Judging has just finished up at the annual Limestone Coast Wine Show in Coonawarra, with red wines and white wines both returning a number of gold medals.

It was a local cabernet sauvignon that took out the honours for the best wine of show: the 2022 Cabernet produced by Majella Wines.

As the best red wine of show, the 2022 Cabernet was closely rivalled by the best white wine of show: the 2025 Kongorong Riesling produced by DiGiorgio Family Wines.

Aromatic white varieties shone across the board. The standout Pinot Gris was produced by Ottelia, who take their fruit from the best vineyards in the Limestone Coast. For devotees of sauvignon blanc, a new mecca has been found in Mount Benson, with top gold going to Norfolk Rise for its 2025 Sauvignon Blanc (96/100), who just edged ahead of neighbours, Wangolina, by only a point (95/100). These were wines characterised by “freshness, with a lovely line, texture, and drive”, according to panel chair, Cliff Royle.

Landaire of Padthaway took out the accolade for best chardonnay this year with its 2023 vintage, a wine that this producer has become renowned for. It was “just a beautiful wine”, according to chief of judges, Philip Rich. Just to prove that they are no one-trick pony, Landaire also offered up the highest-scoring fiano this year too.

The best sparkling wine of the show went to the Cuvée-Co Wines 2021 Nessa Blanc de Blancs, which was produced by Peta Baverstock from Mount Gambier chardonnay, and was roundly commended across the board.

Red wines from right across the Limestone Coast showed extremely well, including some lesser known varieties. The 2025 Mencia from bloomfield wines, an exciting new winemaking project of Lauren Hansen, took out the alternative red category this year (95.5/100). Bloomfield’s was a rare half-point victory over DiGiorgio’s Montepulciano in what the panel chair, Paul Hotker, described as “such an exciting and fun class to judge”.

The standout classics came from 2022, which was described as a “cracking vintage” by panel chair, Cliff Royle, who assessed the 2022 Reschke Bull Trader Shiraz to be the pick of the shiraz wines.

As for the cabernets from 2022, these were, in the words of panel chair Gwyn Olsen, “classic wines, with many different styles – the best showing classic Cabernet fruit power, drive, and tannin structure.” The wines from Coonawarra proved unbeatable in this category.

Wynns won the Chief of Judges’s prize with its 2022 Childs Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon.

The most successful exhibitor of the show was CW Wines, whose achievements were solidified through unbeatable performances in the rosé class and buttressed by strong performances across the red wine classes.