Yearly Archives: 2013

US brewers’ bureaucratic nightmare

23 October 2013BeerChris Shanahan

The recent American Government shut down highlighted a little known fact about the country’s vibrant craft-brewing industry. The shut down affected new brewers and existing brewers with new products to sell. While it continued to collect brewery taxes, the responsible agency “stopped approving new brews”, reported USA Today.

The report said the Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, an arm of the Treasury, must approve “all new beers that get bottled or canned to be sold across state lines”.

While beers and breweries with existing approvals were not affected, a growing backlog could have had a serious impact on those with new brews in the wings.

Carla Villa, of New York’s Brooklyn Brewery, described a domino effect, “it’s this one thing that then affects all these other things. We can’t launch beers on time, which means our distributors can’t sell it, which means our customers can’t buy it”, reports USA Today.

Wine review — Eden Road, Mount Horrocks, Tahbilk and Corte Carista

23 October 2013Wine reviewChris Shanahan

Eden Road Tumbarumba Chardonnay 2012 $40
Maragle and Courabyra vineyards, Tumbarumba, NSW
Canberra’s Nick Spencer made three 2012 chardonnays from Tumbarumba – this blend from the Maragle and Courabyra vineyards, plus individual wines from each site. There’s a family style in their lean, tight, pure flavours; but differences, too, based on the altitude of the sites and winemaking techniques. The barrel-fermented blend (silver medallist at the regional show) delivers generous nectarine-like varietal flavour, albeit in Spencer’s tight, smooth-textured style. Barrel-fermented Maragle 2012 (silver medallist, $50), from a comparatively warm site at 400 metres, uses notable more new oak than the blend. This influences the fuller, nectarine-and-peach flavours on the palate – though the wine remains a comparatively lean, tight style. The tank-fermented Courabyra 2012 (bronze medal, $50), shows the soaring acidity of the cool, 750-metre site. It brings grapefruit-like acerbity to a pure-fruited, distinctive unoaked style. I suspect these wines will age well, though cellaring remains an act of faith at this early stage of the brand.

Eden Road Canberra Riesling 2013 $30
Long Rail Gully vineyard, Murrumbateman, Canberra District, NSW
A bronze medal in the regional wine show matches my own rating for a clean, fresh, well made riesling. Delicious, citrus-like varietal flavour gives it some immediate drinking appeal, though I suspect the fruit flavour to assert itself over the austere acids with a little time in bottle. The difference should become apparent over the next few months. This is characteristic of many Canberra rieslings, though the 2013s, in general, seem more approachable when young than the 2012s did.

Mount Horrocks Riesling 2013 $32
Watervale, Clare Valley, South Australia
Everything appeals about Stephanie Toole’s 2013 riesling – favourite by a big margin in a trio of 2013s from Canberra, Great Southern and Watervale. The shimmering, green-tinted colour gave it a visual edge – matched by its pure, lime-like varietal aroma and fine, delicate, mouth-watering, dry palate. The wine should evolve well for several years, though it’s racy and a thrill to drink now

Tahbilk Shiraz 2010 $16–$20
Tahbilk vineyard, Nagambie Lakes, Victoria
Tahbilk, the Purbrick family property established in 1860, produces a distinctive shiraz style, with its own little slot on the variety’s very wide Australian spectrum. Like those from other cooler regions, it’s medium bodied. And there’s black pepper and spice seasoning the underlying berry flavours – both clear shiraz characteristics. But the firm, even bony, tannins separate Tahbilk from other medium bodied shirazes. The tannins bite and thrust, giving a firm, savoury finish to the dry palate.

Bests Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 $26–$30
Best’s vineyard, Great Western Victoria
Unquestionably shiraz is the standout variety on the Thomson family’s Great Western Vineyard – wines polished to an exceptional standard in the last two decades under Viv Thomson and, since 2008, his son, Ben. Cabernet performed well, too, in 2012, producing a fragrant, elegant, easy-to-drink wine. It’s built on ripe, blackcurrant flavours, with the variety’s leafy edge and firm but fine tannins. The Great Western vineyards were established by Henry Best in1867 and acquired by the Thomson family in 1920.

