MEDIA RELEASE
Friday 28th OCTOBER 2016

Wrattonbully’s Pepper Tree wins Limestone Coast Wine Show – again!

Pepper Tree Wines has dominated the Limestone Coast Wine Show for the second year in a row. The 2013 Pepper Tree ‘Elderslee Road’ Single Vineyard Wrattonbully Cabernet Sauvignon won the David Wynn Trophy for ‘Best Red Wine of Show’, the H.R. (Ron) Haselgrove O.B.E. Trophy for ‘Best Cabernet Sauvignon of Show’ and was also named the ‘Best Individual Vineyard Wine’ at last night’s VINE | STONE | COAST presentation feast hosted by the Robe and Mount Benson wine regions. The wine then went on to claim the Bill Redman Trophy for ‘Best Wine of Show’, with viticulturist Peter Balnaves claiming the highly coveted Arthur Hoffmann Trophy and back-to-back titles as ‘Viticulturist of Best Wine of Show’.

“Unless you’ve got good grapes and people that are interested in growing good grapes, it’s hard to get the wine over the line, so thanks very much,” Mr Balnaves told the crowd.

Balnaves of Coonawarra manages Pepper Tree Wines’ Limestone Coast vineyards, and the Balnaves family’s own winning streak continued when they claimed another ‘Best Chardonnay’ Trophy for the 2015 Balnaves Chardonnay. The wine was also awarded the Colin Kidd Trophy for ‘Best White Wine of Show’.

Leconfield Coonawarra secured a triple trophy haul, winning ‘Most Successful Exhibitor’ along with the ‘Small Batch and Experimental Wines’ trophy for the 2015 Leconfield Petit Verdot, and the Peter Wehl Trophy for ‘Best Merlot’ for the 2015 Leconfield Merlot.

A new ‘Wine of Provenance’ Trophy was added to this year’s prize pool, providing a platform for exhibitors to enter three vintages of the same wine, and Majella Cabernet from 2014, 2009 and 2004 was declared the stand-out.

“The region is just made for this type of class – it’s about heritage, it’s about lineage, and while it was really exciting to see that depth and breadth with five whites and eight reds in contention, it was not surprising that Cabernet dominated,” said Chief of Judges Jane Faulkner.

The accolades continued for the family-owned Majella Wines, with the 2005 Majella Cabernet collecting the Ewen Fergusson McBain Trophy for ‘Best Museum Wine’, and the 2014 Majella Shiraz taking out the
International Judges’ Award.

“It was the most vibrant, juicy, drinkable wine – maybe not the most complex wine in the show, but it was just super delicious,” said guest judge, Jane Skilton MW, from New Zealand.

The 2016 Tidswell Wines Heathfield Vermentino took out the new ‘Chief of Judges Wine to Watch’ Trophy.

“I loved that wine – it was varietal, it was zesty and bright with crunchy acidity and sea spray salty characters, and it just shows you that there is opportunity for other varieties to fit into this region,” Jane Faulkner said.

Rounding out the trophy winners for the Limestone Coast Wine Show’s 16th annual event, The Karl Seppelt Trophy for ‘Best Aromatic White Wine (excluding Chardonnay)’ was awarded to the 2016 Cellarmasters Lysander Limestone Coast Sauvignon Blanc, while the 2015 Hollick Wines The Nectar won ‘Best Sparkling or Sweet Wine’. The 2015 Wynns Coonawarra Estate Cabernet Shiraz Merlot collected the ‘Best Blended Red’ trophy, while the 2014 Limestone Coast Wines ‘The Hidden Sea’ Shiraz won the Eric Brand Trophy for Best Shiraz.

The 2016 wine show saw a record medal haul, with a total of 76 gold medals eclipsing the previous record of 61 set in 2015. A further 102 silver and 130 bronze medals were also awarded from the 501 entries received.

Entries in this year’s show will be uncorked and available for tasting at the Coonawarra Hall this morning (Friday October 28), 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 9:00am, and the Public Tasting from 11.30am – 1.30pm ($15 admission including results book).

Editors: Please phone Sarah Pidgeon from the Limestone Coast Wine Show Committee on 0412 825 149 to arrange interviews with the winners. Video interviews with selected winners and judges will also be uploaded onto www.limestonecoastwine.com.au and the Limestone Coast Wine Show Facebook page.

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