The wine industry is a crazy place at the moment, so its nice to take a breath and celebrate the ‘wins’. Todays announcement of the Halliday Wine Companion Top 100 wineries of 2024 gives such an opportunity.
To put this list into perspective it’s interesting to note that there are more than 2400 wineries in Australia.
To be selected, Halliday must have reviewed each producer's wines within the last 12 months. From here, a 1100-long list was whittled down to just over 450 wineries. Then, it came down to quality – quality had to be consistent across the range.
One hundred wineries sounds like a lot, but this list is all killer, as they say. It’s a true representation of Australian wine right now, and a list you can hedge your purchasing bets on with emphatic confidence.
Penley 's modern journey has been “swift”. We took chances to repair a broken and outdated mould. It didn’t all work but hey look where we are. It’s been a thrill to reimagine a classic site.
Congratulations to all those included and I’m so grateful to be once again recognised by the Halliday team
Penley Coonawarra, South Australia
Penley Estate is one of Coonawarra’s most established names, but its recent history has been one of vigorous reinvention. After Ang and Bec Tolley’s winemaker brother, Kym Tolley, retired, they sought a new direction for the estate. That has seen a reworking from the ground up, with viticulturist Hans Loder implementing sustainable and regenerative practices and winemaker Kate Goodman reworking the traditional brand to capture a raft of cutting edge ‘project’ wines as well as to reimagine the classics. Kate being crowned the Winemaker of the Year in the 2024 Halliday Wine Companion was a clear measure of that program’s success. Kate works with winemaker Lauren Hansen to find expressions that are true to the history of Penley but with a contemporary feel, while they also experiment with blends, picking times, alternative vessels etc. to uncover new approaches that suit the region and today’s drinking preferences. The results, and the balance of history and forward thinking, are achieved with considerable elan.
in summary from the Halliday Wine Companion
The Top 100 all put the same care into everything they make, from affordable everyday wines to their flagships. They make passionate, heartfelt wines. And it matters to them that people engage with their wines, that they take joy from them. These makers are the best of the best. They are names that resonate with excellence.
Congratulations to the entire Penley team for our continued pursuit of excellence .
We've had to burn a lot of barrels to get to this point , apologies to all the amazing #coopers out there
