappy richness this vintage than in the past. I can tell you this for free, this is one hell of a memorable wine. Drink now if you need to taste to believe and then put a case away for decades to come. – Shanteh Wale

97 points | $100 | Cork | 14% alc. | Drink to 2045 | Balnaves of Coonawarra profile | Winery website | @ balnaves_of_coonawarra

2023 Bass Phillip Reserve Old Vines Pinot Noir, Gippsland

There have been many great vintages of the Reserve but I can’t remember one having such clarity and precision, matched to a brightness of fruit. So, for me, the finest to date. What’s also pleasing is the clear delineation from the estate up to this, the flagship. It commands your attention yet it’s also welcoming and open knit. There’s a lot to unpack yet the package is complete; very spicy, with florals and sweet fruit, cedar, menthol, black cherries and kirsch. It ebbs and flows with aromas and flavours and filagree tannins (lots of them) with fine acidity all slinking across the fuller-bodied palate. There’s a suppleness that off-sets its latent power. Wow, what a wine! Unequivocally the benchmark. – Jane Faulkner

98 points | $850 | Cork | 13.9% alc. | Drink to 2045 | Bass Phillip profile | Winery website | @bassphillipofficial

2024 Elanto Vineyard Single Vineyard Balnarring Pinot Noir, Mornington Peninsula

What a beguiling wine – only the second release and showing complexity far beyond its years. It’s certainly youthful and pretty with heady aromas of florals and autumn leaves with flavours of wild strawberries, dark cherries and pips, chinotto, Middle Eastern spices and some poached rhubarb, too. The medium-bodied palate is evenly poised, laden with filigree tannins (lots of them) and energising acidity; oak (25% new) completely integrated. This has depth, some grip, a little amaro bitterness on the finish and, of utmost importance, it will age but it’s oh-so pleasing to drink today. – Jane Faulkner

97 points | $85 | Diam | 13.5% alc. | Drink to 2036 | Elanto Vineyard profile | Winery website | @elantovineyard

2023 Frankland Estate SmithCullam Syrah, Frankland River

The pinnacle of syrah and made in the best vintages, the last in ’20, as it’s in honour of Barry Smith and Judi Cullam. They started this exceptional estate, planting the Isolation Ridge vineyard in '88. This is made from small parcels of fruit off the original Winery Block. What a glorious wine. So perfumed and beguiling, a perfect amalgam of flavours, nothing dominating – neither fruit nor winemaking. The palate is medium bodied, beautifully composed with raw silk tannins and lithe acidity. A joy to behold, a joy to drink. – Jane Faulkner

97 points | $125 | Screw cap | 13.5% alc. | Drink to 2038 | Frankland Estate profile | Winery website | @franklandestate

2021 Henschke Hill of Grace, Eden Valley

This release will go down in the annals of Australian fine wine as one of the classic releases for Hill of Grace. With a strong vintage and even stronger pedigree, the gnarled old, circa 1860s-planted, shiraz vines have really come up with the goods with this release and as I sit to taste this wine with Stephen Henschke he shakes his head and says, "it just amazes me that my grandmother's grandfather planted these vines". The eagle-eyed will notice a skip in vintage. The yields were down horribly in 2020 across all the Henschke vineyards but man, did 2021 deliver. Super bright magenta/crimson in the glass with a wonderfully deep aromatic profile. Doris plum, blackberry and black cherry with hints of mace, sage, panforte, cedar, dark chocolate, tapenade, pepper, charcuterie, graphite, crushed quartz and violets. From the aromatic detail to the amplitude, purity and flow of fruit, the wine is absolutely on song with stunning length of flavour and presence on the palate, sailing away slowly with tight, fine-grained tannins and the most graceful of travels on the palate. An absolute classic for this wine. – Dave Brookes

99 points | $1000 | Screw cap | 14.5% alc. | Drink to 2054 | Henschke profile | Winery website | @henschke

2018 Levantine Hill Samantha's Paddock Mélange Traditionnel, Yarra Valley

68/15/7/7/3% cabernet sauvignon/merlot/cabernet franc/petit verdot/malbec, each handled individually and matured for 18 months in French oak, 30% new. The growing conditions of the ’18 vintage were peaceful and extended, and I like to think that this wine holds a mirror to its season. Steady flowing, a moving river of cassis, blackberry, graphite and black cherry that swells and billows through. If that sounds romantic, it should. This is a lovely wine and somewhat metamorphic. It fills crevices and imbues a concentration of flavour over all it touches. The tannins are soft, rendered and kinetic, melded together but flexible and expansive. A heartfelt expression of the Bordeaux-style blends that the region is excelling in. Truly delicious. – Katrina Butler

97 points | $200 | Cork | 12.5% alc. | Drink to 2030 | Levantine Hill profile | Winery website | @levantinehill

