Understanding winery ratings

WINERY RATINGS

Winery star-ratings are published annually for Australian and New Zealand wineries that have submitted to Halliday Wine Companion in the past year.

When calculating star ratings, we look at each winery's rating for this year and the previous year; if the wines tasted this year justify a higher rating than last year, that higher rating has been given. If, on the other hand, the wines are of lesser quality, the winery rating will drop half a star.

Where no wines were submitted by a well-rated winery with a reliable track record of providing samples, or in exceptional circumstances such as fire or drought, we may roll over last year's rating online (although these wineries won't be featured in the Companion book).

5 red stars

Outstanding winery regularly producing wines of exemplary quality and typicity. Will have at least two wines rated at 95 points or above, and has typically held a 5-star rating for the previous three years (i.e. 4 years in total at 5 stars).  Where the red stars are underlined, it is a winery generally acknowledged to have had a long track record of excellence, typically having held a 5-star rating continuously for 10 years – truly the best of the best.

5 black stars

Outstanding winery capable of producing wines of very high quality, and did so this year. Will have at least two wines rated at 95 points or above.

4.5 black stars

Excellent winery able to produce wines of high to very high quality, knocking on the door of a 5-star rating. Will have one wine rated at 95 points or above, and two (or more) at 90 or above. 

4 black stars

Very good producer of wines with class and character. Will have either one wine rated at 95 points or above, or two (or more) at 90 or above.

3.5 black stars

A solid, usually reliable maker of good, sometimes very good, wines. Will have one wine rated at 90 points or above, others 86–89.

3 black stars

A typically good winery, but often has a few lesser wines. Will have at least one wine at 86–89 points.

NR

The NR rating is given when there have been no wines reviewed for this edition, where there have been no wines scoring more than 86 points, or where the tastings have, for one reason or another, proved not to fairly reflect the reputation of a winery with a track record of success.