2025 Heroes Vineyard Anti Hero Waybourne Shiraz

This is an exciting little bottle of Victorian Shiraz.

Heroes is rapidly building a reputation for beautifully detailed cool-climate wines

95 Points – Halliday Wine Companion

Waybourne Vineyard – Geelong, Victoria

95 Points – Halliday Wine Companion

RRP $37

95 Halliday Points. Waybourne Vineyard. Geelong. $37.

Now this is an exciting little bottle of Victorian Shiraz.

The 2024 Heroes Vineyard Anti-Hero Waybourne Shiraz comes from the Waybourne Vineyard in Geelong, a small vineyard in the Barrabool Hills near Waurn Ponds, and is made by James Thomas under his increasingly impressive Anti-Hero label.

Waybourne has genuine history. Halliday records that owners Tony and Kay Volpato began planting in 1978, with Shiraz subsequently added to established varieties including Riesling, Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Cabernet and Merlot. The vineyard sits on a ridge overlooking the historic Barrabool Hills wine country.

Heroes already has a connection to this vineyard, explicitly identifying Waybourne as the source of its 2024 Anti-Hero Rosé.

And now we have Waybourne Shiraz.

The result?

95 Points – Halliday Wine Companion

At an RRP of just:

$37.

That is seriously exciting value.

95 Points – Halliday Wine Companion

95 Points – Halliday Wine Companion

That's a huge result for a sub-$40 Victorian Shiraz.

But what's particularly interesting is the combination of producer + vineyard + region.

Heroes is rapidly building a reputation for beautifully detailed cool-climate wines.

Waybourne gives James Thomas access to an established Geelong vineyard.

And Geelong is one of Australia's most exciting regions for sophisticated, savoury Shiraz.

Put the three together and you've got something far more interesting than the price suggests.

Heroes + Waybourne + Geelong + 95 Halliday Points.

For $37

Tasting Profile

Expect a beautifully refined, savoury style of Shiraz built around:

• Blackberry
• Black cherry
• Red plum
• Blueberry
• Violet
• Black pepper
• Olive
• Dried herbs
• Clove
• Savoury spice
• Earth
• Fine tannins
• Fresh acidity
• Long, spicy finish

This isn't about enormous fruit concentration.

It's about perfume, spice, savouriness and texture.

The fruit sits in that gorgeous red-to-black spectrum before pepper, herbs and spice start building through the palate.

The tannins give structure without heaviness.

And underneath everything is the freshness you'd expect from modern Geelong Shiraz.

Waybourne Vineyard – Geelong

Here's where the story gets really interesting.

The fruit comes from:

Waybourne Vineyard

in the Geelong wine region.

Halliday Wine Companion places Waybourne at Waurn Ponds, while Heroes describes the vineyard more specifically as a small vineyard in the Barrabool Hills, Geelong.

That immediately gives this wine a sense of place.

This isn't generic Victorian Shiraz.

It's vineyard-designated fruit from a specific Geelong site.

And Waybourne isn't new.

A Vineyard with History

Waybourne has been part of the Geelong wine landscape for decades.

Halliday records that Tony and Kay Volpato began planting in 1978, gradually establishing a diverse collection of grape varieties at the property. Shiraz was later added to the vineyard.

That's significant.

We're not talking about a newly planted vineyard created to chase the current popularity of cool-climate Shiraz.

Waybourne belongs to an established part of Geelong's modern wine history.

And its location is particularly interesting.

The Barrabool Hills

The Barrabool Hills are one of the historic viticultural areas surrounding Geelong.

Halliday's Waybourne profile notes the vineyard's ridge location and the connection between these hills and the early Swiss settlers who recognised the area's potential for vineyards.

It's beautiful wine country.

Rolling hills.

Cooling maritime influence.

Long growing seasons.

And a history of viticulture stretching back generations.

Today, Geelong is again producing some of Australia's most exciting Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Shiraz.