2023 Mount Mary Pinot Noir, Yarra Valley

Destemmed and fermented with as many whole berries as possible. 15 months in French barriques (25% new). First year using Diam as opposed to natural cork. Bright purple. Youthful with complex aromas of wild strawberry, boysenberry, potpourri, star anise and a little Sichuan pepper, even. Even better on the palate where old vines and low yields have conspired (along with the winemaker, Sam Middleton) to produce a supremely textured, layered and flawlessly balanced wine. The tannins are silky and very persistent, and this will be worth both the money and time for those that still have some 10–20 years from now. – Philip Rich

98 points | $240 | Diam | 13.5% alc. | Drink to 2040 | Mount Mary profile | Winery website | @mountmaryvineyard

2023 Paul Nelson Wines Loam Syrah, Frankland River

Dazzling abundance here with blackberry and fine black pepper, bruised roses and toffee apple; the wine leads with ambrosial beauty. Soft, enveloping and deliciously cohesive, it carries a welcoming ‘come home for the weekend’ feeling. Blueberry compote, pencil shavings and teakwood, ribbons of boysenberry and muddled mulberry billow through like spools of silk unravelling. The tannins are fully integrated and harmonised; there are no jangly edges, nothing overworked, and the ripe, fruit-centric core propels everything forward with serious depth. This is a most brilliant syrah. – Katrina Butler

97 points | $95 | Diam | 13.8% alc. | Drink to 2040 | Paul Nelson Wines profile | Winery website | @paulnelson_wines

2022 Penley Estate Helios Cabernet Sauvignon, Coonawarra

A blend of three parcels, everything about this wine screams quality, from the wax cap to the lightweight glass. Wine like this deserves the unfurling and awakening that comes with a slow decant, so take the time to open this and stay awhile. Begins with cassis and just-picked blackberries, salted plum and red pepper strands, pink peppercorns and tobacco leaf. Oak licks in around the edges with cumin, caraway and a dusting of nutmeg, while a ribbon of red cherry makes a mid-palate appearance. Tannins, oh the tannins – what a display of grace and power. This is made of guts and glory and will age like great cabernet sauvignon should, over decades. – Shanteh Wale

97 points | $150 | Cork | 14.5% alc. | Drink to 2038 | Penley Estate profile | Winery website | @penleyestate

2023 Sorrenberg Cabernet Sauvignon Cabernet Franc Merlot, Beechworth

A blend that consists of 30–40% merlot and cabernet franc, with a touch of malbec, petit verdot, carménère, then the balance is of cabernet sauvignon. A complex motif! The wine is complex, too, yet sleek and elegant in the same statement. Almost a kind of pinosity in texture and weight, though fine, silty tannins shape things long and to a fine, succulent point. Dark cherry, brambly blackberries, a lick of toasty clove and cinnamon, undergrowth and truffle savouriness underlying. A subtle, saline and graphite minerality makes landfall, too. Finesse, in spades. – Mike Bennie

95+ points | $77 | Cork | 13% alc. | Drink to 2035 | Sorrenberg profile | Winery website 

2023 Sweetwater Wines Shiraz, Hunter Valley

An aromatic, robust yet classically styled shiraz with outstanding fruit concentration and class. Deeply coloured, it holds its cards close to its chest at first but, with air, it becomes magnificent. Plush, inky blood plums are wrapped in a matrix of complex tannins that build from the mid-palate. Adding intrigue is a faint sanguine note, along with fragrant potpourri and dried dark cherry. It is a dark and serious wine of character and depth destined to evolve beautifully with time. Decant vigorously if drinking young. – Toni Paterson MW

96 points | $70 | Screw cap | 14% alc. | Drink to 2034 | Sweetwater Wines profile | Winery website | @sweetwaterestatewines 

2023 Swinney Farvie Grenache, Frankland River

A serious grenache that delivers more depth and woody spice than the 'estate' stablemate, though not without the vineyard stamp of game meat savouriness, violet floral lift, sweet spices, ferrous grunt and depth of cherry and berry fruitiness. This wine feels warmer and richer but loses no finesse in the deeper realms of grenache. There's peppery elements here, too, almost a sweet, turned-earth character and more olive, sea spray and salt bush going on. Tannins sweep through the wine with succulence and feel tight and granitic. It's curiously refreshing and inky in the same frame. Stellar, is the byword. – Mike Bennie

2023 The Standish Wine Company The Schubert Theorem, Barossa

The '23 release of the Schubert Theorem is just gorgeous. It's kinetic. The purest of plum, black cherry and blueberry fruits stretch impossibly long on the palate, with impressive density and a real sense of grace to its travel. The edges are smooth and round here and there is a calmness as it glides across the palate, the tannins more in the powdery spectrum (and I'm sure this comes from the portion that spends its gestation in a concrete Nomblot egg). Bunch (50% or thereabouts) is bang on here, lending a golden ratio of spice, sinew and texture. But man, that pure rolling swell of fruit is the star; this is a wonderfully composed wine. – Dave Brookes

