On 3 August, the 2023 Halliday Wine Companion Awards were hosted at the Stokehouse restaurant in St Kilda, Melbourne, celebrating Australia’s top wines, winemakers, viticulturists and wineries setting the industry benchmark for the Australian wine sphere.
The host, Halliday Wine Companion’s chief editor Tyson Stelzer, was joined throughout the night by founder James Halliday as well as the wider Halliday tasting team – Ned Goodwin, Erin Larkin, Jane Faulkner, Jeni Port, Dave Brookes and Philip Rich – to announce this year’s honourees.
Off the back of continued streaming success, a special 2023 Halliday Wine Companion Awards program was once again broadcast locally on Channel 31, and internationally via the Wine Companion website. The program was co-hosted by Stelzer and Port, who presented the nominees and declared this year’s winners.
The pair discussed this year’s intensive tasting and award judging process, conducted blind for the first time in the Wine Companion’s history.
“This year’s results are a wonderful testimony to the tremendous diversity of Australian wine at the top of its game. Our winners hail from the who’s who of large estates in famous regions and from small boutiques in remote outposts,” Stelzer said.
“It’s exciting to see unexpected places and estates stepping forward with wines that have topped their classes. It is with immense pride that we introduce the winners of the Halliday Awards 2023, the most anticipated announcement on the Australian wine calendar.”
The Awards also marked the release of the 2023 Halliday Wine Companion, now available in stores nationally. It is a comprehensive guide to Australia’s leading wines, wineries and grape growing regions, including all Award winners and tasting notes. More than 5,000 tasting notes are printed in the Companion, with more than 8,000 tasting notes available online.
This year’s major Awards-represented regions include Margaret River, Tasmania, Yarra Valley, Great Western, and Adelaide Hills, with the varietal winners spanning five states: South Australia, Western Australia, Victoria, New South Wales and Tasmania.
2023 Major Award Winners:
- Winery of the Year – Pooley Wines, Tasmania
- Winemaker of the Year – Glenn Goodall, Xanadu Wines, Margaret River, WA
- Viticulturist of the Year – Tom Carson, Serrat, Yarra Valley, VIC
- Best New Winery – Living Roots, Adelaide Hills, SA
- Dark Horse Winery – L.A.S. Vino, Margaret River, WA
- Best Value Winery – Deeps Woods Estate, Margaret River, WA
- Wine of the Year – Best’s Wines Foudre Ferment Riesling 2021, Great Western – 96 points
2023 Varietal Winners:
- Sparkling White of the Year – Gilbert Family Wines Blanc de Blancs Chardonnay 2016 Orange – 97 points
- Sparkling Red of the Year – Teusner MC Sparkling Shiraz 2017 Barossa Valley – 95 points
- Sparkling Rosé of the Year – Pipers Brook Vineyard Kreglinger Brut Rosé 2017 Tasmania – 96 points
- Rosé of the Year – Spinifex Luxe 2021 Barossa – 93 points
- Sauvignon Blanc of the Year – Flowstone Wines Queen of the Earth Sauvignon Blanc 2020 Margaret River – 96 points
- Other Whites (and Blends) of the Year – Briar Ridge Vineyard Albariño 2021 Hunter Valley – 95 points
- Semillon of the Year – Brokenwood Sunshine Vineyard Semillon 2014 Hunter Valley – 97 points
- Riesling of the Year (two winners) – Henschke Julius Riesling 2021 Eden Valley – 98 points
- Best’s Wines Foudre Ferment Riesling 2021, Great Western – 96 points
- Chardonnay of the Year – Stella Bella Wines Luminosa Chardonnay 2020 Margaret River – 98 points
- Pinot Noir of the Year – Lowestoft La Maison Pinot Noir 2020 Tasmania – 96 points
- Grenache (and Blends) of the Year – Chalk Hill Alpha Crucis Old Vine Grenache 2020 McLaren Vale – 98 points
- Other Reds (and Blends) of the Year – Koomilya Cabernet Touriga 2018 McLaren Vale – 97 points
- Shiraz of the Year – Battles Wine Granitis Shiraz 2020 Perth Hills – 96 points
- Cabernet Shiraz of the Year – Hickinbotham Clarendon Vineyard The Peake Cabernet Shiraz 2020 McLaren Vale– 97 points
- Cabernet Sauvignon of the Year – Bleasdale Vineyards The Iron Duke Cabernet Sauvignon 2020 Langhorne Creek – 98 points
- Cabernet Sauvignon (and Family) of the Year – Mount Mary Quintet 2020 Yarra Valley – 98 points
- Sweet Wine of the Year – Brown Brothers Patricia Noble Riesling 2019 Victoria – 95 points
- Fortified Wine of the Year – Seppeltsfield 100-Year-Old Para Vintage Tawny 1922 Barossa Valley – 100 points