James Halliday Wine Awards – your fix for 2019

The most-awaited James Halliday wine awards for 2019 have finally been announced! Each year, renowned wine critic James Halliday and his skilled tasting panel sample thousands of wines from every nook and cranny of Australia, cherry picking the best of Aussie wineries, winemakers and wine varietals as well as blends.

The awards are announced on the evening prior to the release of the annual James Halliday wine guide. This year, the full list was released on Thursday, August 2, at the National Gallery of Victoria.

Major Award-Baggers for 2019 –

• Winery of the Year: Seville Estate [Yarra Valley]
• Wine of the Year: 2017 Duke's Vineyard Magpie Hill Reserve Riesling [Great Southern] (99 points)
• Winemaker of the Year: Julian Langworthy, Deep Woods Estate [Margaret River]
• Best Value Winery of the Year: Provenance Wines [Geelong]
• Best New Winery: Mewstone Wines [Tasmania]
• Dark Horse Winery of the Year: Principia Wines [Mornington Peninsula]

Varietal Winners –

• Sparkling: 2006 House of Arras Rose (97 points)
• Riesling: 2017 Duke's Vineyard Magpie Hill Reserve Riesling (99 points)
• Semillon: 2010 Mount View Estate Museum Release Flagship Hunter Valley Semillon (97 points)
• Chardonnay: 2015 Singlefile The Vivienne Denmark Chardonnay (98 points)
• Sauvignon Blanc: 2017 Michael Hall Piccadilly Adelaide Hills Sauvignon Blanc (97 points)
• Pinot Noir: 2017 Seville Estate Old Vine Reserve Yarra Valley Pinot Noir (99 points)
• Shiraz: 2015 Seville Estate Dr McMahon Yarra Valley Shiraz (99 points)
• Cabernet Sauvignon: 2015 Cullen Vanya Wilyabrup Margaret River Cabernet Sauvignon (99 points) 
• Fortified: 1918 Seppeltsfield 100 Year Old Para Liqueur (100 points)
• Other Reds: 2015 Yangarra Estate Vineyard High Sands McLaren Vale Grenache (98 points)

As evident from the lists above, vibrant and juicy drops from Victoria dominate the James Halliday wine awards for 2019. These winners have been selected after tasting more than 9280 distinct wines, with full tasting notes, prices and ratings for about half these wines provided by over 1200 wineries.