Syrahed with the same brush: The many layers of Aussie Shiraz
Australia’s signature grape is in a tough spot. As the big dog of black grapes—Shiraz accounted for more than one in five wine grapes harvested in 2024, with more than twice the tonnage of second-placed Cabernet Sauvignon—its tail-between-legs retreat in the popularity stakes looks even starker. It’s cold comfort to report that Australian Shiraz has never been a more exciting proposition for the wine drinker.
Here are some reasons to dig back into it—and some wines you might well dig on the way.
Mark of Purity: Grenache The Bulman Way
Forthright, articulate and relatively young, Mark Bulman is an Australian winemaker with an outsize reputation for Grenache. He created one of Australia's best-loved rosés from the variety, was the first to win the prestigious Jimmy Watson Memorial Trophy for a Grenache and made an acclaimed wine from it in the Southern Rhône cru of Gigondas. Now he's released the first Australian reds under his own name, and they're distinctive, riveting wines. It's not surprising, given his love of Grenache and his conviction in crafting wines that show its potential to convey a sense of place, pleasure and surprise.
Australian Grenache: No more mister nice guy?
Grenache once covered more of the world’s surface than any other red-wine grape, and certainly had its day in the sun down under. It was never exactly an out-of-work actor, with its juicy, sweet-fruited affability scoring it roles in rosé, everyday blends, chillable varietal reds and even muscular Châteauneuf-du-Pape body doubles.
But a host of hot talents are sharpening up scripts giving this grape a plum role in A-list, single-vineyard wines. So, what’s it going to take to prove that Grenache has the range, depth and gravitas to be a box-office lead—and will the masses line the red carpet to check out its best work?