“I love what this is all about.” That was Erin Larkin’s comment on the 2022 Eagle, but the words seem apt for this whole estate. Dalwhinnie is a treasure—maybe one that lay buried for a bit, but these viticultural riches are being brought into the light for all to marvel at.
Julian Langworthy has seen his fair share of great vineyards; even as a child, he was toddling through the rows at Cullen and Leeuwin Estate. Dalwhinnie and Shiraz enjoy the same extraordinary affinity that his native Margaret River has with Cabernet Sauvignon, he says. “I feel hugely honoured to be able to make wine on a site like Dalwhinnie with such amazing history and such a great, cool vibe,” he told the Vininspo! podcast. “There’s Cabernet and Chardonnay there too, which are really cool, but the little hill blocks of Shiraz dotted around this amphitheatre are just some of the most compelling, wonderful wines. The intensity of the fruit flavour and the spice and the berry size and the balance in the vineyard is amazing.”
As so often in life, greatness is born of struggle. The utter beauty of Dalwhinnie belies the fact that this isolated spot can be a tough place to grow grapes. The continental climate is ideal for ripeness with freshness, but drought is a key concern. Viticulture in this dry-grown vineyard has to be spot-on. But as Julian puts it, “When things go right there, they just go so right.”
And things have had a habit of going right under this team’s custodianship, especially in a long, mild year like 2022. The tannin structures are ripe and fine, and the wines—which once rarely found themselves accused of prettiness—have a vibrancy that trills above the complex, deeper harmonies.
The year providing the Chardonnay is 2023. Cooler again, it has yielded a white whose substance—plentiful flavour of pure stone fruit, citrus, honey and almond—is matched by style of light, smoky reduction, classy oak and sleek acidity.
There’s something enveloping about Dalwhinnie—the site and the wine. This atmospheric amphitheatre wraps you in its timeless magic. The fulsome wines, more inviting and insistent than they once were, immerse the drinker in the throbbing heart of Victoria and don’t let you go.
We encourage you to embrace these new releases and succumb to their unique charms.
THE WINES
The wine is elegantly cacophonous and nuanced. I love what this is all about. 98 points.
Erin Larkin, Wine Advocate
2022 Dalwhinnie ‘The Eagle’ Shiraz RRP $185
The growing season was ideal: warm but not hot, with ample rainfall throughout, allowing the fruit to be picked at what could be described as perfect ripeness. Seasons like this produce ripe yet exceptionally fine tannin structures, and this is the most exciting Eagle Shiraz produced to date. The Eagle Shiraz is made only in the most exceptional vintages.
Sourced solely from the 1977 Eagle Block directly in front of the winery. The fruit was handpicked and fermented in two batches: one parcel was 100% whole-bunch, and the other 100% destemmed. The combination of these parcels has created a unique and remarkably complex wine. Following a cold soak and wild fermentation, the destemmed parcel remained on skins for 10 days, while its counterpart underwent seven days of carbonic maceration before being gently foot-stomped and left on skins for a further four days. The resulting wine was pressed and transferred to French oak puncheons (500-litre), 25% new, with the balance comprising one- and two-year-old barrels, where it matured for 14 months. Careful barrel selection was then undertaken to showcase this outstanding single-vineyard icon at its best.
Deep purple with flashes of crimson. Distinct aromas of dark ripe berries mingle with baking spices, sandalwood, pepper and bramble. Slinky and modern, medium-bodied yet rich in flavour, the palate exhibits ultra-fine tannins that unfold layer upon layer with notes of dark fruits, cedar, black plum, forest floor and truffle, leading to an exquisitely elegant and persistent finish. – Julian Langworthy
Utterly inchoate on the nose currently, the fruit is vibrant and electric, and there are aromas of raspberry pip, white pepper, Earl Grey tea, blood orange and red liquorice. What a ripping wine. The middle palate and finish are softer and quieter than the thundering display that I expected from the nose. This is a good thing. The wine is elegantly cacophonous and nuanced. I love what this is all about. You get mountain herbs, fine spice and rocks as well. 14.5% alcohol, sealed under screw cap. 98 points. Erin Larkin, Wine Advocate Feb 2024
Sourced exclusively from the 1977 Eagle Block, planted just in front of the winery. Bold and full-bodied with structural depth and weighty dark fruit, heady vanilla tones and savoury oak. Wild blackberry and boysenberry fruit dominate the mid-palate, expanding into a burst of warming, succulent flavours with impressive persistence. It is a youthful wine with firm tannins and one for the long haul, needing time to bed down, evolve and mellow. 96 points. Toni Paterson, Halliday Wine Companion Aug 2025
Impenetrable core with a plush ruby rim. Dried blueberry, plum preserve and beef stock aromatics. The palate leans savoury, with ample ripe purple fruit at the core, but layers of iodine, anise, nori and graphite steal the show. Velvety tannins belie their power, carrying the wine very long. The finish allows tannins to rise, with heady floral and spice notes lingering and hinting at cool-climate origins. 95 points. Stuart Knox, The Real Review Dec 2025
A well-crafted, precise and peppery shiraz with dark berries, roasted peppercorns and some smoke. Medium-bodied with finely grained tannins. It’s vivid, with pulpy, blue-fruit flavours at the centre and a vibrant touch of black pepper. Focused and textural, with a flavourful, persistent finish. Drink or hold. Screw cap. 94 points. Ryan Montgomery, jamessuckling.com Jan 2025
This is a super wine. 97 points.