Chianti Classico (Corte Carista) 2009 $10
Chianti Classico zone, Tuscany, Italy
Aldi’s Tuscan important takes us well away in style from Australian wines made from the same grape variety, sangiovese. It’s light to medium bodied, taut, bone-dry, earthy and savoury with its cherry-like fruit flavour buried well inside the fine, firm tannins. Like all the Aldi wines I’ve tried to date, it fits the specification, offering very good value for money. The withered little cork snapped in half as we coaxed it from the bottle. But at least the wine emerged clean, fresh and untainted by the cork – something drinkers always risk with this outmoded seal.

Wine review — Tahbilk, Shingleback and Zema Estate

20 October 2013Wine reviewChris Shanahan

Tahbilk Nagambie Lakes Marsanne 2013 $12.99–$18
Tahbilk, the Purbrick family’s lovely old property on an anabranch of the Goulburn River, established marsanne long before Rhone Valley varieties became fashionable in Australia. Tahbilk marsanne drinks well and it takes on a golden, honeyed richness with age. The introduction of a screw cap from 2002, and a brightening of the fruit character in the last decade, makes it an even safer cellaring bet than ever. Most likely, though, the bulk of the just-released 2013 vintage, will slip down before next year’s vintage arrives. It offers distinctive citrus and melon-like flavours and a full, dry palate unlike any other white wine.

Shingleback Haycutters McLaren Vale Shiraz 2012 $15–$17
Shingleback’s very popular Red Knot range recently became a Woolworths’ exclusive, selling between $11.40 and $15 a bottle in their Dan Murphy outlets. Coles have since struck back against their archrival, releasing Shingleback Haycutters Shiraz at a slightly higher price. I’ve not tried the two side by side, so can only make the comparison from memory and notes. Red Knot, I recall as bright, fruity and fresh. Haycutters, on the other hand, brings quite assertive, rustic, savoury tannins into the equation. Coles offers it through its Vintage Cellars, 1st Choice and Liquorland outlets.

Zema Estate Cluny Cabernet Malbec 2009 $25
Cluny is the Zema family’s blend of cabernet sauvignon (65 per cent) and merlot (25 per cent) with five per cent each of cabernet franc and malbec. It’s a medium bodied red, featuring Coonawarra’s bright berry flavours, the distinct fragrance of cabernet franc and the minty–herbaceous notes associated with cool-grown Bordeaux varieties. Firm but fine tannins, some no doubt derived from malbec, give the wine a solid backbone. Former Lindeman winemaker, Greg Clayfield, makes the wine. At four years, it’s ready to drink, though should hold for another three or four years.

Beer review — 8 Wired Brew Co and Victoria High Country Brewery

16 October 2013Beer reviewChris Shanahan

8 Wired Brew Co Saison Sauvin 500ml $10
This is a Kiwi take, from the heart of Marlborough sauvignon blanc county, on a traditional Belgian seasonal brew. Pungent, spicy sauvin hops from Nelson, to the west, permeates the rich, smooth, high-alcohol palate, leaving a lingeringly bitter, spicy, hoppy aftertaste. What a classy beer – big and assertive but well balanced.

Victoria High Country Brewery Trail Rule 47 330ml $5.48
A group of brewers from Victoria’s high country made this strong Belgian “tripel” style using local hops (Rostrevor), malt from three continents, Belgian candy syrup and a Trappist yeast. The resulting mid-amber ale offers sweet, malty, candied flavours cut with assertive, pungent hops flavours and bitterness.

Beer brewing machine to be launched January 2014

16 October 2013Beer, PeopleChris Shanahan

OK, so you’ve got the coffee machine and thermostat-controlled kettle for delicate white and green teas – but how about a beer machine?

The Seattle Times reports the launch of a machine that “almost completely automates the process of producing beer” using grain, hops, yeast and water.

The machine, the PicoBrew Zymatic (about the size of a large microwave), is the invention of former Microsoft employees Bill Mitchell and Avi Geigner, and Mitchell’s brother Jim, a physicist, home brewer and designer of food-processing facilities.

