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- Pooley Wines celebrates historic Sydney Royal Wine Show win
Pooley Wines has achieved one of the most significant accolades in its 40-year history, with its 2024 Pooley Syrah named Best Wine of Show at the 2026 Sydney Royal Wine Show.
The Coal River Valley wine also received trophies for Best Shiraz and Best Red Wine of Show, competing against more than 1,500 wines across 55 classes from wineries around Australia.
The result recognises the quality and character of the Pooley Syrah, made from fruit grown across Pooley Wines’ estate vineyards and selected growers in Tasmania’s Coal River Valley.
The award follows success at the 2025 Royal Hobart Wine Show, where the 2024 Pooley Syrah received the Best Shiraz Trophy, further building its reputation as an outstanding Australian cool-climate Syrah.
The story behind the wine stretches back more than two decades.
In the early 2000s, Pooley Wines planted Shiraz at its Cooinda Vale Vineyard, guided by then Vineyard Manager and third-generation family member Matthew Pooley, who recognised the variety’s potential in Tasmania’s cool climate.
The family’s belief in Shiraz later led to the creation of the J.R.D. Syrah, named in recognition of Managing Director John Pooley’s longstanding appreciation for the variety.
In 2023, Pooley Wines saw an opportunity to introduce an Estate Syrah alongside its Pinot Noir range. Drawing on more than two decades of experience growing the variety, the inaugural 2024 vintage represented the realisation of that long-held vision.
Pooley Wines General Manager Tristan Jones said the Sydney Royal recognition was a proud moment for everyone involved.
“Winning Best Wine of Show at the Sydney Royal Wine Show is an incredible achievement and a testament to the dedication of our vineyard, winemaking and wider team.
“The 2024 Pooley Syrah represents years of planning, patience and belief in the potential of this remarkable variety. To see only the second production of our Estate Pooley Syrah recognised as Australia’s Best Wine of Show is an incredibly proud moment for the Pooley family and everyone who has contributed to its journey.
“This award belongs to every member of our team, from those who first believed in planting Shiraz in the Coal River Valley more than twenty years ago to those who continue to nurture our vineyards and craft our wines today.”
Pooley Wines Managing Director John Pooley said the award was the culmination of a vision decades in the making.
“The 2024 vintage delivered exceptional fruit quality, allowing our winemaking team to craft a Syrah that captures the elegance, purity and regional character we strive for in every bottle.
“Receiving Best Wine of Show for our Pooley Syrah is both humbling and immensely rewarding. It validates more than forty years of my family’s ambition to establish one of Australia’s leading cool-climate wine businesses and demonstrates that Tasmania is capable of producing Syrah that stands alongside the very best in Australia and the world.
“This award is not only a proud moment for the Pooley family but also for the Coal River Valley and the Tasmanian wine industry as a whole.”
Established in 1985 in Tasmania’s Coal River Valley, Pooley Wines is a three-generation family-owned winery recognised for its cool-climate wines and estate vineyards.
The 2024 Pooley Syrah is available through the Pooley Wines Cellar Door, Wine Club and selected premium retailers.