2021 Tyrrell's Shiraz Rufus Stone Heathcote 750 ml

The Tyrrells were pioneers in the Hunter Valley and have remained a family-owned business since 1858. Today, fourth-generation winemaker and managing director Bruce Tyrrell is the jolly face of the winery.

On a tip from his brother-in-law, John Ellis, Bruce looked into vineyards in Central Victoria and was immediately taken with the potential of Heathcote. Here, in a former gold mining area, Cambrian soils 500 million years in age are densely riddled with minerals, iron and gold, lending wines a delicate mineral spiciness. With vines first planted in 1994, the Tyrrell’s vineyard sits on the eastern slope of Mt. Camel, protected both from frosts and the late afternoon’s blistering sun.

But as any Australian collector will tell you, these fantastically balanced Shirazes rank among the country’s best bottles, as the chart above attests. A single sip of the Rufus Stone cuvée—especially this 20th-anniversary release—reveals why Australia’s most prominent critic James Halliday has named Tyrrell’s “Winery of the Year.”

The 2021 Rufus Stone has the broad-shouldered power and structure that Australian Shiraz is famed for, but it’s still light on its feet, with clean natural acidity keeping those chocolate-y tannins and gorgeous blackberry concentration in check. 

Because the fruit gets its flavors early here, Tyrrell and his team can pick before alcohol and ripeness levels soar. After harvest, every step is taken to preserve purity: grapes are transported at night to preserve freshness and batches are fermented separately in a mix of open and closed fermenters. Aging occurs in just 20% new French oak to lend inviting, warm spicy tones to the finished wine.

Just one bottle of this and you’ll understand why it’s a benchmark for the region.