Local wines dominate Hunter Valley Wine Show awards

A fine drop Guest international judge at the Hunter Valley Wine Show Matt Walls. Walls said he was impressed during his first visit to Australia

The 158-year-old Tyrrell’s family wine company has dominated the Clear Image 2016 Hunter Valley Wine Show prize list, winning 17 of the 59 gold medals and 10 of the 24 trophies.

It shared the limelight at Friday’s presentation luncheon at Crowne Plaza Hunter Valley with small producers Dimbulla Estate, Peter Drayton Wines, The Little Wine Company and John and Judy Mears’s Lucy’s Run vineyard in Wine Country Drive, Rothbury.

The Dimbulla vineyard and olive grove, in Sweetwater Rd, Pokolbin, excelled by winning the Seabrook Trophy for the best red of the show and the best other red variety trophy with its 2014 Tempranillo-Shiraz.

The show, which was judged at Singleton Army Camp under the chairmanship of PJ Charteris, attracted 644 entries from 70 Hunter producers.

The judging panel included international wine blogger and author of Drink Me Matt WallS.

Walls said he was impressed after his first visit to Australia.

“We do see some Hunter Valley wines in the UK, but not as much as I’d like,” he said.

“I’ve seen quite a few semillons and shiraz, which were very good. It was good to see a few Mediterranean varieties to see what else the Hunter is about.”

The Lucy’s Run 2014 Shiraz also notched two trophies – the Len Evans Trophy for the best named vineyard wine and the Drayton Family Trophy for the best named vineyard red. The Little Wine Company 2016 Vermentino won the best other white variety trophy and the Peter Drayton 2015 Semillon won the Ed Jouault Trophy for the best one-year-old dry semillon.

The Tyrrell’s 2009 Vat 1 Semillon won the Petrie-Drinan Trophy for the best white wine of the show, the Maurice O’Shea Trophy for the best semillon and the McGuigan Family Trophy for the best two-year-old and older semillon. The Tyrrell’s 2013 Vat 47 Chardonnay won the Murray Tyrrell Trophy for the best chardonnay. Its 2005, 2013 and 2016 Belford Semillon whites won the Iain Riggs Wine of Provenance award and the Tyrrell’s 2007 Vat 8 Shiraz won the John Lewis-Newcastle Herald Trophy for the best museum red.

The 2006 Stevens Semillon won the Graham Gregory Trophy for the best museum white.

Other trophy-winning wines were the Silkman 2014 Reserve Shiraz, First Creek 2016 Single-Vineyard Murphy Semillon, Hungerford Hill 2016 Verdelho, Meerea Park 2009 Alexander Munro Semillon, Drayton’s Family Wines Heritage Vine Liqueur, Tempus Two 2016 Copper Rosé Shiraz and Margan Family Wines 2011 Breaking Ground Ripasso Shiraz.

(Source: www.theherald.com.au)