99 Points | Shiraz Of The Year - Halliday Wine Companion 2026
Koomilya is the project of the Stephen Pannell, based out of a special vineyard in the Upper Tintara district of McLaren Vale. Pannell is a name familiar to most, having being a two-time winner of the Jimmy Watson Trophy along with a former 'Winemaker of the Year' winner.
The 2022 Koomilya JC Block Shiraz is single block Shiraz from 49 year old vines grown on ancient, dark grey slaty siltstone rich in ironstone rubble, facing south-west at an altitude of 120m. A sublime, fruit-driven example of McLaren Vale Shiraz is has powerful tannins supported by the ferruginous flavours typical of Upper Tintara: cocoa, bitumen, terracotta, the Aussie bush, dark red fruits. Named Shiraz of the Year in the 2026 Halliday Wine Companion, our very limited stocks of this highly sought-after Shiraz will sell fast.
"99 Points. 2026 Shiraz of the Year. Score awarded by the Halliday tasting panel at the annual Awards judging. ME writes: There are three single-block iterations of Koomilya shiraz: GT, DC and JC. All are superb, but it is the JC that is cementing its reputation as one of Australia’s greatest wines. The survey may be relatively short, but I’m convinced. The '21 was breathtaking and this its equal, or thereabouts. The JC has a distinct shape, a harmony, an engulfing perfume, a blend of flavour depth with spice and dusky florals, and an effortlessness. Then the fragrance in the mouth billows up, envelops, stops you in your tracks. It’s suffused with place, the bush-fringed site, with a sense of fallen gums subsumed into the soil, intertwining with the ripe but not juicy deep red fruits, along with a rusty iron note, salumi and panforte. As said, one of Australia’s great wines. 14% alc. Drink: 2025 - 2038. Screwcap"- Marcus Ellis, Halliday Wine Companion 2026.