Erin Larkin, The Wine Advocate
2021 Dalwhinnie ‘The Pinnacle’ Shiraz RRP $102
The Pinnacle vineyard is the highest, steepest site on the estate. Planted in the early 1990s, it is the site with the most quartz (like, football-sized quartz) running through the soil. It is the most consistent site on the property and always gives you a wine with a distinct, lovely energy. A standout vintage that was mild and long; this resulted in fruit being picked at optimal ripeness, but with the most moderate alcohol levels. This allowed the fruit character and fine structures within the wines to truly shine.
The fruit was handpicked and 100% destemmed, allowing its purity to shine. The fruit from this site is the earliest ripening and most concentrated of the single-site blocks at Dalwhinnie. Total yield from this hill block was around 3 tonnes, fermented in two tiny open fermented batches. After 15 days on skins, the wine was pressed to new and used puncheons and matured for 14 months on ferment lees, less time than traditional for Dalwhinnie wines.
The result is what I feel is a medium-bodied triumph, spice in waves, red fruits, dark fruits and umami-coating tannins. Almost ethereally light tannins that will endure the decades and give amazing drinking pleasure for years to come. The wine is rich, dark purple in colour with fragrant aromas of warm spices complemented by dark plum, showing the intensity of this vineyard. The wine is medium-bodied with great drive and length of flavour. This wine is expressive, powerful and rewarding. Waves of rich dark fruits, warm spices and subtle cedar oak roll across the palate. Accessible now, but will age with great grace and poise. Enjoy now or for the next two decades. – Julian Langworthy, Dalwhinnie
The 2021 The Pinnacle Shiraz leads with Earl Grey tea and blood orange, raspberry pip, blackberry jam and tobacco, with graphite, mineral effusion/fan through the middle palate and layers of texture that encompass pockets of flavor. This is a super wine. It has wet earth, petrichor, ductile tannin and everything good and earth-derived. 100% destemmed. 14% alcohol, sealed under screw cap. 97 points. Erin Larkin, The Wine Advocate Feb 2024
From the prized ’21 vintage and sourced from the highest, steepest vineyard on the estate, this wine has impressive purity, fragrance, intensity and length. There’s a mix of red and dark berry fruit accented by fresh bay leaves and faint smoky oak. The structure is classical in nature, giving the wine a stylish flow. Made from handpicked, destemmed fruit and matured in French oak puncheons (20% new) for 15 months. 97 points. Toni Paterson, Wine Companion Aug 2024
OTHER NEW RELEASES…
The wine has great energy and uplift, but also depth, breadth and texture. 95 points.
Toni Paterson MW, Halliday Wine Companion
2023 Dalwhinnie Moonambel Chardonnay RRP $70
The 2023 season saw a continuation of cooler weather, with welcome rainfall before the growing season, encouraging healthy vine growth. The cooler vintage temperatures produced fruit with vibrant natural acidity and refined, delicate characteristics.
The fruit was hand-picked and whole-bunch pressed. The cloudy juice was then transferred directly to a mixture of new, one- and two-year-old French oak puncheons (500-litre) and barriques (228-litre). Fermentation occurred spontaneously with wild yeasts over the following three weeks. After fermentation, the barrels were topped, and the wine matured in situ for a further nine months before careful barrel selection and bottling.
Beautiful light straw in colour with flashes of green. The ever-elusive struck-match character and attractive vanilla spice join aromas of oatmeal, peach and honey. The palate is intensely focused, with powerful, well-defined acidity that highlights the mealy, tropical-fruit characters. Subtle Burgundian oak plays a supporting role to the wine’s intense savoury and mineral flavours. – Julian Langworthy
Individual in character, with a cascade of bright stone fruits, melon and grapefruit, with oak playing a prominent role, finishing with a peacock’s tail of intense sweet-fruit flavours. The wine has great energy and uplift, but also depth, breadth and texture. Sugared almond and sulphide nuances add complexity. Heady, assertive and delicious. 95 points. Toni Paterson, Halliday Wine Companion Jun 2025
Beautifully proportioned, cleansing, savoury and structural, with impressive length
and a long life ahead. 96 points.Toni Paterson MW, Halliday Wine Companion
2022 Dalwhinnie Moonambel Cabernet Sauvignon RRP $75
The 2022 vintage was mild and extended, allowing the fruit to be harvested at optimal ripeness. An excellent vintage overall, it performed particularly well for Cabernet Sauvignon, enabling the fruit character and fine structure that define the greatest examples of the variety to shine through.
