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Best Still Wine of Show - the Ian Bicego Trophy Tempus Two 2015 Pewter Poppy’s Block Chardonnay (Hunter Valley) |
The new Riverina GI Wine Show was designed to throw the spotlight on the provenance of wine produced in the Riverina and give the local wine industry a new forum where they can celebrate the diversity of the Riverina and highlight the specific character and qualities of the wines produced there. And this first year seems to have fulfilled all those aims with a panel of judges - headed by wine journalist, sommelier and consultant Sophie Otton – expertly critiquing their way through strong entry numbers spread across 11 different wine classes of wines made from Riverina fruit.
The Durif class was as hotly contested as ever, with judges commenting on it being an “excellent class – good fruit, good colour and good concentration. Good winemaking, full stop!” In the end theMcWilliam's Wines Hanwood ‘1913’ Durif narrowly won top marks to claim the Best Durif Trophy for the 3rd year in a row.
The judges were also delighted to see such diversity and high-quality amongst the Riverina GI ‘Dry Red, Other Varieties & Blends’ class, with expressive and skilfully crafted examples of Touriga, Montepulciano, Petit Verdot and Lagrein all made locally.
Chair of Judges Sophie Otton said, “Each and every wine skilfully expressed its individuality and varietal character. It was difficult to choose between them.” And it was a wine within this class that ultimately won the title of Best Still Wine from Riverina Fruit – the McWilliam's Wines 2015 Hanwood ‘1913’ Touriga.
Unsurprisingly, McWilliam’s Wines also then went on to claim the Trophy for Most Successful Exhibitor of Riverina Still Wines.
The continuation of the Riverina Wine Show Open Classes recognises the broader national interests of Riverina’s winemakers who draw grapes from every State, except Queensland, and produce one in every four glasses of Australian wine! President of the RWS Les Worland explains, “The Riverina Wine Show has been supporting Australian winemakers for the last 42 years and will continue to do so. Not only does it accommodate the fact that many of our local wineries draw fruit from outside the Riverina but it also provides a forum for other blends and non-regional wines. It is also unique in that it is the only wine show to showcase ‘popular premium wines’; those wines which have a large production run and are therefore widely available to the general public.”
In this part of the awards presentation, the big winners of the night were the Pfeiffer Wines NV Grand Rutherglen Muscat that won the Best Fortified Wine Trophy, the Mount Pleasant Wines 2009 Elizabeth Semillon that claimed the Best Popular Premium White Wine Trophy, the Casella Family Brands 2015 Young Brute Shiraz that was awarded the Best Popular Premium Red Wine Trophy and the Tempus Two 2015 Pewter Poppy’s Block Chardonnay that won the ultimate title of Best Still Wine of Show.
Sophie Otton said, “The Tempus Two exemplifies the state of play with Australian chardonnay; refined, gently complex, with balance and finesse.”
Commenting on other wine styles to look out for in 2016/2017, Sophie commented, “While the strength of the traditional varieties was impressive, it was so good to see our winemakers’ excel with the utterly engaging lesser-known varieties.”
For a full list of all Trophy winners please see below.
The results have been announced just in time for the unWINEd in the Riverina festival, which will be held around the towns of Griffith, Leeton, Yenda, Bilbul, Hanwood and Tharbogang over the October long weekend; celebrate what the Riverina wine region has to offer with plenty of delicious wine tastings and cuisine, live music and plenty of other events.
Trophy winning wines at the 2016 Riverina Wine Show:
1] Best Riverina Shiraz – The Sean Hampel Award
Nugan Estate 2015 3rd Generation Shiraz (Riverina)
2] Best Riverina Durif
McWilliam’s Wines 2014 Hanwood ‘1913’ Durif (Riverina)
3] Best Semillon (open class) - sponsored by Braid Logistics Australia
Coolangatta Estate 2009 Wollstonecraft Semillon (Shoalhaven)
4] Best Chardonnay (open class) – sponsored by Orora
Tempus Two 2015 Pewter Poppy’s Block Chardonnay (Hunter Valley)
5] Best Dry White, other varieties & blends (open class)
McGuigan 2015 Shortlist Riesling (Eden Valley)
6] Best Shiraz (open class) – sponsored by Multicolour Labels
Moppity Vineyards 2015 Reserve Shiraz (Hilltops)
7] Best Cabernet Sauvignon (open class) - sponsored by Patrick Portlink
Calabria Family Wines 2015 The Seafarer Cabernet Sauvignon (SE Australia)
8] Best Dry Red, other varieties & blends (open class)
Santolin Wines 2015 Syme on Yarra Vineyard Pinot Noir (Yarra Valley)
9] Best Fortified (open class) – sponsored by Tarac Technologies
Pfeiffer Wines NV Grand Rutherglen Muscat (Rutherglen)
And the “Best of…” Trophies went to:
10] Best Still Wine from Riverina Fruit - sponsored by the Wine Grapes Marketing Board
McWilliam's Wines 2015 Hanwood ‘1913’ Touriga (Riverina)
11] Best Still Wine of Show - the Ian Bicego Trophy
Tempus Two 2015 Pewter Poppy’s Block Chardonnay (Hunter Valley)
12] Best Popular Premium White Wine
Mount Pleasant Wines 2009 Elizabeth Semillon (Hunter Valley)
13] Best Popular Premium Red Wine – sponsored by Oak Solutions Group
Casella Family Brands 2015 Young Brute Shiraz Cabernet (Limestone Coast)
Special Awards:
Most Successful Exhibitor of Riverina Still Wines - sponsored by A & G McWilliam’s Wines
Most Successful Exhibitor - sponsored by the Port of Melbourne
Jointly awarded to: McWilliam’s Wines and Australian Vintage Ltd
Growers Excellence Award – sponsored by Wine grapes marketing Board
Ruth Sutherland
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