both noble and fashionable, so the annual Global Syrah Masters is a much-anticipated judging event. The variety’s distinctive blackberry fruit and black pepper attributes are recognisable in most of the wines, regardless of origin, and the judges normally award a high percentage of the wines entered. In the 2025 Global Syrah Masters, expectations were fulfilled with a good number of Silver, Gold and Master medals given.

The two greats of the northern Rhône, Hermitage and Côte-Rôtie, are extremely long-lived and are, quite rightly, spoken of in the same breath as fine-quality Bordeaux and Burgundy. These wines, and their younger northern Rhône siblings, are easily sold through the domestic and international markets. So, in 2025, there were few Rhône Valley wines in our tasting. We did judge a few French wines – a couple from Cornas and Collines Rhodaniennes in the Rhône, and a few from Languedoc-Roussillon – which showed well. Their savoury flavours and gastronomic flexibility are clear.

Shiraz is the most planted black grape in Australia, Syrah’s 19th-century outpost, with around 36,000 hectares. Very fine wines can be found all over Australia, whether juicy Barossa, elegant Clare Valley, mint-touched Coonawarra, or leathery New South Wales.

The judges found value for money at the under-£10 price bracket and experienced true joy all the way up to £30. There were some real stand-out wines in the £15–£20 bracket from the likes of Heirloom Vineyards and Dandelion Vineyards.

Hitting the sweet spot

The judges agreed that, at least this year, the price bracket of £30–£50 was the sweet spot, with wonderful wines at realistic prices. Langmeil’s Barossa Hallowed Ground, Wakefield/Taylors’ Masterstroke and Heirloom Vineyards’ A’Lambra achieved well-deserved Golds, and Wakefield/Taylors St Andrews and Penfolds Bin 28 earned Masters medals.

Above £50, Australian Shiraz wines are drinkable now but, 15 or 20 years on, they really come into their own as fantastic wines to pair with food: integrated, layered and complex. Expensive wines from Philip Shaw’s Hoosegg, Château Tanunda, Penfolds St Henri and Wirra Wirra Chook Block provided real excitement for the judges.

At over £100, both Perelada’s Finca Garbet from Catalonia and Penfolds RWT were awarded Masters.

In 2025, South Africa displayed how quickly and how well Syrah/Shiraz is performing. Excellent wines are produced by Bruce Jack, Saronsberg, Flagstone and Dalkeith, among many others.

It is worth looking further around the globe, however. In this year’s Global Syrah Masters, the judges found some intriguing wines from Romania, Tuscany, various parts of Spain, Greece, Chile and Mexico. A surprise was a group of Gold and Silver medals for Jean-René Germanier, in the Valais in Switzerland.

Syrah/Shiraz proved in this year’s Global Masters that it is living up to its international reputation and promise. These are truly great wines… and still almost affordable for consumers.

Winery	Name of Wine	Region	Country	Vint.	Medal
Cramele Recas	Wildflower Syrah	Banat	Romania	2024	Gold
J García Carrión	Translations Syrah	Jumilla	Spain	NV	Silver
J García Carrión	Garland Crest Syrah	Jumilla	Spain	2022	Silver
J García Carrión	Don Simon Selección Syrah	Jumilla	Spain	NV	Silver
J García Carrión	Cappo Syrah	Jumilla	Spain	NV	Bronze
J García Carrión	Castillo San Simon Syrah	Jumilla	Spain	NV	Bronze
J García Carrión	Belle Grove Syrah	Jumilla	Spain	2022	Bronze
J García Carrión	Opera Prima Syrah	La Mancha	Spain	2022	Bronze
Domaine Jean-René Germanier	Syrah	Valais	Switzerland	2023	Silver
Montes	Outer Limits Syrah	Aconcagua	Chile	2024	Silver
Res Fortes Wines	Traveller	Roussillon	France	2022	Silver