And the Waybourne Vineyard sits right in that story.

Why Geelong Works for Shiraz

Geelong is fascinating because it gives Shiraz a completely different expression from warmer Australian regions.

Think about traditional Barossa Shiraz and you might expect:

Huge black fruit

Chocolate

Richness

Power

Generous alcohol

Geelong can move in another direction.

More:

Pepper

Violet

Blackberry

Olive

Herbs

Spice

Savoury tannin

That's the style of Shiraz that increasingly attracts Pinot Noir drinkers and Northern Rhône lovers.

Less about sheer power.

More about:

Detail.

Shiraz with a Syrah Sensibility

Shiraz and Syrah are exactly the same grape.

But the words have developed different stylistic associations.

Australian Shiraz traditionally suggests richness and power.

Northern Rhône Syrah suggests:

Violet

Pepper

Olive

Blackberry

Herbs

Earth

Savoury spice

Cooler Australian regions have increasingly blurred that distinction.

And Geelong is perfectly capable of producing Shiraz with that more perfumed, spicy, savoury personality.

This is still unmistakably Australian wine.

But philosophically, it's moving towards finesse rather than brute force.

James Thomas – One of the Names to Watch

Then there's the winemaker.

James Thomas is doing some seriously exciting things at Heroes.

Before establishing Heroes, Thomas worked as assistant winemaker at Bannockburn Vineyards and later as head winemaker at Clyde Park—two significant names in Geelong wine. His Heroes project now focuses heavily on cool-climate, site-driven wines.

That's important with Waybourne.

James understands Geelong.

He understands cool-climate fruit.

And most importantly, he understands how to make wines where perfume, texture and vineyard character matter more than sheer weight.

The Anti-Hero Project

The Anti-Hero wines give James Thomas the freedom to move beyond his original Heroes Vineyard and work with other sites.

Heroes explains that its flagship wines come from its original vineyard, while Anti-Hero is based around fruit sourced from other vineyards.

That makes Anti-Hero more than a simple second label.

It's a vineyard exploration project.

Different sites.

Different varieties.

Different regions.

Same winemaker.

And Waybourne fits perfectly into that idea.

Heroes Already Knows Waybourne

There's another reason this wine makes sense.

James Thomas has already worked with fruit from Waybourne.

The 2024 Heroes Anti-Hero Rosé came from the same small Waybourne Vineyard in the Barrabool Hills. Heroes says the fruit was whole-bunch pressed, fermented with indigenous yeast in older oak and bottled without fining, with only 100 cases made.

So this isn't simply a random fruit purchase.

There's already a connection between:

Heroes

and

Waybourne Vineyard.

Now we get to see that relationship expressed through Shiraz.

The Heroes Philosophy

What I like about Heroes is that the wines aren't chasing size.

Look across the range and there's a consistent theme:

Perfume

Freshness

Texture

Site

Restraint

That makes Shiraz particularly interesting.

James Thomas comes from a background heavily influenced by Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

Bring that sort of sensitivity to Shiraz and you're naturally going to look for something different.

Not:

How big can we make this?

But:

How much detail can we preserve?

That's the Shiraz revolution happening across cooler Australian regions.

Pinot Noir Drinkers – Pay Attention

Here's who I'd particularly recommend this wine to:

Pinot Noir drinkers.

Not because Shiraz tastes like Pinot.

It doesn't.

But because this style of Shiraz is built around many of the things Pinot lovers value:

Perfume

Freshness

Fine tannin

Moderate weight

Savoury complexity

Drinkability

If you normally avoid Australian Shiraz because you think it's too heavy, too ripe or too alcoholic, this is exactly the sort of bottle I'd put in front of you.

Pepper, Spice & Savouriness

One of the great pleasures of cooler-climate Shiraz is pepper.

Not oak spice.

Actual peppery varietal character.

