We went to the public tasting that follows this comp –
of several hundred wines
The story is that the SIWC only gives awards to 10 – 15% of the wines submitted. About 2,000 wines were submitted, so that leaves about 200 – 300 wines. This includes wines from overseas, which adds extra interest. Here’s how the awards are organised:
HIGHLY COMMENDED AWARD WINNERS – Judged with Food. These are the finalists that fall in approximately the 10.1% to 15% percentile range of the total entry.
BLUE-GOLD AWARD WINNERS – Judged with Food. These are the finalists that fall in approximately the top 10 percentile range of the total entry.
TOP 1OO WINES AWARD WINNERS – Judged with Food. As the name implies, these are the 100 highest pointed of the Blue-Gold Award winners but with aggregate scores adjusted to ensure Consumers have a choice of TOP 1OO wines in each of the Style Categories.
TROPHY WINNERS – In their several specialised areas, the Competition’s 24 Trophy Winners, amongst our galaxy of vinous stars, represent the elite wines of the annual Competition. Yes, being vinous and a star, entirely possible.
Award winning wines by group
Award winning wines – full list
Booklets of all the wines present for tasting were provided, with room for notes.
3 things stood out for us:
- The difficulty judging some 250 wines in 4-5 hours
- The uneven quality of the award winners
- Price once again was not much of a guide to quality
The BLUE GOLD award winners selected in this competition are judged with food rather than ‘purely as an alcoholic beverage.’ We didn’t have that luxury, sadly – the only food available was plain baguettes that tasted days old, no butter, no cheese, no nothing. Then again, the cost for both morning and afternoon sessions was less than $80.
What follows is a run-down on wines that stood out for good or bad reasons, with short comments. We highlight some of the affordable wines, but also some of the others. We didn’t taste all of the wines but skipped a few.
Our Picks among assorted whites:
Nautilus Marlborough Brut Cuvee – $29 at Kemenys a very fine bubbly, better than the basic frog grog
2011 Framingham Classic Riesling – $27 at Cracka – taught, terrific Kiwi Riesling
2013 Heirloom Riesling (not out yet) but the 2012 is also a winner and $20 at Winedirect
Pewsey Vale Contours 2008 – great Riesling but hard to find now
Pewsey Vale Riesling 2013 – $14.50 at Kemenys – silly price for one of our great Rieslings
Tertini 2012 Riesling from the Southern Highlands is a wine in the traditional Riesling mould, built for the long haul. You can still buy the 2008 for $32 at Kemenys.
Saint Clair Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2013 – $15 at Winelistaustralia . St Clair is on top of its fine form, and this is a fine Savvy at a great price
I was stunned to see the Stoneleigh Sauvignon Blanc 2013 listed with a Blue Gold against it. It was an opportunity to confirm what I wrote about this wine, and to ask my mate Reg what he thought of it. Rubbish, he said.
Mostly Chardonnay
The TRINITY HILL CHARDONNAY Gimblett Gravels Chardonnay 2012 didn’t wow us at all, despite winning three of the trophies for Best Medium Bodied Dry White Table Wine, Best White Wine and overall Best Wine of the Competition.
2012 ‘CASTELLI’ CHARDONNAY – $26 at Winestreet. Not exactly Chardonnay but full of appeal and zest and energy.
Ross Hill (Orange) and Montalto (Mornington) showed well , and Xanadu Reserve stood out – all of these are well over our limit.
Yalumba Eden Valley Viognier 2012 – Blue Gold and top 100. We’ve sung the praises of this wine for some months and it’s just $17 at Dan M’s.
Penfolds Yattarna 2010 – this wine clearly had the winemaking works thrown at it, because they’re presented almost like random cards in a hand that’s worth nothing. There’s not much chance that wine as disjointed as this after 4 years will come together and make a royal flush. Clumsy, and my mate Reg agreed shaking his head. How the usually reliable Campbell Mattinson rated this a 95 is a mystery.
The Dessert wines kind of boiled down to our old favourites: Deen de Bortoli Botritis Semillon and Morris Liqueur Muscats and Tokays.
A lot of Pinot Noirs, and the expensive ones came tops
Lowburn Ferry Home Block Pinot Noir 2012 – Burgundian, great balance and length, depth of flavour but will need time to show its best. It’s more than $50, sadly
Mud House Estate Claim 431 vineyard Central Ottago Pinot Noir 2012 – writer’s cramp inducing name but a very drinkable Pinot Noir, round and full of sweet fruit. Can’t buy this over here, sadly.
Soho wine McQueen Pinot Noir 2012 – my top Pinot. Lots of sweet fruit and silky mouth feel, and the right savoury notes, a delight to drink but will improve for a couple of years. Sadly it’s a $50 wine and you can’t buy it over here.
The winner of the group was Villa Maria Single Vineyard Southern Clays Pinot Noir 2010, a tour de force with huge flavour and body, out of style in this class to my way of thinking.
The red classes were all over the shop
A Tim Smith Mataro MGS 2012 (a GSM with Mataro leading the mix) was an attractive big soft and cuddly red, a welcome comfort seat in a tasting that had become arduous. $22 at MyCellars.
A Chalk Hill Barbera 2012 from McLaren Vale was a full-on assault on the senses, not exactly subtle but a welcome change. It’s not released yet by the look of it.
Leconfield Coonawarra Cabernet Merlot 2012 – $22 at Winestreet. Rich, ripe and obvious but really well done. Seductive. 10 out of 10 for drinkability
To me, the stand-out reds were a couple of Shiraz reds from New Zealand. The Pask Declaration Shiraz 2010 was a vibrant, spicy red with pristine red fruits and wonderful length. Not for sale in Oz, and $50 in NZ. The Alpha Domus the Barnstormer 2012 was a beautiful cool climate Shiraz in the Northern Rhone style, fragrant and refreshing like a cool garden on a hot summer’s day. Can’t buy it in Oz, and it’s $32 in NZ. Both wines are from Hawkes Bay.
My top red was the Xanadu Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2011, which isn’t on sale yet. When it is, we’re looking at $85 RRP. It’s an almost perfect expression of the pristine Margaret River Cabernet style.
Amelia Park was disappointing again, this time the reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2011. We tasted DiGiorgio Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon for the first time, but this 2010 was all overripe fruit.
The Heartland Wines Directors Cut Shiraz 2012 was another Fruit Bomb
The Fox Creek Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2011 was the opposite: elegant but lacking in fruit, flavour and depth.
The Ringbolt Margaret River Cabernet Sauvignon 2011 was pretty obvious and upfront, big solid fruit on the palate, lacking finesse really.
The Thorn Clarke William Randall Shiraz 2010 was Ribena – can’t understand how judges fall for these concoctions.
Kim