Winery	Name of Wine	Region	Country	Vint.	Medal
Saronsberg	Provenance Shiraz	Western Cape	South Africa	2023	Silver
Wakefield/Taylors Wines	Taylors Special Release Shiraz	South Australia	Australia	2023	Silver
Bodegas Borsao	Ramé Syrah	Campo de Borja	Spain	2021	Bronze
Bruce Jack	Tumbleweed Big Sky Syrah	Overberg	South Africa	2023	Gold
Berton Vineyards	Black Shiraz Limited Release	SE Australia	Australia	2022	Gold
Château Tanunda	Grand Barossa Shiraz	South Australia	Australia	2023	Silver
Wakefield/Taylors Wines	Estate Shiraz	South Australia	Australia	2023	Silver
Berton Vineyards	Reserve Barossa Shiraz	South Australia	Australia	2021	Silver
CW Wines	Cape Barren Native Goose	South Australia	Australia	2022	Silver
CW Wines	Schild Estate	South Australia	Australia	2022	Silver
CW Wines	Stonehaven Stepping Stone	South Australia	Australia	2021	Silver
Casa Madero	Shiraz	Valle de Parras	Mexico	2023	Gold
Saronsberg	Shiraz	Western Cape	South Africa	2023	Gold
Dandelion Vineyards	Lionheart of the Barossa Shiraz	Barossa	Australia	2023	Gold
Heirloom Vineyards	McLaren Vale Shiraz	McLaren Vale	Australia	2023	Gold
Dandelion Vineyards	Lioness of the McLaren Vale Shiraz	McLaren Vale	Australia	2023	Gold
Flagstone Winery	Dark Horse Shiraz	Cape Coast	South Africa	2020	Gold
Wirra Wirra	Church Block Shiraz	South Australia	Australia	2023	Silver
Langmeil Winery	Barossa Prime Cut Shiraz	South Australia	Australia	2023	Silver

Winery	Name of Wine	Region	Country	Vint.	Medal
Heirloom Vineyards	Barossa Shiraz	Barossa	Australia	2023	Silver
Domaine François Villard	Syrah l’Appel des Sereines	Rhône	France	2022	Silver
Durbanville Hills	Collectors Reserve The High Noon Shiraz	Durbanville	South Africa	2023	Silver
Thorn-Clarke Wines	Shotfire Shiraz	Barossa	Australia	2021	Silver
Wirra Wirra	Catapult Organic Shiraz	South Australia	Australia	2023	Silver
Cramele Recas	Selene Syrah	Banat	Romania	2023	Bronze
Viña Sutil	Limited Release	Limarí	Chile	2023	Bronze
CW Wines	Stonehaven Limited Vineyard Release	South Australia	Australia	2022	Bronze
Winemakers Club Italia	RBW Toscana IGT Syrah	Tuscany	Italy	2019	Gold
Wakefield/Taylors Wines	Jaraman Shiraz	South Australia	Australia	2023	Gold
Wirra Wirra	Woodhenge Shiraz	South Australia	Australia	2022	Gold
Wakefield/Taylors Wines	Reserve Parcel Shiraz	South Australia	Australia	2023	Gold
Château Tanunda	Old Vine Shiraz	South Australia	Australia	2023	Silver
Gatt Wines	High Eden Shiraz	Barossa Valley	Australia	2022	Silver
Direct Wine Shipments	Terra Sagrada	Priorat	Spain	2022	Silver
CW Wines	Reschke Vitulus	South Australia	Australia	2022	Silver
Gatt Wines	Old Vine Shiraz	Barossa Valley	Australia	2022	Silver
Gatt Wines	Shiraz	Barossa Valley	Australia	2022	Bronze
Wakefield/Taylors Wines	St Andrews Shiraz	South Australia	Australia	2022	Master
Penfolds	Bin 28 Shiraz	South Australia	Australia	2022	Master
Domaine Jean-René Germanier	Cayas Syrah Réserve	AOC Valais	Switzerland	2022	Gold
Langmeil Winery	Barossa Hallowed Ground Shiraz	South Australia	Australia	2022	Gold
Wakefield/Taylors Wines	Masterstroke Shiraz	South Australia	Australia	2022	Gold
Dalkeith Wines	Dalkeith Jakkalsfontein Syrah	Swartland	South Africa	2024	Gold
Dalkeith Wines	Dalkeith Jakkalsfontein Syrah	Swartland	South Africa	2023	Gold
Heirloom Vineyards	Heirloom Vineyards A’Lambra Barossa Shiraz	Barossa	Australia	2023	Gold
Golden Amrita Winery	Single Estate Shiraz	Barossa	Australia	2021	Gold
Achala Wines	Clos del Molle Ingrato	Córdoba	Argentina	2019	Silver
Bruce Jack Wines	Heritage Clean Slate Shiraz	Western Cape	South Africa	2020	Silver
Château Tanunda	50 Year old Vines Shiraz	South Australia	Australia	2022	Silver
Casa Madero	Gran Reserva Shiraz	Valle de Parras	Mexico	2024	Silver
Stellenrust	Peppergrinder Shiraz	Stellenbosch	South Africa	2022	Silver
Thorn-Clarke Wines	William Randell Shiraz	Barossa	Australia	2021	Silver
Langmeil Winery	Barossa Birthright Shiraz	South Australia	Australia	2022	Silver
De Bortoli Wines	Single Vineyard A8 Syrah	Yarra Yalley	Australia	2022	Bronze
Wirra Wirra	RSW Shiraz	South Australia	Australia	2021	Bronze
Domaine Laurent Habrard	AOC Rouge	Crozes-Hermitage	France	2022	Bronze
Montes	Folly	Colchagua	Chile	2021	Master
Domaine Jean-René Germanier	Cayas Syrah Réserve	Valais	Switzerland	2020	Silver
Thorn-Clarke Wines	Ron Thorn Shiraz	Barossa	Australia	2020	Silver
Hoosegg by Philip Shaw	Magic Monkey Shiraz	Orange	Australia	2019	Silver
Viña San Pedro	Kankana del Elqui	Elqui	Chile	2022	Bronze
Achala Wines	Clos de la Corzuela	Cordoba	Argentina	2021	Bronze
Wakefield/Taylors Wines	The Pioneer Shiraz	South Australia	Australia	2021	Grand Master
Dandelion Vineyards	Red Queen of the Eden Valley Shiraz	Eden Vallley	Australia	2022	Master
Penfolds	St Henri Shiraz	South Australia	Australia	2021	Gold
Château Tanunda	100 Year old Vines Shiraz	South Australia	Australia	2022	Gold
Guillaume Gilles	Cornas Millésime	Cornas	France	2018	Gold
Wirra Wirra	Chook Block Shiraz	South Australia	Australia	2021	Gold
Domaine Jean-René Germanier	Rives Syrah Réserve	AOC Valais	Switzerland	2019	Silver
CW Wines	Schild Estate Moorooroo	South Australia	Australia	2022	Silver
Perelada	Finca Garbet	Catalonia	Spain	2021	Master
Penfolds	RWT Bin 789	South Australia	Australia	2022	Master