The machine is currently being tested by several small breweries and experienced home brewers ahead of an anticipated commercial release in the USA in January.

The machine is controlled from a web browser and can be monitored from a smart phone. PicoBrew expect the price to be around $US1300.

View the PicoBrew machine.

Wine review — Coldstream Hills, Gilberts, Pizzini, Bodegas Palacio and Ferngrove

16 October 2013Wine reviewChris Shanahan

Coldstream Hills Pinot Noir 2012 $26.60–$35
Yarra Valley, Victoria
Coldstream makes several pinots. In 2012 this included the sensational “reserve” ($85) and two single-vineyard bottlings, The Esplanade ($50) and Deer Crossing ($50) – both of which I rated slightly ahead of the lower priced standard blend. The reserve is built for the long haul, and both single vineyard wines also offer good cellaring. However, the standard blend, often on special at under $30, shows the sophistication of a wine honed and polished over a quarter of a century. It’s well removed from the “strawberry and raspberry” simplicity of many Australian pinots. Instead it presents a deeper, darker side of the variety – more akin to ripe cherry and plum – in a savoury, earthy coat of silky tannin, partly oak derived, and seasoned with a subtle stalkiness derived from whole-bunches included in the ferment. This wine, too, will cellar in the medium term. It benefits from a good aeration now, revealing a little more with every glassful.

Gilberts 3 Lads Cabernet Sauvignon 2011 $18
Mount Barker, Western Australia
Bev Gilbert whizzed through Canberra in September, promoting wines from her family vineyard at Mount Barker. She and husband Jim planted vines on their farm in 1985 and over time built a solid wine business – though they continue to run sheep. They also raised three sons, inspiration for the label of this intensely flavoured cabernet. Cassis like varietal flavours come wrapped in the region’s tight, dry savoury tannins. The Gilberts send their grapes to Cath Oates at nearby Plantagenet Wines for winemaking.

Pizzini Prosecco 2013 $19.50
King Valley, Victoria
Although the variety probably originated in Istria, Croatia, prosecco is best known as the grape of north-eastern Italy’s light, fresh sparkling wines. Italian-descended vignerons in Victoria’s King Valley have adopted it as their own and now make light, fresh, fruity versions like this 2013 vintage from the Pizzini family. The fruit was hand picked and whole-bunch pressed and the juice cold fermented – techniques that preserve pure, fresh fruit character. It’s an aperitif style designed for drinking immediately on release.

Pizzini Nebbiolo 2010 $45
Pizzini vineyard, King Valley, Victoria
Pizzini’s nebbiolo accompanied us to Pulp Kitchen, Ainslie, where it upstaged the food. Piedmont’s noble red variety can do that – though more often than not it falls flat, a victim of its intractable tannins. Pizzini’s, however, revealed the charming, elegant side of the variety with an enticing perfume, matched by delicious bittersweet cherry-like flavours. The distinctive, tight tannins arrived, too, but in harmony with that kernel of lovely fruit.

Glorioso Rioja Reserva (Bodegas Palacio) 2007 $27
Rioja, Spain
Vintage Cellars, a retail brand of Coles Liquor Group, imports this 100 per cent tempranillo from Spanish producer, Bodegas Palacio. Under Spanish law, to be called ‘reserva’, Rioja reds must be aged a total of three years, at least one in oak barrel – in this instance French barriques. The oak, however, contributes subtly to a mellow, medium-bodied red that remains vibrant, fruity and fresh six years after vintage. Age seems simply to have rounded off the edges of the tannin, which can be quite pronounced in tempranillo.

Ferngrove Limited Release Malbec 2011 $20
Frankland River, Western Australia
Malbec (also known as cot) is the dominant red grape variety of Cahors, France, and is the national red specialty of Argentina. It originated in France, and shares a mother with the Bordeaux variety, merlot, making the varieties half-siblings. It makes dark, fruity, tannic wines and in Australia is generally blended with other varieties. However, it stands on it own, as demonstrated in Ferngrove’s satisfying, ink-dark, deeply fruity, firmly tannic 2011. Ferngrove, controlled by Hangzhou businessman Xingfa Ma, focuses on exports into Europe, North America and China and recently appointed Angoves as national distributor in Australia, putting the wines in reach of a larger audience.

