Australia’s 50 most collected wines of 2023 have been revealed using data from over one million bottles cellared in Australia.
Penfolds Grange has taken this year’s top spot as Australia’s most collected wine after consistently achieving either first or second place since the inaugural Australia’s Most Collected Wines list in 2006, making it no surprise that Shiraz was the most popular variety to cellar this year.
The insights also revealed a resurgence in popularity of premium Chardonnay among collectors, and of eight entries of the white variety, Riesling and Semillon also made the list.
By state, South Australian wines were most popular in 2023 among collectors and made up half of the list, followed by Victoria. By region, the Barossa Valley dominated with eight entries on the list, followed by the Hunter Valley.
The ranking of Australia’s Most Collected Wines of 2023 was unveiled by Wine Ark, Australia’s largest wine storage provider, with data collected from over one million bottles housed in the provider’s climate-controlled cellars across the country.
John Cuff, Head of Wine Ark, commented on this year’s ranking.
“Due to the number of bottles in the count, it takes a large change to shift wines in the top 10. This year, six wines in the top 10 adjusted positions. This is the second edition in a row that sees Penfolds Grange be the most collected wine in Australia, which is also one of the country’s most expensive wines, again emphasising the importance of this iconic wine to Australian wine collectors.”
However, Cuff explained that it wasn’t entirely positive news for Penfolds and other well-established producers.
“We are seeing a big shift away from many of the classic old cellar staples such as Penfolds, Wynns, Seppelt and Lindemans, towards cooler climate producers such as Tolpuddle, Mount Mary, Yarra Yering and Crawford River.
“What is also interesting is the vast number of bottles of collectable Chardonnay being stored by Australian collectors in this edition, spearheaded by perennial favourite Leeuwin Estate as the ninth most collected wine with the Art Series Chardonnay. Other producers, such as Giaconda, Tolpuddle, Lakes Folly, Pierro and Mount Mary are all seeing large positional gains for their Chardonnays.”
The most significant leap in this year’s ranking was made by Standish, with The Standish Shiraz climbing 100 positions to reach 46 and make its debut in the top 50. Other notable leaps saw Tolpuddle Vineyard Chardonnay and Crawford River move up by 66 and 59 places respectively. Securing the 40th spot on the list was another debut from Thomas Wines with its Braemore Hunter Valley Semillon.
Summarising this year’s most collected wines, Cuff added: “While full-bodied wines from South Australia are always popular, it is clear that there is a distinct shift in Australian wine cellars towards more elegant, cool climate wines from small, boutique winemakers.”
The full top 50 list can be found here.