THURSDAY 29th OCTOBER
Wrattonbully wines have scooped the pool at the Limestone Coast Wine Show, winning six out of 13 trophies awarded at this week’s 15th annual event. Pepper Tree Wines’ 2013 Pepper Tree ‘Block 21A’ Single Vineyard Wrattonbully Cabernet Sauvignon won the David Wynn Trophy for ‘Best Red Wine of Show’, the HR (Ron) Haselgrove O.B.E. Trophy for ‘Best Cabernet Sauvignon of Show’ and the ‘Best Individual Vineyard Wine’ Trophy at tonight’s (Thursday) Trophy presentation feast held at The Barn, Mount Gambier. The wine went on to claim the Bill Redman Trophy for ‘Best Wine of Show’, with Chair of Judges, Jane Faulkner, describing it as “incredibly approachable”.
“It has absolutely beautiful fruit and the tannins are really silky and supple with a persistent long finish – it’s just a really exquisite wine,” she said. “Single vineyards have to be distinctive and special in order to really make people notice and the fact that this wine has won Best Wine of Show is a testament to the producer and the viticulturist. It’s a gorgeous wine.”
Balnaves of Coonawarra manages Pepper Tree Wines’ Limestone Coast vineyards, and the accolades earned viticulturist Pete Balnaves the highly coveted Arthur Hoffman Trophy for ‘Viticulturist of Best Wine of Show’. The Balnaves family’s own winning streak continued with the Balnaves 2013 Chardonnay claiming back-to-back ‘Best Chardonnay’ trophies. The wine was also awarded the Colin Kidd Trophy for ‘Best White Wine of Show’.
Meanwhile, the 2014 Pepper Tree Limited Release Wrattonbully Tempranillo impressed guest judge Lim Hwee Peng from Singapore, who gave it the International Judges’ Award. “It was a very pretty wine which doesn’t just have concentration of fruit; there is a real vibrancy with long lengthy flavour that isn’t overpowering, and I think this wine would appeal to the real connoisseur who understands and truly appreciates wine,” he said.
“It was Wrattonbully’s year, and credit to Pepper Tree for what they’re doing because their wines are just on song at the moment,” Jane Faulkner added.
The family-owned Wangolina Winery at Mount Benson secured a double trophy haul, with the 2013 Wangolina Tempranillo winning the ‘Best Other Single Red Variety’ Trophy, while the 2013 Wangolina Spectrum Syrah collected the wine show’s first ever Small Batch Trophy, building on last year’s wine show commendation for the 2012 vintage.
The Karl Seppelt Trophy for ‘Best White Wine (excluding Chardonnay)’ was awarded to Coonawarra’s Raidis Estate for its 2015 Raidis Estate ‘The Kid’ Riesling. Lindemans 2013 Coonawarra Limestone Shiraz Cabernet won the ‘Best Blended Red’ trophy, and Jack Estate’s 2013 Jack Estate Shiraz was named the ‘Best Shiraz’. The Ewen Fergusson McBain Trophy for ‘Best Museum Wine’ went to the highly decorated 2006 Casella 1919 Cabernet Sauvignon produced from grapes grown in Wrattonbully and Coonawarra. No trophy was awarded for ‘Best Sparkling or Sweet Wine’.
The 2015 wine show saw a record medal haul, with a total of 61 gold medals eclipsing the previous record of 43 set in 2014. A further 72 silver and 172 bronze medals were also awarded, with Brands Laira named the Most Successful Exhibitor at the event.
“Sixty-five per cent of all wines that were entered won a medal, and there’s a really lovely spread across the regions, which is a really important indicator of the quality of wines that are coming out of the Limestone Coast,” said Jane Faulkner.
Entries in this year’s show will be uncorked and available for tasting at the Coonawarra Hall tomorrow morning (Friday October 30), offering members of the public an opportunity to try the wines and compare notes with the expert judging panel. The Exhibitor’s Tasting will be held from 9:30am, and the Public Tasting from 11.30am – 1.30pm ($15 admission including results book).
Interviews with the winners and judges will be uploaded onto www.limestonecoastwine.com.au and the Limestone Coast Wine Show Facebook page late Friday, 30th October.
Editors: For additional comments please phone Jane Faulkner on 0409 232 996 or Sarah Pidgeon from the Limestone coast Wine Show Committee on 0412 825 149.
The full list of trophy winners is attached. Images of trophy winners and social photos supplied by Marcus Jones are available by contacting publicity assistant Gretel Sneath– 0417382035 / gretel@gretelsneath.com