2010 NSW Wine of the Year

The Coming of Age
International Winemaker of the Year
now 2010 NSW Wine of the Year!

 2010 NSW Wine Awards Gala Presentation Dinner, Guillaume at Bennelong, Sydney

Last year, McGuigan, one of New South Wales' (and Australia's) icon wine families brought the world's gaze back to our State's wines claiming in London the title of both the 2009 International Wine and Spirit Competition "Winemaker of the Year" and 2009 International Wine Challenge "White Winemaker of the Year". Tonight the McGuigan family is staking its claim as the State's best producer collecting the Trophy for the 2010 NSW Wine of the Year with its 2003 Tempus Two Copper Zenith Hunter Valley Semillon ($55).

Neil McGuigan was presented with the coveted 2010 NSW Wine of the Year Trophy before the who's who of the wine industry, including MC Simon Thomsen and Chair of Judges, Huon Hooke, at the NSW Wine Awards Gala Presentation Dinner at Guilliame, flanked by the other 8 Trophy winners of the 2010 NSW Wine Awards:

NSW Wine of the Year & Trophy Best Mature Dry White ~ Tempus Two 2003 Copper Zenith Semillon (Hunter Valley) $55

Trophy Best Young Riesling ~ Pokolbin Estate 2010 Riesling (Hunter Valley) $22

Trophy Best Young Sauvignon Blanc ~ Angullong Wines 2010 Sauvignon Blanc (Orange) $17

Trophy Best Young Semillon ~ First Creek Wines 2010 Winemakers Reserve Semillon (Hunter Valley) $29

Trophy Best Young Chardonnay ~ Hungerford Hill 2008 Epic Chardonnay (Tumbarumba) $45

Trophy Best Young White Other Varieties ~ Benwarin 2010 Verdelho (Hunter Valley) $18

Trophy Best Young Shiraz ~ Nick O'Leary Wines 2009 Shiraz (Canberra District) $28

Trophy Best Young Red Blend ~ Logan 2008 Cabernet Merlot Cabernet-Merlot (Orange) $25

Trophy Best Sweet White ~ McWilliams 2008 Morning Light Botrytis Semillon (Riverina) $30

The McGuigan's are one of Australia's best known wine families, with their roots firmly planted in the Hunter Valley. The family love affair with winemaking began with Owen McGuigan, a dairy farmer, who was born in the Hunter Valley in 1869, and laboured in the local vineyards in order to support his wife and six kids. Since then a further three generations of McGuigan's have made wine their life including household names, Brian & Fay McGuigan, Neil McGuigan and next generation Lisa McGuigan, who conceived Tempus Two.

Industry recognition for this great wine family has been immense. Perce McGuigan (Owen's son) is an inaugural Hunter Valley Living Legend for his part in shaping the Hunter Valley's prominence during his time working for Penfolds. Brian McGuigan (Perce's son) was responsible for launching McGuigan Wines and has been awarded the Australian Medal and Hunter Valley Living Legend status. Similarly, Brian's wife, Fay, who was responsible for McGuigan exports, has been honoured as a NSW Telstra Businesswoman of the Year and Australian Export Hero.

Neil McGuigan (Brian's brother) is now CEO of Australian Vintage (producers of both the McGuigan and Tempus Two brands among others) and under his reign McGuigan Wines has been recognized as one of Australia's best wine producers including "International Winemaker of the Year" at the 2009 International Wine & Spirit Competition in London.

As CEO of Australian Vintage, Neil gets to work in some of the most technologically advanced wineries in the industry. However, Tempus Two remains a boutique winery in the Hunter Valley, specializing in small batch production, and the treatment, maturation and bottling of super-premium wines.

Responsible for the creation of the 2003 vintage was talented winemaker Sarah-Kate Dineen (now based in New Zealand) ably assisted by Liz Jackson (another Hunter Valley local, now at First Creek winery). Liz is a star to watch as she also made the 2009 & 2010 First Creek Winemakers Reserve Semillons, which both secured spots in the hotly contested NSW Top 40 Wines, with the later carrying home the Trophy for Best Young Semillon – a proud hat trick for a young winemaker.