Beer review — ParrotDog

9 October 2013Beer reviewChris Shanahan

ParrotDog Bloodhound Red Ale 330ml $6.32
In wine or beer, harmony is important. Multiple flavour components need to sit comfortably together, not wrestle each other for dominance. In this big, 6.3 per-cent alcohol NZ beer there is much to love. But the hops bitterness ultimately takes over, leaving an acrid aftertaste that swamps everything else.

Badlands Brewery to open in Orange

9 October 2013Beer, Beer reviewChris Shanahan

After years of home brewing, Jon Shiver completed post-grad studies in brewing at the University of Ballarat and established Badlands Brewery at Orange, NSW.

While Shiver developed his own beer recipes, he had the beers brewed under contract in Sydney, while he built his own brewery. With construction recently completed, he expects to be brewing in Orange by mid October, when he returns from a trip to England.

For some time he’s been offering Badlands beers at the Orange brewery site. But he recently moved the tasting to a new venue, The Agrarians – an outlet for produce of the Orange region. The venue includes a cheese factory, a café and a wine bar, says Shiver.

The high quality of his pale ale, reviewed below, suggest it’ll be a highlight of Orange’s fast-growing local food scene.

Badlands Brewery Pale Ale 330ml $3.85
From Orange, NSW, Badlands Pale, sits between the uber malty–hoppy American pale ale style and the mild, delicately balanced English versions. The back label carries a little matrix of maltiness, hoppiness and bitterness, accurately reflecting the rich, smooth, but not over-sweet malt, pungent but not overwhelming hops flavour and lingering, fresh bitterness.

Tempranillo — Spaniard with big future in Australia

9 October 2013People, Vineyard, WineChris Shanahan

If I had to bet the house on one of the so-called “alternative” grape varieties it’d be Spain’s tempranillo. We crushed only about 3000 tonnes a year in Australia (equivalent to perhaps 225 thousand dozen bottles) – a mere splash compared to the more familiar varieties we grow.

In 2012, Australian vintners processed almost 380,00 tonnes of shiraz, 220,000 of cabernet sauvignon, 127,000 of merlot and almost 33,000 of pinot noir (much of it for bubbly). After that the volumes tail away, dropping sharply to 19,000 tonnes of petit verdot, 15,000 of grenache, 10,000 of ruby cabernet and 5,000 of mataro (aka mourvedre).

But the tiny tempranillo crush (2,818 tonnes according to the Winemakers Federation of Australia; 3,440 according to the ABS) reflects neither its geographic spread nor a growing fascination with it among vignerons and wine drinkers.

A web search of the variety turned up more than 100 Australia tempranillos (and blends) on offer from one retailer alone. And a 2012 ABS survey lists 341 tempranillo producers. The retailer list included wines from many regions in every state except Tasmania. But the ABS figures say even Tasmania crushed two tonnes in 2012 – just behind the ACT’s three tonnes and Queensland’s six tonnes.

Though widely dispersed – from Queensland’s Granite Belt in the north to Tasmania in the south, and from the Hunter in the east to Greater Perth in the west -– the majority of the plantings lie in warm continental climates rather than in milder coastal areas.

Tellingly, vineyards in the hot, dry climates along the Murray River in South Australia and Victoria, and the Murray and Murrumbidgee in NSW, account for one third of the 2012 tempranillo harvest. Significant plantings in these traditionally high-output, low-cost areas suggest tempranillo may already have begun its shift into the mainstream – or at least that growers in these areas, aided and abetted by winemakers, see it heading that way.

South Australia dominated production in 2012 (317ha, 1503 tonnes), followed by NSW (220ha, 1134 tonnes), Victoria (119ha, 520 tonnes) Western Australia (46ha, 272 tonnes), Queensland (6ha, 6 tonnes), ACT (2 ha, 3 tonnes) and Tasmania (2ha, 2 tonnes). Note, the ACT figure reflects only a small part of the Canberra region, located predominantly in NSW.

