Happy International Shiraz day! Today (Thursday July 23) is the best time to purchase and open a special bottle of shiraz and, as one of the most popular and versatile varieties in Australia, you are spoilt for choice. Gather some friends around the dinner table to enjoy it with a warm winter meal, or simply pour yourself a glass as you wind down for the day.
To help you find the perfect shiraz to celebrate with, we have curated a list of 21 wines from regions including the Yarra Valley, McLaren Vale, the Barossa Valley, the Hunter Valley and Bendigo. This article spotlights the 11 bottles that are under $70. With ratings of 90 and above, they are all great quality wines, for even better prices.
Make sure you have a read through each wine's Halliday tasting notes, and click the 'buy now' links to shop directly from the producers.
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Shiraz to try
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Mayer
Syrah 2025
Yarra ValleyMade with 100% whole bunches and matured in seasoned hogsheads. A saturated crimson purple. A seductive and slightly atypical Mayer shiraz. It's a touch riper than normal with its bouquet of dark cherry, blueberry and warm spices. A totally delicious and fruit-driven wine that will provide a heap of enjoyment over the next decade, if not longer. -
Dandelion Vineyards
Firehawk of McLaren Vale Shiraz 2022
McLaren ValeFrom the estate vineyard, Firehawk Farm. This saw 18 months in French oak, a third new, and classy oak at that, gifting fine vanilla bean, char and gentle caramel notes to the boysenberry, blackberry danish, red plum and sour cherry fruit notes. There are also hints of violet, lilac and anise pastille, and a little smoky coal dust savouriness. This will be better in a year or two, but it’s delicious drinking either way. -
Mount View Estate
Reserve Hunter Valley Shiraz 2018
It's about as full-bodied as Hunter Valley shiraz gets. and neat as a pin to boot. It's fleshed with roasted plum and red cherry flavours, it's laced with dark soil, and it carries high notes of sweet spice. Tannin pulls far back through the wine without ever altering its momentum. It has cellar worthiness written all over it. -
Serafino Wines
Shiraz 2023
McLaren ValeThe second step on the Serafino estate shiraz ladder, and perhaps with a more classic feel to match the more classic label. There’s nothing old-school about this, though. Sure, there’s generosity of dark fruits, a lick of vanilla and gingery spice from oak (20% new), but it’s been made with a gentle hand, teasing out detail, with winemaking inputs carefully measured and integrated. A swirl of violet and lavender, blueberry, boysenberry, anise, allspice, freshly ground coffee, pepper, camphor and an iodine-like maritime-breeze note. It’s supple, expansive in its mouth-filling flavour, but not remotely heavy with it, the length impressive. This is outrageous value. -
Wine x Sam
Plunkett Dunwoodie Reserve Shiraz 2018
VictoriaTen vineyards are represented from Pyrenees, Heathcote, Dookie and Strathbogie Ranges. Fermented separately in a range of vessels, some parcels left on skins for extended maceration; five years' maturation time in bottle. A wine to celebrate the 30-year life-business partnership of Sam Plunkett and Bronwyn Dunwoodie. There's a complex story behind the sourcing of fruit and the winemaking, and it unfolds beautifully, elegantly, with a touch of relaxed, Victorian country style. Rich dark plums, black fruits and spices – licorice, toasty oak, allspice, cinnamon, bay leaf – rule the bouquet. It charges the senses. Impressive density and a solid tannin presence are steeped in earthy, dark overtones. Fine, smooth, even, and still with time on its side. -
Heirloom Vineyards
McLaren Vale Shiraz 2023
McLaren ValeAged mainly in third- and fourth-fill American and French oak, with some new barrels, for 16 months. There’s something reassuringly classic about this, about the silky cascade of brambly forest fruits, the inflections of chocolate and humus-rich earth, some iodine and violet, the light sprinkling of warm spices and dried herbs. Yes, it’s familiar, but it’s not old fashioned, with balance à point and oak a present but discreet chaperone. Tradition with a modern lens, and delicious drinking. -
Hoffmann Family Vineyards
Mickan Block Shiraz 2020
Barossa ValleyDeep crimson with aromas of blackberry, plum conserve and black cherry fruits with hints of cold tea, dark chocolate, pan juices, blackstrap licorice, Cherry Ripe, earth and a fair lick of oak. Full bodied, powerful and inky on the palate, with uber-ripe black fruits, plenty of charry oak, thick, silty tannins and a long stretch of cassis and kirsch fruit on the exit. At 16.1% alcohol there is a bit of heat on the finish, but if you favour power over elegance than this might be right up your alley. -
Mount View Estate
Shiraz 2023
Hunter ValleyA classic dry red style from the strong '23 vintage, with elegant, savoury dark fruit. Slightly reductive on pouring, so it needs a little air to express its inner soul. The palate is plush and gently spicy, with flavours of blood plums and mulberries, plus background earth, nutty oak and roasted meat. Excellent character for the price. A little quiet on the close. Decanting is recommended. -
BC Wines
Faraday Shiraz 2024
Bendigo30-year-old vines, 450m altitude vineyard, wild fermentation, 14 months in neutral oak. A solid shiraz bringing a wealth of flavour to the glass. Hits well above its pricepoint. Aromas lift in black fruits, loads of plums, earth, mint and spice. It's an easy transition to the palate, where ripe black fruits gather in a hearty core of flavour with earth, Aussie bush notes, mint, spices and a lingering aniseed note. Lovely balance on show, with ripe tannins in play, partnering well with equally ripe fruit. -
Molly Morgan Wines
Shiraz 2023
Hunter ValleyA brightly fruited, medium-weight, refreshing shiraz with notes of red plum, warm mulberry, raspberry drops and cranberry. The flavours, centred on the mid-palate, are coiled around a matrix of pithy cherry-stone tannins and defined acidity. Youthful in its expression, it needs a little time to integrate, lengthen and harmonise. If drinking young, serve with food and decant a couple of hours beforehand to allow the fruit to expand. -
Serafino Wines
Vineyard Selection Shiraz 2023
McLaren ValeAll estate fruit, with 10% new oak, the balance seasoned for 14 months. The stated aim here is to make a medium-weight and perfumed wine, and it is that, although dark berries and cherry, red plum, coffee grounds, anise and ferrous notes still declare some traditional markers. The brightly fashioned palate is lissom and easygoing, with mulberry and wild raspberry notes. A nice wine, and sharp value.
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