Halliday Wine Companion’s Best Wineries 2021

The coveted Halliday Wine Companion Awards for 2021 have been announced, revealing 65 of the best wineries to visit in the Margaret River Region.

Every year, Australia’s most revered wine critic James Halliday sets the task of tasting over 9000 wines from around the country. The awards are a result of hundreds of hours tasting from the team at Halliday Wine Companion and creates the 800 page ‘Australian Wine Companion’ book, which can most accurately be described as the closest thing we have to a wine lover’s bible.

The 2021 virtual awards ceremony has revealed the best of the best with a plethora of local wineries gaining recognition in the 2021 edition of the guide.

So you can imagine the celebrations when 65 Margaret River Region wineries were given outstanding ‘5 star’ status by Halliday. 43 wineries from the region also achieved ‘red 5 star’ rating, which is an extra-special acknowledgement given to just 12% of the wineries rated by Halliday.

Australia’s Best Varietal for Cabernet Sauvignon: 2016 Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignon

James Halliday on his 2021 best cabernet sauvignon. “Cabernet sauvignon is considered the king of grapes – and with good reason. This immensely powerful variety produces some of the most age-worthy wines in the world and this year’s top example hails from Moss Wood in the Margaret River.” Whilst this is last year’s release and sold out, Clare and Keith Mugford proudly recommend the current release 2017 vintage.

Australia’s Best Varietal for Chardonnay: 2017 Leeuwin Estate Art Series Chardonnay

James Halliday on his 2021 best chardonnay. “Chardonnay is the world’s most popular white wine and many Australian regions produce exceptional examples. This year’s top-rated wine comes from Leeuwin Estate in the Margaret River. James Halliday’s pick for best Australian chardonnay of the year is a superb mixture of purity and intensity, with length and balance.”

Horgan Family Leeuwin Estate Wines — The Horgan Family, Leeuwin Estate Wines

Australia’s Best Varietal for Rosé: 2019 Nocturne SR Sangiovese Nebbiolo Rosé

James Halliday on his 2021 best rosé. “Rosé comes in many colours and flavour profiles. Apart from their appealing hues, these wines have attractively low price tags and make a great match for Asian flavours.”

Australia’s Best Varietal for Sauvignon Blanc: 2018 Flowstone Queen of the Earth

James Halliday on his 2021 best sauvignon blanc. “This year’s best sauvignon blanc comes from Western Australia’s Margaret River Region – which also home to many of this year’s highly-rated sauvignon semillon blends.” This is the second consecutive year Flowstone have won best sauvignon blanc in the Australian Wine Companion Awards.

Winemaker Julian Langworthy, Deep Woods Estate

10 of the Best Value Wineries

Deep Woods Estate

Virtually every one of Deep Wood Estate’s entries in the 2021 Halliday Wine Companion has a value rosette. Add them to your list on your next visit to the Margaret River Region.

Flowstone Wines

All of the 10 wines submitted from Flowstone appear in the 2021 Halliday Wine Companion, nine with a value rosette, and four with 97 points.

The Hit-List: Top Rated Wineries in the Margaret River Region

Read on to find out which wineries received the highest recommendations from Australian Wine Companion and how they’re rated.

Winery Ratings Explained

Outstanding winery regularly producing wines of exemplary quality and typicity. Will have at least two wines rated at 95 points or above, and had a five-star rating for the previous two years. Where the winery name is itself is printed in red, it is a winery generally acknowledged to have had a long track record of excellence in the context of its region — truly the best of the best.

Outstanding winery capable of producing wines of very high quality, and did so this year. Also will usually have at least two wines rated at 95 points or above.

Vanya Cullen Wines — Vanya Cullen, Cullen Wines

Previous Margaret River Australian Wine Companion Award Winners

Vanya Cullen was awarded Winemaker of the Year in the 2020 edition
Domaine Naturaliste was awarded Best Value Winery of the Year in the 2020 edition
Julian Langworthy was awarded Winemaker of the Year in the 2019 edition
Larry Cherubino Wines was awarded Best Value Winery of the Year in the 2017 edition
Arlewood Estate was awarded Dark Horse of the Year in the 2017 edition
Xanadu Stevens Road Cabernet Sauvignon 2011 was awarded Wine of the Year in the 2015 edition