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| Saddler’s Creek Wines 2013 Botrytis Semillon |
2016 AUSTRALIAN SWEET WINE CHALLENGE RESULTS OUT NOW
Top Sweet Wines up a Creek with a Trophy for a paddle!
The 11th annual Australian Sweet Wine Challenge (ASWC) presentation dinner was held in Griffith NSW tonight (Friday 30 September) to unveil this year’s top sweet and semi-sweet wines.
As in previous years, the wines competing to get crowned the best within their style came from all over the country and were crafted from a wide range of grape varieties, including Semillon, Sauvignon, Pinot Gris, Viognier, Muscadelle, Taminga, Moscato, Verdelho, Gewurztraminer, Riesling and blends of the former varietals.
The expert panel of judges - led by Chair of Judges, wine journalist, sommelier and consultant, Sophie Otton – agreed that the quality across the board was very high, with 83% of ASWC entrants receiving a medal. Sophie Otton commented, “As ever, there were some superb examples of sweet and semi-sweet wines entered; culminating with an exemplary Museum Wine Class that always serves as a reminder of how glorious these wines can be.”
Despite the diversity on offer at the 2016 ASWC, when push came to shove (by some very narrow margins) it was the Riverina and Semillon which shone on the night, collecting the majority of the Trophies. Sophie said, “This result endorses one of the local strengths, something for which the Riverina region can feel extremely proud: producing Australian benchmarks of a wine style that is not only a labour of love, but extremely difficult to execute well."
The Trophy for Best Sweet Wine with a Fruity Style was won by Saddler’s Creek Wines 2013 Botrytis Semillon from the Riverina. Another local winery, Lillypilly Estate Wines,
claimed the title of Best Sweet Wine from Other Varieties & Blends with their Lillypilly Estate Wines 2015 Noble Blend and the Trophy for Best Mature Sweet Wine went to the
De Bortoli Wines 2008 Noble One.
And the ultimate title of 2016 Australian Sweet Wine of the Year went to … Saddler’s Creek Wines 2013 Botrytis Semillon, Riverina
Sophie Otton said of the winning wine, “A deserving winner. This wine showed all the attributes one hopes to find in these wines and here every element was on song; freshness, complexity, richness and intensity.”
So experience the sweeter side of life this year with wines from the 2016 Australian Sweet Wine Challenge. Beautiful things really do come in little packages!
2016 ASWC TROPHY WINNERS:
- Best Sweet, Floral Style ~ Brown Brothers 2013 Patricia Noble Riesling, King Valley
- Best Sweet, Fruity Style ~ Saddler’s Creek Wines 2013 Botrytis Semillon, Riverina
- Best Sweet, Other Varieties & Blends ~ Lillypilly Estate Wines 2015 Noble Blend, Riverina
- Best Museum Wine ~ De Bortoli Wines 2008 Noble One, Riverina
- 2016 Australian Sweet Wine of the Year ~ Saddler’s Creek Wines 2013 Botrytis Semillon
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