Combine that with:

Violet

Blackberry

Olive

Herbs

Earth

and suddenly Shiraz becomes an incredibly complex grape.

That's why cool-climate Australian Shiraz has become such an exciting category.

It's not trying to replace Barossa Shiraz.

It's showing you another side of the variety entirely.

Food Pairings

This is made for the dinner table.

Try it with:

• Chargrilled lamb cutlets
• Roast lamb
• Duck breast
• Beef fillet
• Venison
• Lamb kofta
• Beef short ribs
• Mushroom ragù
• Wood-fired mushroom pizza
• Charcuterie
• Aged cheddar
• Comté

My pick?

Chargrilled lamb cutlets.

Blackberry, pepper, herbs and savoury spice with smoky lamb is an absolutely classic combination.

Serve it around:

15–17°C

Don't serve it too warm.

A slight chill will emphasise the aromatics, freshness and peppery character.

Drinking & Cellaring

At this price, I'd buy this primarily to drink.

But a 95-point single-vineyard Shiraz with fine tannin and good natural freshness should also reward some time in bottle.

I'd suggest:

Drink now–2033.

Young, expect more:

Blackberry • Cherry • Violet • Pepper • Spice

With time, those flavours should start moving towards:

Earth • Leather • Dried Herbs • Savoury Spice

I'd happily give a young bottle 30–60 minutes in a decanter.

Then use a decent-sized glass.

There's perfume here worth capturing.

$37 – This Is the Killer

Now we get to the part that's difficult to ignore.

You're getting:

95 Points – Halliday Wine Companion

Waybourne Vineyard

Barrabool Hills

Geelong, Victoria

Single-Vineyard Shiraz

Made by James Thomas

Heroes Anti-Hero Project

Cool-Climate Shiraz Style

Red & Black Fruit

Perfume

Savoury Complexity

Fine Tannin

And the RRP is:

$29.50.

That's the bit that doesn't make sense.

In the best possible way.

Heroes Is Absolutely Flying

And this wine doesn't exist in isolation.

Look at some of the Heroes wines we've been working through:

2024 Heroes Vineyard Pinot Noir – 97 Points Halliday

2024 Heroes Vineyard Chardonnay – 96 Points Halliday

2024 Heroes Vineyard Dry Riesling – 95+ Points Halliday

2024 Anti-Hero Yeowarra Hill Pinot Noir – 95+ Points Halliday

2024 Anti-Hero Yeowarra Hill Chardonnay – 94 Points Halliday

2024 Anti-Hero Coola Road Chardonnay – 93 Points Halliday

2024 Anti-Hero Coola Road Pinot Noir – 92 Points Halliday

2025 Anti-Hero Pinot Meunier – 93 Points Halliday

And now:

2024 Anti-Hero Waybourne Shiraz – 95 Points Halliday

There's quality running through the entire operation.

Why We Love It

This might be one of the smartest buys in the Anti-Hero range.

Not simply because it has:

95 Halliday points.

It's the combination that makes it exciting.

Heroes Vineyard.

James Thomas.

Waybourne Vineyard.

Barrabool Hills.

Geelong.

Single-vineyard Shiraz.

95 Halliday points.

And:

$37 RRP.

Waybourne itself has vineyard history stretching back to the late 1970s, while Heroes has already demonstrated its interest in the site through its previous Waybourne-sourced Anti-Hero wine.

If you love Geelong Shiraz, Northern Rhône Syrah, peppery Victorian reds or elegant Australian Shiraz, this is absolutely worth trying.

And if you normally tell me:

“I'm not really a Shiraz drinker.”

Even better.

Try this.

95 Halliday Points. Waybourne Vineyard. Barrabool Hills. Geelong. $37 RRP.

The 2024 Heroes Anti-Hero Waybourne Shiraz is exactly the kind of wine that shows why Geelong is producing some of Australia's most exciting cool-climate reds — and at under $40, the value is exceptional.