Winery	Name of Wine	Region	Country	Vint.	Medal
De Bortoli Wines	Family Selection Shiraz	SE Australia	Australia	2023	Silver
De Bortoli Wines	Winemakers Selection Shiraz	NSW	Australia	2023	Bronze
Luis Felipe Edwards	360° Series Mountain Red Blend	O’Higgins	Chile	2021	Gold
Bruce Jack	Ghost in the Machine Shiraz	Western Cape	South Africa	2023	Silver
Marisco Vineyards	Leefield Station Stockman Syrah	Marlborough	New Zealand	2023	Silver
De Bortoli Wines	Rutherglen Estate Shiraz	NSW	Australia	2022	Silver
De Bortoli Wines	Yarra Valley Estate Vineyard Shiraz	Yarra Yalley	Australia	2024	Bronze
Saronsberg Cellar	Full Circle	Cape Town	South Africa	2023	Master
Langmeil Winery	Langmeil Barossa Valley Floor Shiraz	South Australia	Australia	2022	Silver
Luis Felipe Edwards	LFE 900 Single Vineyard	O’Higgins	Chile	2020	Silver
Alpha Estate	Red SMX	Florina	Greece	2022	Silver

With high-quality judges and a unique sampling process, The Global Syrah Masters provides a chance for your wines to shine. The 2025 competition was judged on 12 June at The Portman in London, employing experienced judges. The top wines were awarded Gold, Silver or Bronze medals according to their result, and those expressions that stood out as being outstanding received the ultimate accolade – the title of Syrah Master or Grand Master. This report features medal winners only. Please visit the Global Masters website for more information or, to enter future competitions, with a chance to appear in print and online, call: +44 (0) 20 7803 2420 or email Sophie Raichura at: [email protected]