2026 Best’s Vintage Overview
The weather plays a major role in how wines taste each year. It dictates many of the decisions we make in the vineyard, and the vintage number on the label corresponds to the year the grapes were picked. Depending on how long the wine spends in barrel, tank or foudre, particularly for red wines, there is often a much longer release time before you see it on the shelf.
Having grown grapes in Great Western for 160 years, we’re well equipped to rise to whatever the season brings. It’s part of what makes each vintage taste slightly different in the glass, which is why our vintage overview gives you a sense of what to expect. Here’s what we saw from the 2026 vintage here in Great Western.
The 2026 Season
2026 was a later harvest than usual, and in Jacob’s words, almost a tale of two halves. October through to December were quite cool, meaning everything started slowly. As Managing Director Ben Thomson reflects, “It was quite a cool October. November and December were quite cool as well.” A warm period in late January and early February had everyone thinking we were off and running, but as Ben notes, “just because it gets hot in February doesn’t mean it will actually catch up for the season.” That early heat was never going to make up for lost time, and what followed was a long, drawn-out year but one that ultimately delivered some beautiful concentration of flavour.
Crucially, 2026 was dry. Other parts of Victoria copped heavy rainfall to the point of flooding, and fires too. Great Western was spared both. Unlike the cool and wet vintages of 2023 and 2024, and without the heat of 2025, 2026 was its own thing entirely. As Jacob puts it, “I don’t think I’ve had an overlap of any two vintages in my time here.”
Following that early heat spike, conditions turned mild, with light rain events keeping things fresh. This allowed us to leave fruit on the vine longer, building flavour and phenolic ripeness. Ben particularly values a slower ripening season: “I actually like a slower ripening because your flavours come up with your baume, so you don’t end up with excessively high baume and waiting for flavours.” Early canopies were strong across many of the blocks, meaning the fruit could hang a little longer without pressure, ripening slowly and evenly with natural acidity building across the board.
The 2026 Harvest
We started picking in the first week of March with Riesling, coming in 14 days later than last year. On 26 March, we handpicked and destemmed the Pinot Noir, with some other red varieties arriving three to four weeks later than last year overall. This year we used two new oak barrels for the Chardonnay, adding another exciting element for the winemaking team to work with.
The historic Best’s Nursery Block was picked on 24 April, always a special moment in the vintage calendar. It’s a job the whole Best’s team gets involved in, picking by hand as they have done for generations. Shiraz came in on 23 April, and we continued until early May.
It wouldn’t be an honest vintage report without acknowledging one small disappointment. A little out of the 66 Shiraz parcel didn’t quite make it this year. It got a bit too dry, and with those vines remaining dry grown with no irrigation, that was a tough outcome. But as Ben puts it, “the rest of all the other blocks look pretty smart, and everyone seems pretty happy with what’s in the tank.”
What’s in the Cellar
The team is confident across the board. Jacob sees real ripeness and brightness in the wines, with lots of natural acidity and strong cool climate character that he believes will give them real longevity. “Overall I think it’s going to be a really smart vintage,” he says. “I think all the wines are going to show cool climate aspects and have a lot of longevity.”
Riesling looks very exciting, building on the success of the 2025 vintage which took out 97 points in the Halliday Wine Companion and a trio of trophies at the Canberra International Riesling Show. Shiraz is shaping up to be beautifully perfumed and elegant, leaning into the cool climate style Great Western is known for, with lots of pepper and perfume. And the white Shiraz, a fun project Ben always keeps a close eye on, is also one to watch.
Jacob’s standout pick for the vintage is the Pinots. “I think it’s going to be a really strong showing for them, Noir and Meunier. That’s probably the one I’m most excited for.” One reason for that excitement is the Pinot Meunier planted at Best’s Salvation Hills vineyard in Rhymney, now 12 years old and starting to show real depth of both variety and site character. “We started to see a little bit of this in 2025, and we’ve seen a lot more of it in 2026,” Jacob notes. As the vines mature, that character is only going to deepen. The Riesling at Salvation Hills, producing its first decent crop size, is another exciting development to watch.
Ben, who will taste through the full vintage with the team in the coming weeks before making final calls, sums it up well: “All in all, with everything we have seen so far, Vintage 2026 looks pretty good.”
What Happens next?
With fruit safely in the cellar, attention turns to the vineyard’s next chapter. The team is preparing to begin pruning, likely in late June or into July, depending on conditions. It has been a mild autumn, with temperatures still reaching 20 to 25 degrees in mid-May, meaning many vines are still holding their leaves. The Shiraz out the back remains as green as anything, and the Riesling still has green patches, with no frost yet to trigger leaf drop.
Pruning with leaves on is possible, but not ideal. The vines are still storing starch and energy for next year’s growth, so patience here pays dividends down the track. If a warm dry winter is on the cards, the team may also choose to prune a little later to push back bud burst, adding another layer of decision-making as the season ahead takes shape.
Our Wonderful Vintage Crew
A vintage like this doesn’t happen without an exceptional team behind it. A big thank you to our vineyard crew, Paul, Craig and Dave, who work tirelessly through all sorts of weather conditions, testing new techniques and tools to care for our grapes from the ground up. And to our winery vintage team, Csilla, Olivia, Jacob, Mia, Nicole, Ilkka and Dom, thank you for your dedication, passion and hard work in bringing the 2026 vintage to life.