The Barossa holds the biggest planting for an individual region. Its 135ha produced a miserly 490 tonnes in 2012, a yield per hectare of just 3.6 tonnes. We could expect greater yields – perhaps double those of 2012 – in more favourable vintages. However, the Barossa can never hope to match South Australian Riverland’s almost 12 tonnes to the hectare.

Total Australian tempranillo plantings of around 700 hectares represents less than half a per cent of our 155,000 hectares of grape vines. So for us it truly is a niche or “alternative” variety. But in Spain it’s a different story.

In Wine Grapes (Robinson, Harding and Vouillamoz, Penguin 2012), Jancis Robinson writes, “Spain is the kingdom of tempranillo, a kingdom that extended to 206,988ha [greater than Australia’s total area under vine] in 2008, making it the most widely planted red variety. It is widely distributed across the country, albeit under a host of synonyms”.

Based on historical and DNA evidence, Wine grapes concludes tempranillo is a native of Spain, probably originating in two adjacent regions north west of Aragon – Logrono in La Rioja and Peralta in Navarra.

The vine fairly quickly found its way to Portugal, Italy, France and even to South America in the seventeenth century.

Spain’s tempranillo-based reds, particularly those from the cooler Rioja and Ribera del Duero regions, inspired our vignerons to try the variety in Australia, including Canberra

Mount Majura winemaker Frank van de Loo writes, “We believe it is a variety well suited to our site, with Canberra having high levels of climatic similarity to the leading Spanish regions Rioja and Ribera del Duero”.

In 2010, with other tempranillo producers, Van de loo introduced a series of TempraNeo workshops to study and promote the variety. The group held workshops again in 2011 and 2013.

Courtesy of van de Loo, I recently tasted the 2012 vintage wines from the workshop, and threw in the recently released Quarry Hill 2013 (Murrumbateman). The line up covered a spectrum of climates – Canberra, Barossa, Wrattonbully, Porepunkah (near Bright, Victoria), Heathcote, Alpine Valleys, Adelaide Hills and McLaren Vale.

The wines varied widely in style – from the medium bodied, spicy elegance of van de Loo’s Mount Majura 2012, to the confronting savouriness and puckering tannins of Don Lewis and Narelle King’s Tar and Roses 2012. And one outrider, Quarry Hill 2013, made by Alex McKay, revealed a contrasting, bright and fleshy face of the variety, bottled young and fresh.

Mount Majura Canberra District Tempranillo 2012 $42
Frank Van de Loo’s tenth vintage of the variety, rose to the top – appealing for its just-ripe cherry and plum varietal flavour, medium body, elegant structure and attractive spice and pepper notes. A day after the tasting we paired it deliciously with salmon in pastry with currants and ginger, cooked by Linda Peek. The other tempranillos would’ve overwhelmed this exceptional dish.

Quarry Hill Canberra District Tempranillo 2013 $18
Juicy and strawberry-musk fruit, buoyant and plush, with substantial tannins washing through. Pure, unadorned tempranillo fruit.

Running with Bulls Barossa Tempranillo 2012 $16–$22.95
Shows the Barossa’s ripe, generous fruit flavour and comparatively soft tannins, though somewhat firmer than in the region’s shiraz.

Running with Bulls Wrattonbully Tempranillo 2012 $16–$22.95
Same maker (Yalumba) as the Barossa wine, but fruit more fragrant and reminiscent of summer berries with elegant structure of fine but firm tannins.

Mayford Porepunkah Tempranillo 2012 $35
Savoury and acidic, with blueberry-like fruit buried deep down under layers of firm tannins.

Tar and Roses Heathcote–Alpine Valleys Tempranillo 2012 $24
Earthy, savoury and gamey, with powerful, mouth-drying tannins – a wine to enjoy with rare red meat or ultra savoury food.

