Australia’s Top 15 Fortified Wines

Life’s too short to deliberately look for an argument, but having listed my top fifteen Australian wines made from an individual vintage in last month’s column, it’s once more into the breach to list my top fifteen blended fortified wines. This listing takes into account such categories as sherry, tawny port, muscat, tokay and madeira. It goes without saying that these wines virtually all derive from Australia’s traditional warmer climate areas, which are more suited to the richness and ripeness required to make these classic wines.

Each of these wines would score either a perfect 10 or a 9 out of 10 in my ratings scale. I have indicated next to each wine how I would score each wine listed.

Campbells Isabella Tokay 9

From this famous family operated winery in Victoria’s north-east comes this rarely released flagship tokay blend of great maturity, intensity and character. Typically rich and generous, with a tawny-amber hue, this is a fleshy, unctuous tokay worth every cent of its impressive retail price.

Campbells Merchant Prince Muscat 10

The sister wine to the Isabella, the Merchant Prince is the frontignan-based expression of Campbells’ premium aged fortified material. Rounder and fleshier than the fortifieds of Morris and Baileys, this is nevertheless one of the reasons why Rutherglen is synonymous with classic aged muscat.

Rosewood Special Liqueur Muscat 10

Chambers’ Rosewood winery is an unforgettably rustic and ramshackle arrangement best suited to the making and maturation of classic old fortifieds, of which the best are labelled ‘Special Liqueur’. This is an ancient blend with components that date back several generations, into the last century. Its intensity and persistence of incredibly raisined, concentrated fruit stand this apart as a great muscat of rare individuality.

Rosewood Special Liqueur Tokay 10

Another of Bill Chambers’ superlative fortifieds, again based around material which predates the invasion of phylloxera last century. Don’t mess around with this stuff, although I am sorely aware that the Chambers children splash the century-old base material over their ice cream in summer! Sink me!


McWilliams Oloroso Show Sherry 9

A delightfully aged, dark and mellow old sweet sherry, this wine clearly displays the rancio flavours sought after in mature fortifieds of premium quality. Spicy, nutty and still surprisingly fresh, you could hardly want for a better accompaniment for the bowl of walnuts and platter of cheese and dried fruits.

McWilliams Show Muscat MCW 11 10

McWilliams have never been given due credit for the quality and consistency of their premium fortifieds, although it’s well known in wine industry circles that many of their wines, grown and made in Griffith, give the Rutherglen boys a good run for their money on the wine show circuit. This is a superlative muscat which in almost every instance is described as one of Rutherglen’s very best and most intense in wine guessing-games.

Morris Old Premium Muscat 10

No selection of Australia’s best wines could possibly be complete without a representative of the country’s true idiosyncratic style, the north-east Victorian muscat. For sheer consistency, great age, richness and almost insuperable drinkability, the nod for the best goes to one of wine’s true gentlemen, Mick Morris, now succeeded by son David. May they both live forever; like their wines appear to have done. The Old Premium is so luscious, complex, sweet and mouthfilling that to attempt to describe its true flavour profile is bordering on the impossible. Drink it with your best chocolate.

Penfolds Grandfather Port 10

A legendary port of incredible age an average of 20 years, it has a deep amber colour with the green tinges reflective of its great maturity. Made from shiraz and mataro grapes from the Barossa Valley, it has remarkable viscosity, some pretty forward oak for an old fortified plus the warmth and flavour of brilliant old spirit. The best fortified from Penfolds’ extensive stable.


Saltram Mr Pickwick Port 10

Another of the Barossa’s superb tawny ports, Saltram’s classic Mr Pickwick Port has an average age of over 25 years with a pale amber-brown colour to match. The wine has a complex developed, rancio nose whose freshness and lift belie its age. Intense and concentrated, the palate is luscious, revealing remarkable richness, texture and flavour. Like the best of the ports, this is fortified with superb old brandy spirit.

Seppelt DP 90 Port 10

With such a treasure of quality and aged fortified material sleeping time away at its Seppeltsfield cellars, it’s little wonder that Seppelt is responsible for so much of Australia’s top fortifieds. Winemaker James Godfrey has done it again with this superlative tawny port, made in a lighter fashion than the traditionally dense, sweet Australian style. The DP 90’s show pedigree is almost too fanciful to be true; it is the country’s most awarded wine. As for drinkability, it is lighter in colour than most, concentrated, developed not surprisingly, given its average age of 21 years and incredibly long and clean. A national treasure.

Seppelt DP 116 Amontillado Sherry 9

Based on the DP 117, DP 116 is given additional maturation to achieve its heady bouquet of rich fruit, old oak and flor yeast character. Old for an amontillado, its flavours nevertheless remain intense and rich. Like the DP 117, it’s been given a snappy new suit to wear.

Seppelt DP 117 Flor Fino Sherry 10

A wondrously savoury and complex dry fino style, now given considerably more age than the standard fino sherry, so it’s richer and rounder as a consequence. Dry as dust, nutty as a muesli bar and bristling with superbly integrated fresh yeast influence throughout, it’s Australia’s benchmark dry sherry. Now available in snappy Italian half-pint bottles, its new presentation should introduce its wares to new markets, while causing traditional friends – few as they are, it must be said – to shed a tear or two.


Yalumba Museum Release Antique Reserve Tawny Port 9

This delicious old wine makes ephemeral appearances which are sought after by those who appreciate the unique old and concentrated blends overseen by David ‘Doc’ Zimmerman. With an average age of nearly 25 years, this is one of the Barossa’s finest, with delightful oak vanilla and a fragrant rancio note to complement its superbly developed fruit. Drier and cleaner than most.

Yalumba Museum Release Old Show Amontillado Sherry 10

A wonderful old amontillado still revealing the delicious nutty notes acquired long ago in its comparative youth. Like most top Yalumba fortifieds, it shows clean vanillin oak flavours, balanced in this case with superbly developed fruit. It finishes full and dry.

Yalumba Museum Release Old Show Oloroso Sherry 9

A typically scented and developed old sweet sherry originally blended from base wines made over sixty years ago. Showing delightful old wood and rancio notes, honeyed development and a brilliantly long finish. Please login to post comment