NZ wineries take out 'best wine', 'most successful winery'

Sydney International Wine Competition reveals the best food friendly wines, with NZ wineries taking out 'best wine' and 'most successful winery' honours

28 November 2017: Australian, New Zealand and European wines played to their strengths when the results of the 38th Sydney International Competition were announced today.

Australian wines dominated the medium bodied white and red categories, while New Zealand continued its stellar performance amongst the Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir classes, and France confirmed its superiority in sparkling wines.

The major award winners were:
Most Successful Winery: Yealands Wine Group
Best Lighter Bodied Dry White, Top White, and Runner up to Best Wine of the Competition: McLeish Estate Cellar Reserve Semillon 2007, Hunter Valley NSW, Australia
Best Pinot Noir, Top Red and Best Wine of the Competition: Bald Hills Single Vineyard Pinot Noir 2015, Bannockburn, Central Otago, New Zealand

Major Category winners included:

Special Category winners included:

This year’s Chairman of Judges Trophy for a wine of Outstanding Quality went to Jacobs Creek’s Johann Shiraz Cabernet 2012. A classic Australian blend from a classic Australian region - Rich and complex and structured to age for the long term. The wine was highly rated by all judges and was just pipped by the Crossroads Talisman Syrah for the Best Medium Bodied Dry Red trophy.

Judging of the Competition took place in October with 1757 wines judged from a record 13 countries (up from eight in 2016). A total of 256 wines were awarded TOP 1OO™, Blue Gold, and Gold medals, including 26 trophy winners.

This year, entries included 57 individual grape varieties, another record. Shiraz/Syrah was the best performing red grape variety producing 53 medal winners, but Semillon was the most successful trophy winner, with three. More obscure grape varieties made a significant impression in the medals tally, with Castelão leading the way with four medals, including a Top 100 medal.

The Best Wine from a ‘Lesser Recognised Wine Grape Variety’ went to Margaret River’s Forester Estate, for their Jack out the Box 2014 100% Fer, made from a grape variety that emanates from South West France and has successfully taken root in South West Western Australia.

Geographically, Marlborough had the highest representation of medal winners, with 69, but Champagne was the most successful region in terms of medal winners as a proportion of entries, with a 38.4% success rate, followed by Margaret River (29.7%), and Langhorne Creek (25.0%).

The Sydney International Wine Competition is unique amongst wine shows in that wines are judged alongside food, making it the most relevant wine competition for consumers. Renowned chef Michael Manners alongside Marcel Kustos from Adelaide University once again partnered to design dishes styled to complement the various wine categories being judged.

Information on the dishes and recipes used for the competition can be found on the competition website www.top100wines.com.

This year’s competition was judged by an international panel of fourteen highly experienced and credentialed judges, including five Masters of Wine, and chaired by Kym Milne MW for the 14th time.

Chairman of Judges, Kym Milne, said that the judging of nearly 2000 wines by thirteen judges, with the added complexity of the final 400 wines being re-judged with food, made the Sydney International Wine Competition a unique competition that was particularly relevant to how most consumers choose and drink wine.

“This wine competition is all about providing the consumer with a range of wine options for a range of different dining situations, and I believe the competition has once again achieved this, said Mr Milne. “It is pleasing to see not just diversity between the classes, but also within the classes, providing the consumer with some really interesting options of wines to experiment with.”

Mr Milne said this was particularly reflected in the Lighter Bodied White Wines category: “The Lighter Bodied Whites class was both interesting and varied in terms of wine styles. The medal categories feature 16 wines made from Pinot Gris, Semillon, Albariño, Vermentino, Fiano and blends of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon. Eleven different regions spread across Australia and New Zealand were represented in the medal winners, ranging from cool climates for some varieties to the warmer inland regions of Australia for others. This ‘horses for courses’ approach to different varieties for different regions means excellent and diverse wine styles are being made across a broad range of regions.”

Tastings of the 38th Sydney International Wine Competition will be held at the Novotel Sydney Central in February.

Date: Saturday, 10 February 2018.
Time: Session 1 - 10.00 am to 12.30 pm, Session 2 - 2.00 pm to 4.30 pm
Venue: The Novotel Sydney Central, 169-179 Thomas St, Sydney NSW
For ease of comparison, each Style Category will be presented separately.
Session 1: $44.00 (includes 10% GST of $4.00)
Session 2: $55.00 (includes 10% GST of $5.00)
Both Sessions: $77.00 (includes 10% GST of $7.00)
Bookings and full details of the Competition and its background: www.top100wines.com

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