100 BEST AUSTRALIAN WINES – 2011 THE FULL LIST AND NOTES

Welcome to the 100 Best Australian Wines list for 2011.

As always, this century of greats is the result of exhaustive tastings over the last twelve months and it represents the finest one hundred Australian wines available on the shelves in the UK this year.

2011 sees the evolution of my Hall of Fame initiative and I congratulate the names below for making this imperial grade. Firstly, these twelve magnificent producers have been the most consistent wineries in the 100 Best Australian Wines list since its inception in 2004, being included in every single list and they are to be applauded.

DE BORTOLI, FOX GORDON, JACOB’S CREEK, MCWILLIAM’S, MITOLO, PENFOLDS,
PETER LEHMANN, ST HALLETT, THE LANE VINEYARD, TYRRELL’S, WIRRA WIRRA, YALUMBA

In addition, the concluding eleven members of the Hall of Fame have made it into all bar one of the 100s and they are:

CHAPEL HILL, CULLEN, GROSSET, HARDY’S, JANSZ, KNAPPSTEIN, LEEUWIN, MAJELLA, MOSS WOOD, MOUNT HORROCKS, STONIER

It is fascinating to see that boutique operators rub shoulders with giants and while large portfolios like Penfolds have notched up a massive 29 wines over the years, with De Bortoli (24), Yalumba (23) and Peter Lehmann (21) there are also a few notable names like Jim Barry (13), Tim Adams (13), Petaluma (12) and Tamar Ridge (10) who have missed out on two years of lists and so narrowly miss receiving the HoF accolade, but still have performed at a massive run rate more recently.

So twenty-three estates gain Hall of Fame status (between them hauling 40/100 spots in this year’s list!) and their portfolios of wines, along with this year’s 100 Best, will be used as the vanguard of my continued push to celebrate and educate the world about fine Australian wine.

They reflect what is truly exciting, engaging, passionate and essential about Aussie wine and they have all gained a well-earned place in the very highest echelons of the world of wine.

Click here to download the 100 Best as a PDF document:

100 Best 2011