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AUSTRALIA
Australia wine regions
With 152,000 hectares, Australia was in 2015 the 11th largest vineyard and the 7th largest wine-producing country in the world. Australian vineyards are present in 6 major regions: South Australia, with Barossa Valley, Eden Valley and Clare Valley, which represents nearly 50% of Australian wines, followed by New South Wales (25%), Victoria (15%). Western Australia, Tasmania and Queensland complete them with the remaining 10%.
Australian wines
Australian wine grape varieties
Australian vineyards are mainly present in the warm regions of South Australia (Barossa, McLaren Vale, Clare Valley, Eden Valley) and New South Wales and in the more temperate regions of Victoria (Grampians, Heathcote, Yarra Valley and Nagambie Lakes) and Western Australia, where red wines dominate with the king grape variety of Australia, Shiraz, complemented by Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. The white wines of these regions are made from 4 main grape varieties: Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Sémillon and Riesling. The cooler southern regions of Victoria and the island of Tasmania offer beautiful terroirs for Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc.
Old vines and the new world
Australia is one of those New World vineyards whose reputation emerged about thirty years ago, but the vine has been present there for more than 150 years. In the South Australia region, there are vines dating back to before 1850, spared by the Phylloxera crisis that raged in Australia at the end of the 19th century, and which are certainly among the oldest vines in the world still producing wine.
Why discover Australian wines?
Because today's Australian wines are no longer just the massive wines and "fruit bombs" of the 80s and many winemakers now make fine and complex wines on magnificent terroirs.
Australian red wines
- Lovers of Syrah or Shiraz, a grape variety that occupies 25% of Australia's vineyards (Barossa Valley, Eden Valley, McLaren Vale, Clare Valley, Langhorne Creek, Heathcote, Nagambie Lakes, Grampians, Yarra Valley, Hunter Valley, Canberra District), find in Australia very different styles of Shiraz wines, from the rich and opulent wines of the warm regions to the finer wines and spicy notes of the cool regions, the latter closer to the wines of the northern Rhône Valley. Blended wines are also part of the tradition of Australian wines with, on the one hand, wines made from the 3 grape varieties Grenache, Shiraz and Mourvèdre (the latter also called Mataro in Australia) or GSM to use the acronym used by the Anglo-Saxons to designate these wines, and more recently wines made from Shiraz and Viognier on the model of the Côte-Rôtie rhodanienne.
- The Cabernet Sauvignon (Coonawarra, Margaret River, Langhorne Creek, McLaren Vale, Barossa Valley, Clare Valley, Yarra Valley and Pyrenees) has been grown in Australia since about 1850 and also offers a wide variety of wines, mainly blended with Merlot but especially with Shiraz giving typical Australian wines (They were making at Bordeaux "hermitagated" wines at the beginning of the 20th century to strengthen and colour claret wines).
- The Pinot Noir is planted more confidentially on about 5000 ha in the cooler regions of southern Australia in Victoria (Yarra Valley, Mornington Peninsula, Geelong, Macedon Ranges, Gippsland), on the island of Tasmania and in the coastal regions of Adelaide Hills. It produces aromatic wines with sustained acidity, subtle and elegant.
- For the more curious, there are also a few rare wines blended with the Malbec, Tempranillo, Petit Verdot and Sangiovese grape varieties.
Australian white wines
- Lovers of Chardonnay will find in Australia (Margaret River, Adelaide Hills, Yarra Valley and Mornington Peninsula) a wide variety of wines, from light and lively Chardonnays to more powerful and complex Chardonnays, suitable for ageing thanks to perfectly mastered barrel ageing.
- Riesling is an Australian tradition (Clare Valley, Eden Valley, Great Southern, Tasmania, Henty, Canberra District and Grampians), with Riesling being the most widely planted white grape variety in Australia until the late 80s. These are generally dry wines and enjoyed young with marked notes of lemon zest and lime.
- Sémillon is also a tradition in Australia, although more confidential, offer a wide variety of styles. Among the most successful are the wines of the Hunter Valley, lively with a high natural acidity and without ageing, which can be drunk young with lemony aromas or which can be aged in the cellar for more than 20 years to find aromas of dried fruit, fig and honey. Sémillon is also used in blends with Sauvignon Blanc (Margaret River).
- For the more curious, there are also a few rare wines blended with Muscat, Pinot Gris, Viognier and Verdelho grape varieties).
How to get Australian wines?
Go to our selection of Australian white and red wines from the main wine regions or take advantage of reduced shipping costs on our "Australian wine discovery" boxes of 3 or 6 bottles: La Bouteille Dorée offers you to discover and taste before buying.
Wines and gift boxes to discover Australian wines
Find below the wines of Australia, you can buy them individually or also offer them in discovery box of 2 or 3 bottles, a great gift idea to discover the wines of this great wine country.
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