By any reckoning the rise of Tyrrell's Wines on the prestigious, Australia-wide The Real Review wine ratings has been stunning.

Released this week, The Real Review is compiled by Huon Hooke, the long-time wine writer for the Sydney Morning Herald and one of the country's most authoritative wine voices.

About 10,000 wines are tasted annually.

'We're delighted," owner Bruce Tyrrell said. "We did well, but probably the most pleasing thing was to see how prominently the Hunter Valley figured overall."

In his summation of Tyrrell's meteoric rise, Hooke wrote: "Tyrrell's is the big mover. It's now in fourth place following a bevy of great 2017 red wines. It was number 165 last year. The 2017 vintage saw some stellar single vineyard and Vat numbered reds, while the 2013 semillons were also smashing."

While Tyrrell's were the stars of the show, the Hunter had an impressive six wineries in the top 37 - a strong showing when you consider the depth and quality of Australian wine these days.

After Tyrrell's, Brokenwood (number 12), Silkman (13), Mount Pleasant (31), Pepper Tree (32, up from 303 last year) and Lake's Folly (37) all starred.

"We sent in a number of our 17 vintage reds, along with the current whites and some of our older 2013 vintage release semillons and chardonnay," Mr Tyrrell said.

"They're both wonderful vintages. The 2017 vintage reds is on the shelves now - the first of three terrific vintages in a row - and the 13 whites are a typically strong Hunter vintage and ageing beautifully."

And what does he make of the strong Hunter performance?

"It shows what we can do with good fruit from a good vintage. And it shows that our next generation of Hunter winemakers - those in their 30s and 40s - are wonderfully talented.

"It's reassuring to know the future is in such good hands.''

The top of Hooke's list was not surprisingly Penfold's, followed by Morris winery from Rutherglen, and Wynns Coonawarra.

Three other Hunter wineries - Vinden, Thomas and Gundog - made the top 100.