The 2003 Tempus Two Copper Zenith Hunter Valley Semillon is no stranger to success recently collecting 3 Trophies at the 2010 Hunter Valley Wine Show. It is the pinnacle of classical aged Hunter Valley Semillon: vibrant lemon and lime notes with floral undertones and complex honeyed characters developing. Citrus fruit flavours with toasty characters, balanced by a lingering acid backbone.

NSW Wine "Best of the Best Top 40" Tasting @ MCA

Everyone can taste the NSW Wine Awards winning wines at the 'NSW Wine "Best of the Best Top 40" Tasting' on Thursday 21st October. A great way to be amongst the first to discover the finest new wines of NSW, including winemaker-hosted Top 40 wine tours.

When:  Thursday 21st October, Museum of Contemporary Art, 140 George Street, The Rocks, Sydney.

Trade & Media tasting : 2- 4pm, pre-registration compulsory.

Consumer tasting : 5- 9pm, $50pp including NSW Wine glass, winemaker-hosted Top 40 wine tours, wine and canapés.

Book: www.nswwine.com.au for more information and tickets.

WHAT CLARE VALLEY SEMILLON’S ALL ABOUT

Wc11Oct10

FISH favourite – or with a simple
roast chicken if you're not into fish

David Ellis

TIM Adams Wines have released a ripper 2009 Semillon from their Clare Valley heartland, a wine that's what Clare Semillon is all about.

Somewhat different to Semillons from such major growing areas as NSW's Hunter Valley,  Clare Valley Semillon can be "more robust" – as is the case with this one – and often with more concentrated fruit flavours. This wine's also got some nice notes to it from its oak maturation.

At $22 grab a bottle of this Tim Adams and put it on the table with your favourite pan-fried white-fleshed fish. You'll find the intense tropical fruit flavours go wonderfully with your fish choice – or if you're not into fish, enjoy it just as much with simple roast chicken and mashed potatoes infused with a handful of chopped parsley, or a baking pan of roast vegetables.

ONE FOR LUNCH: PENFOLDS first started making their now-famous Bin 28 Kalimna Shiraz a half-century ago, at the time with fruit exclusively from the Barossa Valley's Kalimna Vineyard it had bought at war's end in 1945.

SPOIL yourself with this and
homemade boeuf en croute

Today Bin 28 is as popular as ever and a showcase of warm-climate Australian Shiraz, but is a multi-region, multi-vineyard blend embracing South Australia's Langhorne Creek, Upper Adelaide, McLaren Vale, Limestone Coast – and with the Barossa still very much to the fore.

The latest release, the 2007, is the product of a difficult vintage with low winter temperatures followed by an unusually hot summer, but through which winemaker Peter Gago and his team maintained the label's esteemed image.

This is a wine with generously concentrated red and black berry fruit flavours, some earthy notes, and aromas almost like uncorking a rich Christmas cake. At $33.99 it's just the drop to enjoy with something out of the ordinary like a homemade boeuf en croute, or a nice piece of chargrilled rare rib-eye.

(NEED A FOOD/DRINK IDEA? Check out  http://www.vintnews.com )

New Cool vs Establish | 2010 NSW Wine Awards Trophy Winners Announced

The nine Trophy Winners in the 2010 NSW Wine Awards have been revealed today in the closing battle to be the 2010 NSW Wine of the Year and it looks set to be a neck and neck fight, new vs. established wine regions, with only 12 days remaining until the 2010 NSW Wine of the Year is announced.

These Trophy winners were chosen from the NSW Top 40 Wines, which were selected by a panel of 20 highly regarded wine judges, including Huon Hooke (Chair), Iain Riggs, Peter Bourne, Philip Shaw, Mike De Garis and Nick Bulleid MW. These expert palates whittled down over 800 wines to this impressive shortlist.

The Trophy winners reflect the NSW Top 40 well, being an almost even split between the new, emerging cool-climate NSW wine regions – such as Orange, Tumbarumba and Canberra - and the more established, well-known regions of the Hunter Valley and Riverina.

The 2010 Trophy Winners will be presented with their awards on Monday 18th October at the NSW Wine Awards Gala Presentation Dinner at Guillaume at Bennelong, where the coveted 2010 NSW Wine of the Year will be also be announced for the first time.

Can you pick the 2010 NSW Wine of the Year?

