Bests Bin O Shiraz, Great Western, Victoria

Bests Wines has been producing wine in the Great Western wine region of Victoria for over 140 years. Only 2 families have owned Best’s since it was founded – wines were first made by the Best family in 1866 and the estate was bought by the Thomson family in 1920. For the past 50 vintages fourth generation vintner Viv Thompson has been in charge of crafting Best’s wines, taking the “best” of modern innovation and blending it with tradition to arrive at wonderfully balanced and distinct Aussie wines. Best’s Wines is now run by Viv’s son, Ben Thomson, the fifth generation of the Thomson family. The headquarters of Best’s is located at Concongella very close the Great Western and Salvation Hills at Rhymney. The unique terroir at Great Western contributes to the success of Bests – the land along the Concongella creek is flat with powdery loam overlaying a deep clay sub-soil while newer plantings are sited on frost free hills. A long, slow-ripening period and continental climate are characteristics of Great Western. Shiraz has been produced at Best’s Great Western since the late 1800s, although the actual date of the first Bin O Great Western Shiraz is lost in the annuals of time. What is certain is that Bests Bin O Shiraz is generally produced from Best’s oldest plantings and selected from the lowest yielding blocks of the historic Concongella vineyard at Great Western. This includes nineteenth century and mid twentieth century plantings of Shiraz which result in very low yielding, intense vines. The fruit is hand-selected, sorted and fermented in small-batches followed by rigorous barrel selection.

Bests Bin 0 Shiraz is made to be an age worthy style and has been the undisputed icon of the Great Western Shiraz style for many decades. It is internationally acclaimed as one of Australia’s finest Shiraz wines. Bests Bin O Shiraz is a fruit driven, powerful yet elegant Shiraz, abundant in dark forest fruits. The label design is almost an exact replica of Henry Best’s 1800’s label.