Best Value Winery

2024 Best Value Winery 

Oakridge Wines – Yarra Valley, Victoria 

The Best Value awards – denoted by the Special Value rosette ✪ – are the most difficult to judge. The reason is that there are several different ways to look at value, and each of these ways is valid. A simple search for high-scoring wines under $25 or $30 may well be the easiest way, but then (very) high scoring wines at $50 or $60 can easily be justified as high in value (especially when they beat wines in their category at three or more times their price). Just to complicate matters further: if the most expensive new-release wines in the world can cost several thousand dollars each, then even a wine at $250 can be deemed Special Value if its quality is the equal of such wines. At Wine Companion, we are champions of quality in its purest form, and have no desire to become part of the race to the bottom. If the wine is excellent, we’ll celebrate it.

Oakridge's chief winemaker David Bicknell.

You get the feeling when you look at the Oakridge range that this producer respects its customers as much as it does the quality of its wines. This is perhaps best illustrated by the fact that, of Oakridge’s 15 wines in this guide to have scored 95 or above, every single one of them qualified as Special Value in its category. It’s also pleasing to note that 10 of Oakridge’s absolute top-scoring wines (it went close to winning Winery of the Year) are priced at under $50. Indeed, both of its outstanding sub-$50 single vineyard Willowlake 2021 releases, pinot noir and chardonnay, scored 97 points. This is one of a number of areas where Oakridge shines: at consistently getting the very top-end of quality into value considerations.

When we were discussing potential winners of this Best Value Winery award, the words ‘Oakridge wins in a canter’ were used. Oakridge proves that to drink the very best, you don’t need to break the bank. – Campbell Mattinson

Oakridge’s 15 wines in the 2024 Companion scored 95 or above and each qualified as Special Value.

Oakridge chief winemaker David Bicknell says winning Best Value Winery is a reflection of the team's continuous hard work. "I feel quite strongly about having the price of wine be affordable, so people actually drink it."

“It's not just about price, it's also about who's made it and how long they've been making it as well,” David says. He’s been with Oakridge since 2002 – a impressive tenure in any industry, and the winery itself is 45 years young.

While David is thrilled by the accolade, he says Oakridge doesn’t lead with a value proposition. “The commitment we have to quality probably exceeds our commitment to value, if that makes sense, because we're always striving to make better wine.”

When it comes to the winery's success, David says it's one team, one dream. "And that's been one of the reasons we've been successful over many years."

2024 Best Value Winery

Previous Best Value Winery recipients include Hoddles Creek Estate (2015), West Cape Howe Wines (2016), Larry Cherubino Wines (2017), Grosset (2018), Provenance Wines (2019), Domaine Naturaliste (2020), Best’s Wines (2021), Lake Breeze Wines (2022) and Deep Woods Estate (2023).

The 2024 Halliday Wine Companion is available now. Secure your copy of Australia's most comprehensive wine guide here – and at all good bookstores.

This is an edited extract from the 2024 Halliday Wine Companion, with reviews by James Halliday, Campbell Mattinson, Dave Brookes, Jane Faulkner, Jeni Port, Mike Bennie, Ned Goodwin MW, Philip Rich and Shanteh Wale. Cover art by Ka Mo.