The 2010 NSW Wine Awards Trophy Winners and contenders for the 2010 NSW Wine of Year are:

Trophy Best Young Riesling ~ Pokolbin Estate 2010 Riesling (Hunter Valley) $22

Trophy Best Young Sauvignon Blanc ~ Angullong Wines 2010 Sauvignon Blanc (Orange) $17

Trophy Best Young Semillon ~ First Creek Wines 2010 Winemakers Reserve Semillon (Hunter Valley) $29

Trophy Best Young Chardonnay ~  Hungerford Hill 2008 Epic Chardonnay (Tumbarumba) $45

Trophy Best Young White Other Varieties ~ Benwarin 2010 Verdelho (Hunter Valley) $18

Trophy Best Mature Dry White ~ Tempus Two 2003 Copper Zenith Semillon (Hunter Valley) $55

Trophy Best Young Shiraz ~ Nick O'Leary Wines 2009 Shiraz (Canberra District) $28

Trophy Best Young Red Blend ~ Logan 2008 Cabernet Merlot (Orange) $25

Trophy Best Sweet White ~ McWilliams 2008 Morning Light Botrytis Semillon (Riverina) $30

Everyone will have the opportunity to taste the 2010 NSW Wine of the Year, Trophy Winners and Top 40 Wines at:

NSW Wine "Best of the Best Top 40" Tasting @ MCA

Taste the NSW Top 40 Wines at the 'NSW Wine "Best of the Best Top 40" Tasting' on Thursday 21st October. A great way to be amongst the first to discover the finest wines of NSW, including winemaker-hosted Top 40 wine tours.

When:                                    Thursday 21st October

Where:                                   Museum of Contemporary Art, 140 George Street, The Rocks, Sydney.

Trade & Media tasting        2- 4pm, pre-registration compulsory.

Consumer tasting                5- 9pm, $50pp including NSW Wine glass, winemaker-hosted Top 40 wine tours, wine and canapés.

Book: www.nswwine.com.au for more information and tickets.

 

Hugh Johnson's Pocket Wine Book 2011

Media Release

The original and best, Hugh Johnson s Pocket Wine Book 2011 successfully distills the world of wine into a handy, eloquent gem of a package.

The original and best, Hugh Johnson's Pocket Wine Book is the ultimate compact guide. Now in its 34th edition, it is the UK's number one wine book appealing to wine-lovers and professionals alike. it is the key reference for enthusiasts, investors and collectors and this year's edition boasts up-to-date news on more than 6,000 wines, growers, and regions, plus invaluable vintage information from experts around the world. A new colour supplement focuses on the array of wines from Spain,while a new section offers the reader alternative wines to try based on those they already drink. More than 200 of Johnson's favourites for 2011 are also included. Hugh Johnson's winning formula of insight, critical appraisal of the world of wine, plus vintage news has never been bettered. During the past four decades he has written many books that have become landmark titles, including his classic the World Atlas of Wine, co-authored with Jancis Robinson and published this year in a new compact format as the Concise World Atlas of Wine, and his Wine Companion, which is fully updated for 2010.

# Mitchell Beazley
# 9781845335670
# $25.00
# Hardback
# October 2010
# 320 pages

Howard Park Riesling Scoops Gold @ Rutherglen

Media Release

Howard Park's flagship Riesling, first produced in 1986 has scooped a Gold Medal at the renowned Rutherglen Wine Show with this year's release.

The Gold Medal adds to the growing list of accolades for the 2010 Howard Park Riesling that already includes two coveted trophies from the Perth Royal Wine Show for the Best 2010 Vintage Dry White Table Wine and the Best West Australia White Table Wine.

Owner and Marketing Director Amy Burch on the win:
"The 2010 Howard Park Riesling is made from grapes grown on our site - Mt Barrow, which is managed in an environmentally friendly manner. We are delighted that this site is only 5 years old and yet delivering so early in the life of this special vineyard. We look forward to our future with excellent Rieslings.

"The Rutherglen Gold Medal and Perth Royal Wine Show trophies are a great honour and add resonance to Howard Park's philosophy of always providing excellent fruit for premium wines. Congratulations to our viticultural team."

"The Rutherglen Wine Show has been running for over 120 years and is recognised by wine producers and wine consumers as one of the major wine shows in Australia. The West Australian wine industry involvement reflects its growth, mirrors and provides wine enthusiasts with insights into the best available on the market."