98 points | $125 | Cork | 14.9% alc. | Drink to 2040 | The Standish Wine Company profile | Winery website | @standishwineco

2023 Thomas Wines Kiss Limited Release Shiraz, Hunter Valley

This wine befits its flagship status, a perfect exhibition of concentration and class. Perfectly ripe grapes are sourced from the low-cropping old-vine Pokolbin Estate vineyard. The intense dark fruit is impressive, nestled within a sculpted, structural frame. All the elements of fruit intensity, tannin and acidity are perfectly proportioned, and there is an engaging brightness and energy despite its power. It will age gracefully and is a must-have addition to any shiraz lover's cellar. – Toni Paterson MW

97 points | $100 | Screw cap | 14.3% alc. | Drink to 2043 | Thomas Wines profile | Winery website | @thomaswineshuntervalley

2023 Tyrrell’s Wines Vat 9 Winemaker's Selection Shiraz, Hunter Valley

An outstanding Vat 9, reflecting the strength of the vintage, the component vineyards and the winemaking prowess. Parcels from Short Flat, NVC and 8 Acres vineyards were used, with a minimum vine age of 50 years. It is extraordinarily supple, mouth-filling and moreish, yet still decidedly medium weight. It has incredible flavour concentration, density and gentle succulence. Fine tannins provide appropriate support to the cherry and plum fruit, balanced acidity gives brightness and quality oak introduces a distinct nuttiness. A wine of completeness and harmony, and one to buy and serve with confidence. – Toni Paterson MW

97 points | $115 | Screw cap | 13.5% alc. | Drink to 2038 | Tyrrell's Wines profile | Winery website | @tyrrellswines

2022 Whisson Lake White Label Piccadilly Valley Pinot Noir, Adelaide Hills

A fragile, beautiful, delicate wine. Crisp red cherry meets pomegranate juice, brined green olive, cranberry, white raspberry and an array of sweet and savoury spices. This is a delicate and brittle wine, so pure, so fresh, so fine. Impressive for its understatement and yet drive. A wine to sit on and contemplate for its beauty. Very good. – Mike Bennie

95 points | $90 | Cork | 13.5% alc. | Drink to 2035 | Whisson Lake profile | Winery website | @whissonlake

2024 Willunga 100 Wines Trott Vineyard Blewitt Springs Grenache, McLaren Vale

From Sue Trott’s acclaimed Blewitt Springs vineyard, a Vale Cru, perhaps, alongside the Smart vineyard. Bush vines, planted in '52 to Maslin Sands over clay and ironstone; about 10% whole bunch; 11 days on skins, élevage in tank (85%) and an older puncheon. The Trott vineyard can often look a little darker in fruit profile, here more into deeper red fruits like blood-red cherries and ripe raspberries. It’s completely refined and transparent with it though, with dark red rose notes, pomegranate, barberry, tamarind, North African spices and musk layering in considerable complexity. This is the most textural and supple of the trio of single-site offerings, but it also has the architecture to age. Just wonderful and, for the quality, obscenely good value. – Marcus Ellis

97 points | $65 | Screw cap | 14% alc. | Drink to 2037 | Willunga 100 Wines profile | Winery website | @willunga100

2023 Yangarra Estate Vineyard High Sands Grenache, McLaren Vale

This year, Pete Fraser will launch the High Sands, Ovitelli and Hickinbotham together, giving a better chance to view the connectivity. Well, there is certainly a theme in the '23s. A degree of alcohol less, lower colour and a commanding, yet incredibly fine, structural framework. This is a very different High Sands, a reflection of the cool year, but also an evolving direction, leaning into elegance, soaring fragrance and savoury tension. Red cherry, tart raspberry, intensely floral, swirling with North African spices, musk and orange peel. The palate is coiled at this stage, but the fruit has flex and will bloom with time in bottle, radiating out from the core of mineral-feeling tannin and skein of vigorous acidity. This is truly magnificent now, but the future is one of dazzling possibility. – Marcus Ellis

98 points | $300 | Screw cap | 13.5% alc. | Drink to 2040 | Yangarra Estate Vineyard profile | Winery website | @yangarraestate

2023 Yarra Yering Dry Red Wine No. 1, Yarra Valley

Cabernet & Blends of the Year from the 2026 Halliday Wine Companion. A blend of 58/23/15/4% cabernet sauvignon/merlot/malbec/petit verdot, the cabernet coming from the original '69-planted vineyard. Matured in barrique (35% new). A deep, bright purple. Classic cool-climate cabernet aromas of black cherry, blackcurrants, cedar, licorice and subtle iodine. The palate is simultaneously concentrated, structured and refined, finishing with an ironstone minerality. Approachable now with food, but anyone who buys some will want to make sure they still have a bottle, or three, 10 to 15 years from now. – Philip Rich

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