Cabernet Shiraz: the Classic Aussie blend’s Top 20

Posted on Jan 25, 2018

The pavlovas await their final decoration of kiwifruit and mango, servos around the country have been raided for every last bag of ice and lamb has tripled in price. It must be Australia Day.

While minority politicians drum up some cheap publicity by questioning the legitimacy of the nation’s day off, millions of Australians are getting on with the job of preparing for the world’s biggest barbecue.

Arguments will rage as the day wears on and the beer stocks dwindle about the merits of the First Fleet’s arrival. But what’s beyond debate is the special place Australia’s indigenous wine blend has in the nation’s hearts.

Shiraz cabernet was first dropped on the world by Australia’s most famous winemaker, Penfolds. Now immortalised as Bin 389, the blend shocked traditionalists by marrying the standard-bearers of the Bordeaux and Rhone wine regions.

Times have moved on. Gays can now marry, the Holden V8 has been laid to rest and other winemakers have challenged shiraz cabernet’s originator to produce the blend’s examples.

Perhaps the best thing about shiraz cabernet is that it’s a true celebration of the width and breadth of Australian wine regions. It can come from just about anywhere. Our top 10 this year cover regions stretching from Margaret River in the west to the Riverina in NSW. But it’s Langhorne Creek, with its hot weather emphasis on big reds, which is perhaps the blend’s finest exponent. It takes out the first three places in this year’s list. Here’s our Top 20 this year: 

1 Bleasdale Wellington Road Shiraz Cabernet Sauvignon 2015
2 Wolf Blass Grey Label Cabernet Shiraz 2014
3 Metala Shiraz Cabernet 2016
4 Devil’s Lair Margaret River The Hidden Cave Cabernet Shiraz 2014
5 Lindemans Coonawarra Limestone Ridge Shiraz Cabernet 2014
6 Yalumba The Signature Cabernet Sauvignon & Shiraz 2013
7 Bleasdale Wellington Road Shiraz Cabernet Sauvignon 2016
8 Annie’s Lane Quelltaler Shiraz Cabernet 2014
9 De Bortoli Sacred Hill Shiraz Cabernet 2016
10 Jim Barry PB Cabernet Shiraz 2014
11 Wolf Blass Grey Label Cabernet Shiraz 2015
12 Lindemans Coonawarra Limestone Ridge Shiraz Cabernet 2015
13 Hugo Shiraz Cabernet Sauvignon 2016
14 McWilliam’s Wildling Signature Reserve Cabernet Shiraz 2013
15 Eskadale Oddfellows Shiraz Cabernet Sauvignon 2015
16 Pepperjack Shiraz Cabernet 2016
17 Shaw Vineyard Cabernet Shiraz 2015
18 Brand’s Laira Of Coonawarra Old Station Cabernet Shiraz 2015
19 Longview LV Shiraz Cabernet Sauvignon 2015
20 Brown Brothers Ten Acres Shiraz Cabernet 2015
< Back to Blog
Top