2017 Mount Langi Ghiran Cliff Edge Shiraz Grampians Australia 750 ml

In June of 1996, Wine Spectator exclaimed “Australia Hits the Big Time” on a cover that featured three towering bottles of Shiraz. Two were marquee Aussie bottlings, Henschke Mount Edelstone and Penfolds Grange, which retail for $130 and $680, respectively. The third was from an operation that had dwelled in relative obscurity until that magazine cover rocketed it to worldwide recognition. That winery, which Spectator elevated to its rightful place alongside two of Australia’s icons, was Mount Langi Ghiran, the standard-bearer of modern Australian Shiraz.

Today, we are thrilled to be the only retailer in the United States to share the 96-point 2017 Mount Langi Ghiran Cliff Edge Shiraz Grampians—a bright, lively Shiraz showing lifted bramble berries, fresh violet, and loads of cracked pepper. The palate explodes with fresh and energetic cool-climate agility, as well as the kind of mint, dried herb, and black olive notes that often are accompanied by a lofty price tag. 

High demand at home keeps nearly 80% of Mount Langi Ghiran’s Cliff Edge Shiraz in Oz, so we made sure to claim every bottle that made it to the States. This $22 stunner is without a doubt one of our more stunning values of the year.

That iconic Spectator cover may be what brought Mount Langi to prominence, but quality is what has kept them there: Consider the ratings that James Halliday, Australia’s most eminent wine critic, has bestowed upon the past five vintages of Cliff Edge: 94, 95, 95, 96, and 94 points. This year, he awarded this bottling another knockout 96-point score, calling it “ultra-expressive,” with “remarkable intensity and clarity.” 

Toiling in a tin shed that smelled of garlic from the salamis that the winery’s founding family used to cure there, Trevor Mast—first as a consulting winemaker and then as the owner—set about fulfilling his revolutionary vision of a cool-climate Australian Shiraz. He picked the perfect region: The Grampians is cool, and capable of putting out peppery, complex Shiraz more evocative of Northern Rhône Syrah than the highly extracted and jammy Shiraz typically associated with Australia. His vision and hard work are what set Mount Langi Ghiran up for its moment on that consequential Spectator cover. 

By the time Trevor Mast passed away in 2012, he had placed Mount Langi Ghiran in the capable hands of winemaker Dan Buckle, who has done him proud: Just last year, James Halliday declared one of Mount Langi Ghiran’s wines a Top Three Australian Shiraz, alongside—drumroll, please—Penfolds Grange and Henschke Hill of Grace.

Mount Langi Ghiran has fulfilled the vision of Trevor Mast, and has a permanent place among Australia’s top wineries. The peppery and vivacious 2017 Cliff Edge, grown in the unique granitic soils of the Grampians, shows exactly why. We claimed every state-side bottle for a reason: This is a rare value from a landmark Australian producer.