2017 First Creek Shiraz Hunter Valley 750 ml

There’s a simple reason this ripe, peppery beaut of a Shiraz has never before seen U.S. shores—Australian wine lovers have done their best to ensure First Creek remains the best kept secret of New South Wales. A gorgeous $22 value that drinks like it’s five times the price, they shouldn’t have allowed us anywhere near First Creek’s 2017 Hunter Valley Shiraz the last time we were in Sydney. 

Especially considering it was about to earn a traffic-stopping 97-point score from Australia’s premier wine critic, James Halliday, just weeks after we had already snapped up the first American allocation. 

We took in all that succulent red plum, blackberry, and pomegranate character, threaded with complex vanilla, peppercorn, and minerally flint. Focused and vibrant on the palate, there is an energetic muscularity to the black cherry, allspice, and savory licorice. Long and brilliantly structured, this 2017 First Creek Shiraz has all the stuffing for the “near-endless future” predicted in Halliday’s 97-point review. 

Only five Hunter Valley wines scored higher in 2017, most averaging between $100-$300 and bearing more established collector names like Brokenwood and Mount Pleasant. 

We had just met up with our flame-haired friend Chuck, a Bay Area educator and one of the world’s leading authorities on Australian wine, whose trip overlapped with ours. Over lunch on the water at Sydney harbor hotspot Quay, Chuck got distracted perusing the wine list in his attempt to pick out a local Shiraz we wouldn’t be able to find in the States. 

Growing frustrated with what he deemed to be outrageously overpriced options, he snapped the book shut and sighed loudly as he yanked a bottle out of the wine bag that always magically appears when Chuck agrees to lunch. “They didn’t want me sharing this…” he muttered (mostly to himself) as he cracked the 2017 First Creek open and started pouring before waiting for the server to come back. 

With our first sip, Chuck clocked our raised eyebrows and banged his hand on the table, “Right?! 20 bucks!” His Aussie allegiances clearly thrown out the window, he immediately got on the phone with the First Creek winemaker and set us up with an appointment for the very next day. 

After a two-hour drive north (on the wrong side of the road), we found ourselves out on the First Creek veranda enjoying another glass of that delicious 2017 Shiraz with winemaker Liz Silkman, a two-time Winemaker of the Year award recipient at the Hunter Valley Legends & Wine Industry Awards. She is one of the most respected winemakers in Australia—not to mention the author of the Wine Access hit bottlings that bear her own name—yet she seemed tentative about unlocking an allocation for the American market. 

Watching the kangaroos graze upon First Creek’s sandy vineyard soils, we got a feel for Hunter Valley’s coastal cloud humidity—terroir that Liz credits for the elegant complexity of her Shiraz. After sharing a few laughs about our mutual wine acquaintances, she started to loosen up. 

Finally, Liz relented. “You know, I don’t make a lot of this…” Draining her glass, she stuck out her hand and grinned, “Chuck’s going to get a lot of heat for introducing you to me.”

Sorry, Chuck. But at its incredible $22 price, this 97-point First Creek Shiraz didn’t stand a chance of escaping our clutches once we got a taste of it. But don’t worry: We’re sure Wine Access members will give it the American welcome it deserves.