By Farr Shiraz 2023

Geelong isn't typically the first place people think of for Shiraz, but By Farr's version has quietly built a reputation as one of Australia's most compelling cool-climate expressions of the variety — the kind that has fans of Northern Rhône Syrah cellaring it alongside their favourites. The fruit comes from the same original 1994-planted vineyard that produces the estate's celebrated Chardonnay and Sangreal Pinot Noir, a north-facing slope of red volcanic soil over a base of limestone and deep-set sandstone in the Moorabool Valley. Gary and Nick Farr hand-pick from VSP trellising and leave around 20% of the fruit as whole bunches through fermentation, typically co-fermenting a small 2–4% dash of Viognier (the exact treatment shifting slightly with harvest timing) for extra lift and aromatic complexity. The wine ferments naturally, spends around nineteen days on skins before pressing, and is then aged eighteen months in French oak with a restrained 20% new wood — uncompromising, minimal-intervention winemaking that lets the site do the talking.

The result is powerful yet genuinely elegant: ripe blackberry, plum, and dark cherry meet black pepper, liquorice, and a whisper of smoked cedar and graphite, with the co-fermented Viognier lending real richness and a touch of sweetness up front before intense fruit and long, earthy tannins take over. The palate is full-bodied and structured without ever feeling heavy, finishing with real finesse and mouthwatering length — critics have repeatedly scored recent vintages in the mid-to-high 90s, calling it "both a beautiful wine and a marvel." Pour it with slow-roasted lamb, a peppered steak, or braised game; this is Shiraz built on precision and site expression rather than sheer weight, from a family that's spent three decades proving Geelong belongs in serious cool-climate conversation.