An Australian Icon: Bin No. 0 Shiraz

Bin No. 0 Shiraz

Shiraz has been produced at Best’s Great Western since the late 1800s. Although the actual date of the first Bin No. 0 Shiraz is lost in the annals of time. It is known, however, that ‘Bin 0’ has been used on the label for over 100 years.

Best’s Bin No. 0 Shiraz is produced from the four original Shiraz plantings. From the low yielding blocks of the historic Concongella vineyard at Great Western. This includes nineteenth century and mid-twentieth century plantings of Shiraz, which result in very low yielding, intense fruit.

Adam talks about the history of this wine and why it’s so special to Best’s in this short video.

In 2010, the esteemed Langton’s Classification of Australian Wine upgraded the classification of Bin No. 0 Shiraz from the ‘Distinguished’ to ‘Excellent’ category.
Bin No. 0 Shiraz 2009 Released 1 November

2009 Bin No. 0 Shiraz

In 2009, Best’s did not produce any of the family’s namesake wine, the Thomson Family Shiraz. So the 2009 Bin No. 0 contains parcels from the original 1868 Shiraz plantings usually reserved for that wine.

The fruit is hand-selected, sorted and fermented in small-batches. After careful barrel selection, the wine is then aged in the Best’s underground cellar. According to our winemaker Adam Wadewitz “2009 was a tough vintage in Great Western with late heatwave conditions in January almost halving the normal volume of Bin No. 0 produced. Rigorous selection of fruit parcels meant that we could be selective about quality. The result is an opulent rendition of Bin No. 0 – concentrated with a great mid palate. This is a wine that will not only age well but will be more accessible earlier because of the vintage influence.”

Prior to release, the 2009 Bin No. 0 received Gold Medals at the 2011 Macquarie Group Sydney Royal Wine Show. The 2011 Adelaide Wine Show and the 2011 Victorian Wine Show in Seymour.