As I enter the third decade of the 100 Best Australian Wines, and as every year passes, top-class Australian fine wines continue to improve and impress with their staggering diversity and deliciousness.
As always, this is a body of work I have spent many months putting together ahead of a very different and unique kind of launch. Over the past two decades, I have showcased my 100 Best on 5th December at the Australian High Commission in London with several hundred wine trade invitees in attendance. This year, I was thrilled to launch this century of stunning wines at Stoke Lodge in the presence of His Excellency The Honourable Stephen Smith, Australian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom at his London residence. The launch was formed of two parts. The first session was attended by twenty-five of the finest palates and communicators in the country, spanning buyers, restaurateurs, importers and journalists.
The second session was hosted by the High Commissioner and attended by The Rt Hon Angela Rayner MP, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government and Deputy Prime Minister, as well as former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, the Japanese Ambassador, the Vietnamese Ambassador, the Indian Ambassador and Deputy Chief of Mission of the United States of America among many VIPs. It was so encouraging that Stephen Smith took this opportunity to allow me to pour these wines and tell their stories to such an esteemed group of guests. I look forward to hosting a larger reception in Australia House in 2025 at the request of the High Commissioner.
I will publish the full 100 Best Australian Wines 2025 Report with all 267 noteworthy wines and relevant notes in the New Year and then take the very best bottles from this Report around the country on a series of 100 Best Festivals. I launched the Festival concept last year in London, Birmingham, Newcastle, and Edinburgh, and it was such a hit that I am very much looking forward to doing it all over again, bigger, better, and with even more attendees. Every person attending a 100 Best Festival event will be given a printed copy of the 100 Best Australian Wines Report 2025.
The Report will also be available to Members of matthewjukes.com as a digital download, and this special edition has click-throughs to all the UK retail stockists mentioned for every single wine. I launched this upgrade in communication many years ago, and the response from the wine trade, the retailers and, most importantly, the public has been overwhelming.
The wines mentioned in this Report are Australia’s spectacular vinous vanguard, and it is my great pleasure to showcase them nationally and internationally in a continued effort to inform wine lovers worldwide about the most outstanding wines made in this beautiful country.
Continued excellence – There are only 3 wineries that have appeared in every 100 Best Report since its inception in 2004, and they are – Penfolds, Tyrrell’s and Yalumba.
306 different wineries have appeared in the 100 Best since its inception. No fewer than 16 debut wineries appear in this year’s list, including – Alkoomi, Basket Range, Dappled, Dylan Grigg, Forest Hill, Harrison, Koomilya, Marco Lubiana, Moorak, Mulline, Nocturne, Paralian, Passel Estate, Port Philip, Sailor Seeks Horse and Wills Domaine.
For the full list, click here: https://www.matthewjukes.com/2025/04/100-best-australian-wines-2025-launch-5th-december-2024/
