There used to be some things that you could always rely on in life – death, taxes, Team USA winning Olympic gold and Penfolds Grange being the most expensive wine to come out of Australia.
It's a sign of the times – and the sheer number of times that Grange has been produced – that the old order has been overturned and new favorites placed on the once-invincible throne. However, the last time we checked the most expensive wines from Australia (in January 2014), Grange was already unseated, ending up in second place behind the wine that is still top of the Aussie charts.
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Here is the top 10 as it stands now and there are some very different wines coming through the ranks. It's also a testament to Grange that despite there being 61 different vintages on Wine-Searcher – with all the variation in quality and price that entails – it holds its end up well against the rash of young pretenders.
As usual, the rules for inclusion in this were that the wine must have at least four vintages available for sale, which has wiped out many of the most expensive wines to be found on the list here.
1. Chris Ringland Three Rivers Dry-Grown Shiraz, Barossa Valley
This Barossa Valley wine was the one that took over from Grange as Australia's most expensive wine. Hardly surprising, given the enthusiasm the likes of Robert Parker have shown for Chris Ringland's wines; getting four 100-point ratings in the space of seven vintages is impressive by anyone's standards. However, the odd thing is that, while search figures have risen over the years, the average price has actually fallen – from $752 to $654, suggesting that if you wait long enough, the Dry-Grown Shiraz should be a bargain eventually.
2. Torbreck The Laird, Barossa Valley
Another Barossa Valley beauty, which enters the chart at #2 with an average Wine-Searcher price of $638. This wine didn't feature in our 2014 rundown, although its stablemate, the RunRig, made it onto the list at #9. The reason was the lack of pedigree at that stage for the Laird, rather than price – it didn't have enough vintages under its belt, even though it weighed in at an impressive average price of $791 in 2014. So, once again, you can see something of a rationalization of pricing when it comes to Australian wines.
3. Penfolds Grange Bin 95, Australia
The most famous of Penfolds' "bin" wines and the most famous Australian wine of all time too, Grange has been remarkably stable when it comes to price, availability and search rank over the years. Coming in at an average price of $538 (a mere $11 a bottle down on 2014), it remains the most sought-after wine from Australia. Its long history has probably bred an element of over-familiarity, but the repeated high scores suggest that consistency is Grange's main virtue.
4. Henschke Hill of Grace Shiraz, Eden Valley
The heavyweight of the Eden Valley – the Barossa's much cooler neighbor – makes the list again this year, one place below its 2014 performance. Neck-and-neck with Grange (it has an average price of $537), Hill of Grace displays a similar tenacity when it comes to price, availability and popularity, maintaining a relatively even level of interest on all three counts.
5. Bass Phillip Reserve Pinot Noir, Gippsland
Another new arrival on the list, this wine from Gippsland, Victoria, enters the chart with a muscular average price of $485. It's also got a decent average score of 94 across its eight vintages. What's probably most surprising about the Bass Phillip Reserve is seeing a Pinot Noir among all the Shiraz in the Australian list, but that's a credit to the winemakers, who must be used to praise by now. Robert Parker praised the wine's Côte de Nuits-like characteristics, while James Halliday called the 2010 version "the greatest Australasian Pinot ever made."
6. Chris Ringland Hoffmann Vineyard Shiraz, Barossa Valley
The second of three Ringland wines on Australia's most expensive top 10, the Hoffman Vineyard Shiraz will set you back a cool $421 a bottle, on average. This wine, made by Chris Ringland from blocks tended by Adrian Hoffman, is the star in the North Barossa Vintners range of wines. It didn't make the 2014 list, as it wasn't quite old enough, but low production levels and high scores should see this wine remain on the list of Australia's most expensive wines for some time to come.
7. Two Hands Wines My Hands Shiraz, Barossa Valley
Another Barossa Valley Shiraz – are you seeing a pattern here? This wine was not eligible for the 2014 list, due to insufficient vintages, but it probably wouldn't have made it anyway, given its relatively low $229 average price back then. However, a good score from the Wine Advocate bumped the prices up, and it currently sits at a very respectable – if not necessarily affordable – $403.
8. Chris Ringland Randall's Hill Shiraz, Barossa Valley
Rounding out the Ringland contribution, the Randall's Hill Shiraz has an average price on Wine-Searcher of $396 a bottle. Incredibly, the Randall's Hill wine is classed as a second wine, coming from the same vineyard that produces the Chris Ringland Shiraz. Ringland started the venture in 1995 but had to abandon Randall's Hill for most of the early 2000s as drought kept yields low enough to satisfy just the top wine. In 2010, a section of the vineyard planted in 1999 gave Ringland new, mature fruit to play with, and Randall's Hill got a second lease on life.
9. Rusden Sandscrub Shiraz, Barossa Valley
Yet another Barossa Valley wine, and another newcomer to the list carrying an average price tag of $365. It also has an average score of 96 across its six vintages so far. Its price has remained stable across the past five years, but availability has been a factor. Unsurprisingly, it's a limited production run of a wine that gets four years in the barrel and another four in the bottle before release.
10. Greenock Creek Roennfeldt Road Shiraz
You're not going to believe this, but the top 10 is rounded out by a Barossa Valley Shiraz. The Roennfeldt Road Shiraz was comfortably perched at #4 in 2014, with an average price then of $315. These days, it averages out at $303, which is heading towards bargain status when you consider it has an average score of 95 across 17 available vintages. So, the moral of the exercise seems to be this – if you're looking for top-end wines with good scores that are actually getting more affordable, set your phasers to Barossa and start exploring.