La Linea Adelaide Hills Tempranillo 2012 $27
Medium bodied with sweet, cherry-like fruit, seasoned with spice and pepper and a solid wave of tannin washing across the palate.

Gemtree Luna Roja McLaren Vale Tempranillo 2012 $25
The fullest bodied of the wines, featuring ripe, black-cherry flavours on a round mid palate, cut through with rustic tannins.

More

www.tempraneo.com.au

Lind Peek’s recipe, Salmon in pastry with currants and ginger.

Shiraz, riesling and Tumbarumba chardonnay excite at Canberra 2013 show

9 October 2013People, WineChris Shanahan

Shiraz and riesling once again seized the glory at this year’s Canberra and Region Wine Show, judged at the showground in late September. Judges tweeted and emailed as they worked, revealing the flavour of the event, if not specific details, days before show organisers unveiled the official results.

The show – judged by Mike Bennie, Matt Skinner and local winemaker Nick O’Leary – received 233 entries, up 25 per cent on 2012. The show accepts entries from the Canberra District and surrounds, Southern Highlands, Shoalhaven Coast, Tumbarumba and southern NSW.

The one questionable aspect of the show this year, was a decision to include a local winemaker on the judging panel. In doing so, the new organising committee, led by Andrew Price, reintroduced a potential conflict of interest, whether perceived or real.

Price managed this, he says, by barring the judge, Nick O’Leary, from entering his own wines in the show. But doesn’t that defeat the purpose of the show?

The show exists to benchmark and promote local wine. So how could it be beneficial to bar one of its brightest and best winemakers from entering? Surely it would be better for the public, the show and local winemakers to bring in an another outside judge – there are dozens available – and encourage O’Leary to throw his wines in the ring?

The 2012 vintage shirazes and 2013 vintage rieslings, in particular, excited the judges. Matt Skinner, for example, emailed, “Just judged riesling 13 – possibly the best bracket of riesling I’ve ever had the pleasure of judging”.

Judges Mike Bennie and Nick O’Leary shared Skinner’s thrill. The panel of three elected Ravensworth Murrumbateman Riesling 2013 as champion wine of the show – putting a riesling in the top spot for just the third time in 17 shows.

With the exception of 1999, when no champion’s trophy was awarded, shiraz monopolised the top spot from 1998 until 2009, when Helm Premium Riesling 2008 triumphed. Even then the judges, couldn’t quite make the break from shiraz, awarding the trophy jointly to Helm’s riesling and Eden Road The Long Road Hilltops Shiraz 2008.

Shiraz reclaimed the trophy in 2010 and 2011. But in 2012, Half Moon Braidwood Riesling 2010 won in its own right, paving the way for this year’s winner, Ravensworth.

The early dominance of shiraz in the show, and recent strong contention from riesling, parallels the emergence of the two varieties as our district specialties. Shiraz succeeded first in the hands of a few producers, notably Clonakilla, before settling as the standout red variety across Canberra and surrounding regions. Riesling’s acknowledgment lagged shiraz’s by perhaps a decade.

As a judge at the regional show during those transitional years, I recall the mounting riesling challenge. After several close calls, it could no longer be denied by 2009.

There’s now an expectation among judges for our rieslings and shirazes to rise to the top, as they did again this year. And a closer look at the results shows a widening diversity of styles – and, for shiraz in particular, success across a considerable geographic spread within the southern NSW slopes of the Great Divide.

But shiraz and riesling face a future potential champion in chardonnay from Tumbarumba. Though not quite in contention for the top gong yet, chardonnays from this high, cool region to Canberra’s south, completely dominated the variety’s awards.

The judges awarded five gold, nine silver and five bronze medals in a field of 24 chardonnays from the 2012 vintage. Tumbarumba won all of the medals bar one of the silvers and one of the bronzes. An amazing three quarters of wines in the class won either gold or silver medals.

