West Australian Gold Rush!
17 trophies were awarded by the judges at this year’s Boutique Wine Awards and11 of them were won by WA. Wine of Show, Red Wine of Show, White Wine of Show, Estate Grown and Produced, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, White Blend, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Red Blend and fortified all went west this year!
Chairman Huon Hooke commented “It is rare for a sweet or fortified or sparkling wine to give the top trophies a shake, but we saw that happen, with a simply outstanding sparkling wine doing battle with a gorgeous sweet white and a glorious old fortified wine”.
Margaret River’s Gralyn Estate, (less than 50 ton crush) won four trophies including Wine of Show for their Fortified wine made from brown Muscat grown on their own property. Gralyn also won the Max Lake Memorial Chardonnay Trophy, the Chris Killeen Memorial Fortified Trophy and White Wine of Show for their Chardonnay. Image: Huon Hooke and Bradley Hutton Gralyn Estate Winemaker.
We are delighted to see that the majority of trophy winners (also shared by New South Wales and South Australia) are very small producers crushing less than 100 ton and in the case of the Cabernet trophy won by Wrattonbully’s Malone, less than 10 ton.
Senior Judge Peter Leske commented about the Wine of Show “After considerable discussion it was this wine’s elegance and poise – despite its incredible concentration and power – that won it the trophy…just a terrific example of what time and patience can achieve”.
McLaren Vale’s Bellevue Estate won the Shiraz trophy despite their very bad weather conditions during the 2011 vintage. Hooke called this wine ‘profound’. Owner/winemaker Corey Vandeleur commented when told of his trophy win “Handpicked, careful handling, basket pressing and small quantities rewarded us this year. We only have ten acres”.
Bellevue Estate also won the Estate Grown and Produced trophy which rewards the winemaker for handling the whole process within their own property from growing the grapes through to labeling the bottles.
2013 TROPHY WINNERS 2013 FULL LIST OF RESULTS
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