After back-to-back cold and wet La Niña vintages in 2022 and 2023 that challenged viticulture across much of southeastern Australia, particularly the state of Victoria, the 2024 vintage marks a return to more classic conditions in Victoria – warmer, drier and early, with generous fruit profiles and wines that show a sense of balance and ease.
My recent visit to Victoria encompassed visits with dozens of producers and tasting about 400 wines from across the state’s key growing regions, including the Yarra Valley, Macedon Ranges, Heathcote, Geelong, Beechworth and the often-overlooked Grampians. Most of the wines were from the newly bottled 2024 vintage, which forms the core of this report, alongside a small group of well-known late-release 2023s from benchmark producers such as Mount Mary and Giaconda. In total, we rated more than 650 bottles from Victoria producers.
The transition from the 2023s to the 2024s couldn’t have been starker, both in style and in the growing conditions faced by producers. The 2023 season in Victoria was cool and late, yielding wines of delicacy and restraint – lower in alcohol, fine-boned and elegant. In contrast, 2024 was early, compressed and warm, thus delivering riper, fruit-driven wines with structure and surprising freshness. Taken together, these vintages reveal the resilience of Victoria’s vineyards and the adaptability of its winemakers.
