James Halliday Wine Companion awards are the result of hundreds of hours of tasting by the Halliday Wine Companion team.
Every year, James Halliday and his tasting panel pinpoint the best Australian wines, winemakers and wineries from a pool of several thousand featured in the annual Halliday Wine Companion guide. In 2020 the pannel reviewed over 9000 Australian wines and Western Australia drops top new wine guide.
We are proud to retain our 5 stars ratings and be among 4% of the best Australian Wineries with high scores all round.
Il Liris Rouge 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon (60%), Shiraz (35%), Malbec (5%) |96 Points
Lashing of sweet berried fruit and a sure serve of smoke cedar wood oak. It could easily get out of control but it doesn’t, it remains mannered and surefooted as it unveils complexity after complexity. It’s a beautiful red.
Il Liris Chardonnay 2018 | 95 Points
You have to enjoy struck-match characters because there’s a good deal of them here but the fruit still manages to carry the day. This is an impressive wine. Alive with stone fruit and still bursting to impress through the finish.
Castelli Estate Chardonnay 2018 |95 Points
Matchstick characters make their presence felt, but, the intensity of flavour, and all-round complexity are most definitely upper echelon. This chardonnay has power, class and persistence. It’s smoky and reductive, but it is charged with quality ripe fruit and it’s strung on pure acid lines. Beautiful.
Castelli Estate Pinot Noir 2017 |95 points
Largely clones 114 and 777, matured in 1800l foudres. Superb colour. Good varietal expression on both aromatics bouquet and intense palate. There’s a lot happening here, with satsuma plum and dark cherry flavours bolstered by a positive tannin and oak influences. Exceptional development potential.
Empirica BV Tempranillo 2018 |95 points
The flow, the balance, the texture: this tempranillo on song. If you like this variety then you really need some of this. Sheets of fine tannin, a bed of red-berried fruit, a whisper of dried herbs. It’s not a big wine but it doesn’t need to be.
Great Southern Riesling 2019 | 94 points
Intensity of Flavour is served both pure and soft. This is a Riesling to tuck into and (thoroughly) enjoy. Citrus Flavours of various descriptions work their magic. There’s a suggestion of Fruit Sweetness but it’s a dry style/wine. Lovely.
Castelli Estate Pinot Noir 2018 | 94 Points
Sweet ,smoky and complex, undergrowthy fruit combine to excellent effect here. It’s both fragrant and structural though most importantly its spice-strewn flavour profile is at its peak as it fans out on the finish.
Empirica UNO Pinot Noir 2018 |94 points
Juice length, inbuilt complexity, ripe tannin, and a good deal of seduction. Maybe there’s a little alcohol warmth but the quality of this wine more than carries the day. Cranberries, cherry, earth, sweet spices, wood smokes note and more. Very good.
Empirica Syrah 2018 |93 points
Empirica Uvaggio 2017 | 93 points
The Sum Riesling 2019 | 92 points
The Sum Riesling 2018 |92 points
Empirica Fiore Del Campo 2018 | 92 points
Castelli Cabernet merlot 2018 | 91 points
Castelli Shiraz Malbec |90 points
The Sum Cabernet Sauvignon 2018 | 90points