This year's Rutherglen Wine Show had well over 2,000 entries.

For more information about the Wine Show, please visit www.wineshowwa.com.au

Howard Park Wines are available for purchase via www.howardparkwines.com.au or by phoning Negociants on (08) 8112 4210.

RAINS NO DAMPENER FOR HUNTER’S MARGAN

Wc27Sep10

GO exotic with this and a sauté
of white beans, Spanish morcilla,
scallops and picada

David Ellis

ASK most winemakers in the Hunter Valley about the 2008 vintage and they'd more than likely tell you it was one they'd happily forget about – except Andrew Margan who got the fruit for his White Label Shiraz Mourvedre off the vines before the arrival of the rains that did so much harm to others' crops.

His in fact were probably the only red grapes picked in the Lower Hunter before the rains, and while he got only enough fruit for 300 cases, every bottle of this wine – the only such blend made in the Hunter – is one to search out. (If you can't find it phone 02 6579 1317 or check-out www.margan.com.au)

Andrew's two grape varieties are inter-planted and always picked together, in 2008 yielding around just a tonne of quality fruit from every hectare of the 40 year old vines. When made into wine it was good enough go to under the Margan Family Winemakers' White Label that was created in 2003 purely for small batches of wines that stand-out from others in the Margan range.

The 2008 White Label is 85 per cent Shiraz and 15 per cent Mourvedre, resulting in nice spicy-savoury flavours from the Shiraz and a dusty richness from the Mourvedre, while savoury tannins balance out the middle palate.

IDEAL with crisp-skin salmon,
garlicky mash and steamed asparagus

Pay $30, and as Andrew Margan himself enjoys, serve with an exotic but easy to make sauté of white beans, Spanish morcilla, scallops and picada.

ONE FOR LUNCH:  A VINEYARD planted to Chardonnay amongst the predominantly red vines of Coonawarra is used by Brand's to show just how happily this block has found itself at home in generally red-wine country.

The 2008 Brand's Laira is a bigger-style Chardonnay, full-bodied with vibrant stone-fruit flavours and hints of cashew nut and creamy oak characters; at $21.99 it's excellent buying to enjoy with crisp-skin salmon, garlicky mashed potatoes and steamed asparagus.

(NEED A FOOD/DRINK IDEA? Check out  http://www.vintnews.com )

LONG LIVE THIS BORDEAUX-STYLE AUSSIE RED

PERFECT partner with
big-flavoured meat dishes

Wc20Sep10 

David Ellis

BLUE Pyrenees in Western Victoria has long been renowned for its sparkling wines, but for lovers of reds in the true Bordeaux style, a tempting new release is their 2006 Estate Red that like the Bordeaux practice of "assemblage," is blended from an extraordinary number of wine parcels from different vineyards.

In fact there are no fewer than fifty-five different parcels in this wine, each made from fruit off vineyards nearly a half-century old. The result is a blend  that's 51 per cent Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot and 14% Shiraz, making for a richly-flavoured drop whose trio of varietals make it a perfect partner for big-flavoured meat dishes.

Or if you've the will-power, at $35 a bottle to put a few away in the cellar, this one's got a good 15-20 years of bottle life in it.

ONE FOR LUNCH: A WINE that helped put Orange in the Central West of NSW on the map as a leading maker of Australian Sauvignon Blanc, was the 2008 vintage from Logan Wines.

PUTTING NSW's Orange region
on the Aussie Sauvignon Blanc map

A vibrantly flavoured and outstandingly aromatic wine, it also has a touch of botrytis about it, due no doubt to quite substantial falls of rain while the fruit was ripening; whether it was this latter or other reasons, this wine has already picked up three trophies and a Sauvignon Blanc of the Year award.

And interestingly the just-released Logan 2010 experienced similar rainfall conditions to that successful 2008 drop, so it will be worth watching how the 2010 follows through as well on the show circuit – it has similar vibrantly fresh guava, passionfruit and sage flavours to the 2008 that nicely tantalise the taste buds with every mouthful.

At $22 it's one to snap-up and enjoy with a French bouillabaisse.

(NEED A FOOD/DRINK IDEA? Check out  http://www.vintnews.com )