2024 Tyrrell's Vat 9 Shiraz, Hunter Valley

Beautifully fragrant, with high-toned, savoury oak and refined red fruit. There is a gorgeous, ethereal nature to the palate, along with elegant cranberry and cherry flavours and an alluring silkiness. The crescendo of flavour on the finish sets this wine apart. Incredibly long, cleansing and classy. Drink to 2039.

96+ points Toni Paterson for Halliday Wine Companion, July 2026

Sourced from Short flat, NVC, 8 Acres, Old Hut, and Old Hillside. This is the 19th year I’ve tasted these wines on release. That probably counts for something, and some level of perspicacity. Red fruit, cherry, perfume. Medium-bodied, milk chocolate and red fruits, subtle earthiness, fine-grained lightly dusty tannin, with a fleshy finish of excellent length. Acidity is present and neatly threaded through the wine. In short, it’s a classic Vat 9 and that signature is delivered with a flourish. Delightful.

95 points Gary Walsh for The Wine Front

From the warm and dry 2024 season, the fruit for this wine was handpicked at the end of January from the Short Flat, NVC, Old Hut and Old Hillside vineyards, with the average vine age being fifty years. The grapes fermented in small batch open top fermenters, and each wine parcel matured separately in primarily new large (2700L) French oak vats ahead of a flavour assessment in November and subsequent blending of selected lots for this wine ahead of a further five-month rest before bottling.

While many premium Hunter Shiraz wines are highly enjoyable in the youth, this wine would offer a more complex drinking experience after an additional couple of years in the bottle. Enjoy with Peking-style roasted quail with plum glaze and a dusting of Five Spice.

About this producer

Tyrrell's has been part of the Hunter Valley's winemaking story since 1858, making it one of Australia's oldest family-owned wineries. Five generations of the Tyrrell family have built an extraordinary reputation for producing wines of authenticity, longevity and regional character, with Chris Tyrrell continuing to champion the estate's historic vineyards and traditional approach.