The Most Expensive Australian Wines of 2024

When it comes to the most expensive Australian wines of 2024, it pays to revisit the line-up from 2023, which both reflects and differs in equal measure.

In keeping with the spirit of last year's list, there's not a single white to be found, it really is wine dark sea of Shiraz with occasional inroads by Pinot Noir, Grenache and Cabernet Sauvignon.

However, it is a Pinot Noir that claims the top spot for most expensive.

Bass Phillip Reserve Pinot Noir reclaims the top spot, coming in at $928, a not insignificant jump from last year's price of $815. Back in 2014, this Pinot averaged around $430, proving a very gentle doubling in price.

Although, its score has dipped by one point from last year's 95 to this year's 94, it is still considered one of the best wines from Australia's Gippsland region.

Number two is the Penfolds Bin 170 Kalimna Vineyard Shiraz, which didn't feature on last year's list at all. Pure Barossa Shiraz, the Bin 170 Kalimna is currently not in production, with 2010 the most recent vintage listed on Wine-Searcher. However, that has surprisingly not translated in the prices with the Kalimna holding an average price of $1377 back in 2014, which is comparatively quite a high from today's $928. However, the drop-off is clearly not severe enough to knock it off Australia's most expensive and, with a score of 96 points, it's still held in hugely high regard.

Number three is Henschke Hill of Grace Shiraz which again didn't make the list last year. However, the estate is one of the jewels of Eden Valley, and their Godfathers block within the Hill of Grace vineyard contains some of the oldest intact vines in the world.

As a result, the Hill of Grace Shiraz has huge capacity to age and has developed a devoted following, which is reflected in this year's price of $759, which has risen steadily through the years from 2014's $555. An aggregated score of 96 points from 373 critic reviews speaks for itself.

In fourth place is the Chris Ringland Dry Grown Shiraz. Ringland has long built his reputation on Barossa Shiraz, and this wine occupies the exact same spot as it did last year, the only difference being last year's price and score were down at $679 and 92 respectively, whereas this year they've jumped to $710 and 95.

However, a deeper dig into the price history of the Dry Grown Shiraz shows a turbulent price history from $734 back in 2014 to a high of $908 in 2019, to then a dramatic fall to $55 a few months later. Today it's back roughly where it was ten years ago at $710, proving the unpredictability of prices tied to both vintage and economic times.

Number five is Two Hands Wines My Hands Shiraz, Two Hands being another producer specialising in Shiraz, but with a desire to show the grape variety's regional and stylistic diversity, with a focus originally on the Barossa, Two Hands now produces wines from many of Australia's wine regions.

Back in 2014, the My Hands Shiraz had an average price point of $481, and over the years it's steadily crept up to today's $704, and boasts an extremely impressive score of 97.

Number six is Torbreck The Laird which featured in fifth place last year. However, despite the drop in rank, the price difference is minimal – last year, it was $655 and, this year, it has dropped a whole two dollars to $653 while it's 96 score remains unchanged.

Historically, it's only ever had a high of $744 back in 2014, and since then has hovered around $650 suggesting this is a product that's found it's place and is more than comfortable, and the critics clearly agree.

In seventh place it's possibly Australia's most famous wine, Penfolds Grange. This multi-region Shiraz blend has been the lodestar for Aussie wine since it first hit the market in the early 1950s and has maintained an admirably consistent level of both critical approval and price. It's up slightly on last year (from $623 to $643), but the consistency is clear over the longer term – in the past decade, its global average retail price has grown by just $69, or 12 percent.

In eighth place is the Taylors Legacy Cabernet Sauvignon at $624, a definite upwards shift from last year, when its global average retail price was $587.

Relatively new to the party – as it was released as a tribute to the company's 50th year of producing wine – its price history, as a result, is limited but fairly consistent hovering around $600 give or take $50.

Number nine is the Aphelion Wait Vineyard Grenache at $616. Having only been going for roughly a decade, Aphelion's stratospheric rise to the top is nothing short of impressive. Greek for "from the sun", Aphelion aims to metaphorically bottle sunshine, and is largely focused on varieties like Grenache and Mataro, which suit McLaren Vale's Mediterranean climate.

Although, as The Wait exhibits, Grenache is rapidly becoming their key focus. Made from vineyard blocks dating back to the 1940s, this brooding and powerful wine has captured the critics' imagination, garnering an impressive score of 94 points.

Rounding out the top 10 is the Hundred Acre Deep Time Ancient Way Vineyard Summer's Block Shiraz which, last year, came in at number seven which mirrors it's slight drop in price from last year's $598 to $568. However, the score is still a solid 93.

Although it would be hard to argue that Australian wine is going through the roof, it's far from tanking either. Rather, it's holding course both in quality and value; a steady great train of premium Aussie red.