The fruit for this wine was sourced predominantly from the Cellar Door Block on the Dalwhinnie estate, where it was fermented for 14 days in open-top fermenters. As fermentation approached dryness, the wine was pressed directly to French oak barriques for 18 months of maturation. Careful barrel selection was undertaken to highlight the lift and length of flavour.
Dark purple in colour with red-black hues. Compelling and elegant aromas of cassis, fresh plum and bay leaf rise from the glass, mingling with classic Cabernet Sauvignon notes of cedar pencil shavings and freshly cut grass. The palate delivers intense cassis, sour cherry and savoury dried herbs, supported by a powder-fine tannin structure that carries blackcurrant flavours long across the palate. A wine of finesse and elegance, it is a superb expression of Dalwhinnie Cabernet Sauvignon and, as always, promises to age beautifully. – Julian Langworthy, Dalwhinnie
Harvested from the original contour and front gate vineyard on the Dalwhinnie estate. Open-top fermentation was followed by pressing directly to French oak barriques for 20 months’ maturation. This is a beautifully complete wine, not overdone in any way. It has brightness and depth without overt fruitiness, with ripe, graphite-like tannins seamlessly integrated into the body of the wine. Elegant cassis notes shine alongside attractive flecks of crushed herbs. Beautifully proportioned, cleansing, savoury and structural, with impressive length and a long life ahead. 96 points. Toni Paterson, Halliday Wine Companion Aug 2025
2025 Dalwhinnie ‘LDR’ Shiraz RRP $49
A classic vintage for this wine, with a nicely developed canopy on the dry-grown vines allowing balanced ripening while retaining the Dalwhinnie Vineyard spice and charm. Shiraz was picked over 10 days, with selections from the Eagle and Dry Blocks, including whole-bunch parcels used in the final blend.
The fruit was handpicked and wild-fermented, with 100% whole-bunch and 30% left to its own devices and matured in older, large-format oak for 12 months on gross lees before bottling.
A vibrant purple with hints of raspberry. Vibrant, warm spice aromas leap from the glass with cinnamon and star anise to the fore. The palate is fresh and modern, powder-fine with the most elegant tannin structure. Succulent red cherry and raspberry flavours are carried by an almost ethereal minerality and bright, driving acidity.– Julian Langworthy, Dalwhinnie
It is a classy, delicious wine that beautifully expresses its site. 96 points.
Toni Paterson MW, Halliday Wine Companion
2022 Dalwhinnie Moonambel Shiraz RRP $75
The 2022 season saw a continuation of the La Niña weather pattern, with cooler conditions and abundant rainfall before the growing season, encouraging healthy vine growth. The cooler vintage temperatures produced fruit with vibrant natural acidity and more refined, delicate characteristics. Early-season frost reduced yields, but the resulting fruit displays impressive concentration and depth of flavour.
The fruit for this wine was sourced from the original Dalwhinnie estate vineyards, where it was fermented in small batches for 10–14 days in open-top fermenters. As fermentation approached dryness, the wine was pressed directly to French oak barriques for 20 months of maturation. Careful barrel selection was then carried out to create the final Moonambel blend.
Dark crimson in colour. A deep, brooding nose is filled with aromas of violets, blood plum and baking spices. The palate is medium-bodied yet powerful and expressive, with dark fruits, mocha spice, a mouth-coating tannin structure and smoky oak framing this exceptional Pyrenees Shiraz .– Julian Langworthy, Dalwhinnie
This wine is an utter joy with its gorgeous mulberry, black cherry, cacao nib and warm spice. The palate has a fabulous vibrancy and energy, making it highly engaging and inviting. The strength of the vineyard shows through, as does the age of the vines. 20 months in French barriques imparts nutty top notes, which integrate as the wine opens. It is a classy, delicious wine that beautifully expresses its site. 96 points. Toni Paterson, Halliday Wine Companion Aug 2025
Opaque core with a deep purple rim. Mulberry compote and dark chocolate aromas. Full-bodied and ripe without being overbearing. Dark berries fill the centre, followed by dried herbs, vanilla bean and beef stock notes. Tannins show power and drive through the palate, finishing with a final drying flourish. 94 points. Stuart Knox, The Real Review Dec 2025