Chardonnay gold medal winners
Echelon Tumbarumba Armchair 2012
Hungerford Hill Hh Classic Tumbarumba 2012
Moppity Vineyards Lock and Key Tumbarumba 2012 (Top chardonnay)
Moppity Vineyards Tumbarumba 2012
Barwang Estate 842 Tumbarumba 2012

While much is made of Canberra shiraz, the biggest grouping of shiraz in the show – 22 wines from the 2012 vintage – demonstrated high quality across a much larger area. The top wine in the class (and ultimate best shiraz of the show) came from Jason Brown’s Moppity Vineyards in the Hilltops region, around Young.

Hilltops shirazes took three of the seven gold medals, Canberra won three and the other went to Tumblong Estates, Gundagai. Canberra won two of the silver medals and Hilltops one, while the fourth went to a Gundagai–Canberra blend. Canberra won five of the seven bronze medals, while Hilltops and Gundagai won one each.

A class of 16 shirazes from 2011 and earlier vintages produced 13 medals – three gold, five silver and five bronze. Canberra wines claimed all of the golds and all of the bronzes. But the silvers went one each to Canberra and Tumbarumba and three to Hilltops.

Chair of judges, Mike Bennie, said no other wine show he’s judged at shows such a concentration of high quality producers. The shiraz classes, he said, revealed an amazing diversity of medium bodied savoury styles.

Shiraz and shiraz–viognier gold medal winners
Gallagher Canberra District 2012
Ravensworth Canberra District 2012
Barwang Estate Hilltops 2012
Tumblong Estates Gundagai Domain Paulownia 2012
Moppity Vineyards Hilltops 2012 (Top 2012 shiraz)
Mount Majura Canberra District 2012
Grove Estate Hilltops 2012
Mount Majura Canberra District 2011 (Top Canberra shiraz)
Pialligo Estate Canberra District 2007
Quarry Hill Canberra District 2009
Ravensworth Canberra District 2007 (Top museum red)

Riesling sparked even more excitement than shiraz, albeit with a much tighter focus on Canberra than outlying regions. Judge Matt Skinner called it the best line up of riesling he’d ever tasted. Collectively, the judges described the class of 25 rieslings from the 2013 vintage as “an extraordinary class of glorious rieslings – a true benchmark nationally and beyond”.

Thirty-three dry rieslings won seven gold, seven silver and 14 bronze medals – a medal strike rate of 85 per cent. Wines from the Canberra District took six of the seven golds, four of the seven silver medals and eight (perhaps nine) of the bronzes.

The Southern Highlands earned one gold and one silver. Braidwood and Hilltops took one silver each and bronze medals went also to wines from Lake Bathurst, Braidwood and Hilltops.

Riesling gold medal winners
Mount Majura Canberra District 2013
Dionysus Canberra District 2013
Clonakilla Canberra District 2013
Helm Canberra District Classic Dry 2013
Ravensworth Canberra District 2013
McKellar Ridge Canberra District 2013
Tertini Wines Southern Highlands 2012

Sauvignon blanc disappointed overall, though Pankhurst Wines, Murrumbateman, won a gold medal for 2013 sauvignon blanc semillon blend.

Canberra has its cabernet true believers, but yet again in 2013 the variety fared poorly. Judges awarded just one silver medal and seven bronzes to the 26 wines exhibited. However, Mount Majura Dinny’s Block 2012, hidden in the “other varieties and/or blends” class won a gold medal. This blend of cabernet franc, merlot and cabernet sauvignon may point the way for cabernet-related varieties in the district.

Pinot noir also performed poorly. The judges awarded seven medals (six bronze, one silver) to 16 wines – all except one to wines from Tumbarumba. However, the judges see potential in Tumbarumba pinot, commenting, “the best examples show complexity, savouriness and textural intrigue. A work in progress to find best sites”.

In the white classes for “other varieties and/or blends”, Coolangatta Estate, Nowra, won gold medals for its 2005 and 2006 vintage semillons – perennial winners at this show. And Clonakilla won gold for its 2012 Viognier.

Awarding five medals (four bronze and one silver), judges described a field of eight sparkling wines as “a curious class”. Judge Mike Bennie wondered why there were not more wines entered from Tumbarumba – an accomplished region for this style.

See the full catalogue of results.