Tyrrell’s Wines
Proudly family-owned for 160 years, Tyrrell’s is a wine company rich in history and pioneering achievements
The Tyrrell family’s association with the grape began with Edward Tyrrell in 1858. Today his legacy lives on through the fourth and fifth generation of the family who collectively manage one of Australia’s oldest and most highly regarded wineries. Tyrrell’s has grown over a century and a half to become one of Australia’s most prestigious winemakers. Today the company is managed by fifth generation owner Chris Tyrrell. Over the years the family have been instrumental in changing the face of the Australian wine industry. The family’s many successes include introducing Chardonnay and Pinot Noir to the Australian wine category, and their ‘Vat 47’ was Australia’s first commercial Chardonnay. They were also one of the first wineries to expand out of the Hunter Valley, setting up vineyards 160kms north of Sydney and 100kms north of Melbourne. Innovation and leadership are two of the key attributes of the family, and have been instrumental in securing Tyrrell’s position as one of Australia’s leading producers. Today the family are also producers of Australia’s most awarded white wine, the ‘Vat 1 Hunter Valley Semillon’, which has won an astounding 5,475 medals and 332 trophies.
“Nothing is great unless it is good”, Edward Tyrrell’s motto and the guiding beacon of today’s fourth and fifth generation
The Tyrrell’s are also members of ‘Australia’s First Families of Wine (AFFW)’. An organistion that communicates and builds awareness of premium Australian wines and their heritage.
In the late 19th Century Phylloxera decimated vineyards across much of the globe. Miraculously the Hunter Valley was largely spared, meaning that today it is home to some of the oldest vines in the world. Bruce Tyrrell calls these ancient vineyards his “sacred sites” applauding their ability to produce fruit that is “so good and so different” that each site warrants its own bottling.
Tyrrell’s Winemakers Selection - One of Australia’s oldest and most awarded collections of wine. All wines in the range originate from Tyrrell’s ancient vineyards located around the historic Pokolbin winery in the Hunter Valley. They epitomise the Hunter Valley terroir.
Tyrrell’s Hunter Valley - A distinctive range of wines which capture the unique interaction between a single grape variety and a specific terroir of the Hunter Valley. As well as expressing true varietal character and terroir these wines also possess personality bestowed on them by Tyrrell’s winemakers
Tyrrell’s Rufus Stone - Since 1997 the ‘Rufus Stone’ name has been synonymus with Tyrrell’s top non Hunter red wines sourced from vineyards in Heathcote. The name is inspired by English King William II, known as Rufus. Rufus was believed to have been killed by an errant arrow fired by Sir Walter Tyrrell – an ancestor of the Tyrrell family.
Tyrrell’s Old Winery - This range is named after the historic Hunter Valley winery, built in 1863. It offers a range of wines produced using fruit from premium Australian wine regions. The wines deliver distinctive varietal character and outstanding quality synonymous with the Tyrrell’s name at a refreshingly affordable price.
Recent Accolades
Year after year Tyrrell’s wins a staggering number of awards and accolades. In 2024 the estate was named Halliday Winery of the Year, one of the highest honours in Australian wine, recognising the consistency and quality of its wines across the range. Earlier highlights include a standout 2017, when the winery won several awards at the New South Wales Wine Awards and received outstanding scores in the James Halliday Wine Companion, with 13 wines awarded 95 points or higher. The winery has also received a ‘double five red star’ rating for the consistently high quality of its wines.
Both of Tyrrell’s flagship wines, the Vat 1 Hunter Semillon and Vat 9 Hunter Shiraz, were given the inaugural award of ‘The Wine of Provenance’ at the Hunter Valley Wine Show in 2012, firmly cementing Tyrrell’s position at the top of the Hunter Valley for both Semillon and Shiraz.
