An Aussie wine advocate since the late 1980s, Matthew Jukes has recently released the 20th anniversary edition of his 100 Best Australian Wines report. Here he reflects on how the country’s wine industry has changed over that time, and picks out 20 top wines from his 2023/2024 selection
When you notch up 20 years doing something, there is always an urge to look back, picking out the highlights and the lowlights while trying to plot a course for the future.
I used to host a wine slot on the BBC’s London FM radio station GLR back in the 1990s. This short 10-minute slot during the breakfast show turned into a half-hour spot and, to pad out the weekly wine tastings and anecdotes, I took to interviewing notable wine personalities. As it turned out, touring Australian winemakers usually landed at Heathrow in the early morning, so it was a doddle for them to come straight to the studio in time for my show. I interviewed many of the big names back then, and it was during this time that I learned more than I could possibly imagine about the stories behind the great Australian wines and winemakers.
I had always been a fan of Australian wines since the very beginning of my wine trade career in the late 1980s. I worked at The Barnes Wine Shop (now a branch of Lea &Sandeman) in southwest London, and it occurred to me that the Cabernet Sauvignons from, say, Cape Mentelle or Wynns were more attractive, accurate and delicious than the clarets at the same price level. Peter Lehmann’s or Tim Adams’ Shiraz trumped the various Rhône wines. Rosemount’s Chardonnay demolished inexpensive white Burgundies, while Pike’s Riesling outclassed the various Alsace and German counterparts.
DECADES OF VALUE
My taste memories are incredibly vivid from all those years ago, and while I didn’t quite realise it at the time, I was already well on my way to becoming an Australian wine advocate. From 1990 and for the next 26 years, I wrote a wine list for Bibendum Restaurant in Chelsea, central London. One of my favourite coups was buying the entire UK allocation of 120 bottles of Torbreck’s 1996 RunRig Shiraz. I sold it for £32.50 a bottle on the wine list and left it at this price after Robert Parker awarded it a perfect 100 points and the retail price in New York hit $1,000 a b
