The Tyrrell’s winery juggernaut dominated the Hunter Valley Wine Show this week - collecting no less than 10 trophies.
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More than 600 wines were judged with 36 gold, 80 silver 165 bronze medals awarded, along with 23 trophies.
Tyrrell’s efforts included Best White Wine of Show, Best Semillon, Best Mature Semillon (all for their (2009 Vat 1 Semillon), Best Chardonnay (2013 Vat 47), Best Museum Red (2007 Vat 9 Shiraz) and Best Museum White (2006 Vat 1 Semillon).
Tyrrell’s also picked up the Wine of Provenance Award – which recognises a wine’s pedigree for their HVD Vineyard semillon. The HVD vineyard is a dry river bed more than 100 years old.
Silkman Wines also starred winning Best Red of Show and Best two year old Shiraz (both for 2015 Reserve Shiraz) and also Best Other Red (2016 Reserve Shiraz Pinot Noir).
Vinden also had a strong show producing the top verdelho, and winning US guest judge Elaine Chukan-Brown’s Silver Bullet trophy for a wine that stands out to them.
According to Chairman of Judges PJ Charteris, the most pleasing results came from the Shiraz classes which is a brilliant outcome given the challenging 2015 and 2016 vintages.
“This shows that our winemakers are paying attention to the vintage conditions while showing restraint in the winery, the result being medium bodied wines with bright fruit and supple tannins. These are great drinking wines and the best of them will develop into classic Hunter River Burgundy styles,” he said.
“While Shiraz is indisputably the King of Reds in the Hunter, some other red varieties and blends are starting to show consistent promise. Tempranillo and Touriga are leading the way with bright vibrant wine styles as varietal and blended wines. The re-emergence of the classic Shiraz/Pinot Noir blend is also paying dividends with youthful generosity the order of the day.”
“The 2017 Semillon results reflect a strong vintage and the wines show great depth of fruit while maintaining the finesse we have come to expect from this variety and region. Semillon continues to show that the Hunter is its natural home with strong medal tallies across all Semillon classes and vintages.”
“Chardonnay and Verdelho also performed well with fresh and vibrant Verdelho styles while Chardonnay goes from strength to strength. The best Chardonnay entries have fruit power with winemaking complexity carefully woven through,” he concluded.
THE TROPHY WINNERS
MARSHALL - FLANNERY TROPHY
Best Current Semillon (Classes 1, 23 & 34)
Winner: First Creek Wines 2017 Winemakers Reserve Semillon
ED JOUAULT MEMORIAL TROPHY
Best One-Year-Old Dry Semillon (Classes 8, 24 & 34)
Winner: Agnew Wines 2016 Reserve Semillon
MCGUIGAN FAMILY TROPHY
Best Mature Two-Year–Old and Older Semillon (Classes 13, 24 & 34)
Winner: Tyrrell’s Vineyards 2009 Vat 1 Semillon
GEORGE WYNDHAM MEMORIAL TROPHY
Best Current and One-Year-Old Chardonnay (Classes 2, 9, 25 & 34)
Winner: Hart & Hunter 2016 26 Rows Chardonnay
HENRY JOHN LINDEMAN MEMORIAL TROPHY
Best Two Year-Old and Older Chardonnay (Classes 14, 26 & 34)
Winner: Tyrrell’s Vineyards 2013 Vat 47 Chardonnay
J.Y. (JAY) TULLOCH TROPHY
Best Verdelho (Classes 3, 10, 27 & 34)
Winner: Vinden Estate 2017 Verdelho
MURRAY TYRRELL CHARDONNAY TROPHY
Best Chardonnay
Winner: Tyrrell’s Wines 2013 Vat 47 Chardonnay
DOUG GALBRAITH MEMORIAL TROPHY
Best Sweet White (Class 18)
Winner: Margan Family Wines 2016 Botrytis Semillon
TREVOR DRAYTON MEMORIAL TROPHY
Best Fortified Wine (Class 20)
Winner: Mount Pleasant Wines NV Fortified
JOHN LEWIS NEWCASTLE HERALD TROPHY
Best Museum Red Wine (Class 22)
Winner: Tyrrell’s Vineyards 2007 Vat 9 Shiraz
GRAHAM GREGORY MEMORIAL TROPHY
Best Museum White (Class 21)
Winner: Tyrrell’s Vineyards 2006 Vat 1 Semillon
TYRRELL FAMILY TROPHY
Best Named Vineyard White Wine (Classes 23, 24, 25, 26, 27 & 28)
Winner: Tyrrell’s Vineyards 2011 Stevens Semillon
DRAYTON FAMILY TROPHY
Best Named Vineyard Red Wine (Classes 29, 30 & 31)
Winner: Ridgeview Wines 2016 Impressions Shiraz
LONE PINE BARRACKS OFFICERS MESS SILVER BULLET
Winner: Vinden Estate 2017 Verdelho
ALASDAIR SUTHERLAND SCHOLARSHIP
Winner: Thomas Hordern
ALEXANDER MUNRO MEMORIAL TROPHY
Best Current & One Year Old Shiraz (Classes 6, 11, 29 & 35)
Winner: De Iuliis Wines 2016 Shiraz
ELLIOTT FAMILY TROPHY
Best Two-Year-Old Shiraz (Classes 16, 30 & 35)
Winner: Silkman Wines 2015 Reserve Shiraz
JAMES BUSBY MEMORIAL TROPHY
Best Mature Three-Year-Old and Older Shiraz (Classes 16, 30 & 35)
Winner: Mount Pleasant Wines 2014 Maurice O’Shea Shiraz
BEST OTHER RED TROPHY
(Classes 7, 12, 17, 31 & 35)
Winner: Silkman Wines 2016 Reserve Shiraz, Pinot Noir
MAURICE O’SHEA MEMORIAL TROPHY
Best Semillon (from Trophies)
Winner: Tyrrell’s Vineyards 2009 Vat 1 Semillon
HECTOR TULLOCH MEMORIAL TROPHY
Best Shiraz (from Trophies)
Winner: Silkman Wines 2015 Reserve Shiraz
LEN EVANS TROPHY
Best Named Vineyard Wine (from Trophies)
Winner: Tyrrell’s Vineyards 2011 Stevens Shiraz
PETRIE-DRINAN TROPHY
Best White Wine of the Show (from Trophies)
Winner: Tyrrell’s Vineyards 2009 Vat 1 Semillon
DOUG SEABROOK MEMORIAL TROPHY (sponsored by Clear Image)
Best Red Wine of the Show (from Trophies)
Winner: Silkman Wines 2015 Reserve Shiraz
IAIN RIGGS WINE OF PROVENANCE
Classes 32 & 33
Winner: Tyrrell’s Vineyards HVD Semillon
