James Halliday unveils the year's best Aussie wines

Australia's most iconic wine writer and critic, James Halliday AM, has unveiled the winners of the Halliday Wine Companion Awards 2019.

The winners were chosen after months of tastings by Halliday and his judging panel, made up of wine experts Campbell Mattinson, David Bicknell, Jane Faulkner, Ned Goodwin and Steven Creber.

And the 10 varietal winners are ...

Sparkling: 2006 House of Arras Rose TAS (97 points)

Riesling: 2017 Duke's Vineyard Magpie Hill Reserve Riesling WA (99 points)

Semillon: 2010 Mount View Estate Museum Release Flagship Hunter Valley Semillon NSW (97 points)

Chardonnay: 2015 Singlefile The Vivienne Denmark Chardonnay WA (98 points)

Sauvignon Blanc: 2017 Michael Hall Piccadilly Adelaide Hills Sauvignon Blanc SA (97 points)

Pinot Noir: 2017 Seville Estate Old Vine Reserve Yarra Valley Pinot Noir VIC (99 points)

Shiraz: 2015 Seville Estate Dr McMahon Yarra Valley Shiraz VIC (99 points)

Cabernet Sauvignon: 2015 Cullen Vanya Wilyabrup Margaret River Cabernet Sauvignon WA (99 points) 

Other reds: 2015 Yangarra Estate Vineyard High Sands McLaren Vale Grenache SA (98 points)

Fortified: 1918 Seppeltsfield 100 Year Old Para Liqueur SA 100 pts

"These are exciting times," says Halliday. "There is no doubt that, for many reasons, the quality of Australia’s best wines is increasing year-by-year.

"Sophisticated harvesting machines deliver undamaged berries free from debri on a par with hand-picking but at a fraction of the cost.

"Equally sophisticated equipment in the winery has similar quality/cost outcomes.

"And the average vine age of varieties such as chardonnay and pinot noir is also growing."

Major award-winners

Halliday also named his favourite wineries for the year. 

Winery of the Year: Seville Estate, Yarra Valley, VIC

Wine of the Year: 2017 Duke's Vineyard Magpie Hill Reserve Riesling, Great Southern, WA (99 points)

Winemaker of the Year: Julian Langworthy, Deep Woods Estate, Margaret River, WA

Best Value Winery of the Year: Provenance Wines, Geelong, VIC

Best New Winery: Mewstone Wines, Tasmania

Dark Horse Winery of the Year: Principia Wines, Mornington Peninsula, VIC

Seville Estate Chief Winemaker and General Manager Dylan McMahon said he was honoured to accept the award for Winery of the Year.  

“Seville Estate has been consistently producing great wines ever since my grandfather Peter McMahon first planted the vineyard. I feel the success is attributed to a combination of factors, location, vine material and a good understanding of the vineyard that can be translated into the winemaking,” he said.  

“My grandmother Margaret chose this site for its sheer beauty and it was Pete’s drive and determination to make great cool climate wines from it. Our team work hard to ensure this vision continues.” 

The Halliday Wine Companion 2019 is out now. Over 9280 wines were tasted for this edition, with full tasting notes for 3864 wines, ratings, and prices for a further 2906 wines provided by 1216 wineries.