Victorian red wine named 'Australia's best' at international awards

An $80 bottle of red from Victoria’s Yarra Valley has been hailed ‘top drop’ at one of the world’s most prestigious wine awards.

Levantine Hill Estate 2015 Syrah claimed three prizes – Best Australian Red, Best Shiraz and Best Victorian Red – at the International Wine Challenge in London today.

Winemaker Paul Bridgeman told 9NEWS the accolades were an "exciting result" for his company.

"We've been chipping away for a few years... it's very humbling," he said, adding the awards were "great" for the Yarra Valley region.

Mr Bridgeman said hard-to-impress French wine-tasters were “pleasantly surprised” by the red, which claimed gold medal status from the judges.

The flavour of the drop is described as “intensely heady and beguiling”, featuring the notes of “boysenberry, Damson plum, rosehip, musk, tarragon, white pepper, cedar and all-spice”.

"It's not your standard Australian Shiraz... it's elegant and perfumed with a slow build."

It retails for $480 for six bottles on the winemaker’s website.