The trophy winners of the 2015 Easter Show Wine Awards were announced at the awards dinner in Auckland on the night of Saturday 14 March. The trophy for Champion Wine of the Show was awarded to the Matua ‘Single Vineyard’ ‘Matheson’ Hawke’s Bay Syrah 2013. Matua has been making a comeback on the domestic scene over the last few years since coming under the global Treasury Wine Estates umbrella, and this result has been reinforced with Matua’s chief winemaker Nikolai St George being awarded ‘Winemaker of the Year’ at the awards ceremony.
The ‘Single Vineyard’ flagship wines have already proven to be successes on the show circuit since they were released in August last year. I attended the release tasting of these top tier wines and the Syrah was seen to be the best wine of the set (click here to see my report). I was fortunate to be able to reassess the wines again in November last year (click here to see my reviews), and again the Syrah came across as one of the best wines. These wines reflect the returning presence of Matua on the shelves and show circuit, and it bodes well for the company and consumers.
As usual, the trophy winning wines are an interesting group of high quality wines. The trophy judging process allows for a degree of subjectivity with the senior judges of the competition allowed to vote for their personal preferences in style. Often, trophy winning wines are not mainstream, but can be quite divergent in style from the majority of wines in their catehgory, often showing a point of difference or innovation. To get an impression of the performance of each variety or style category, it is better to analyse the gold medal results (click here to see my analysis of the 2015 gold medal results).
The New Zealand Wine Hall of Fame
At this year’s award dinner, Peter and Joe Babich of Babich Wines were inducted into the New Zealand Wine Hall of Fame. This is a well-deserved honour for two of the industry’s most influential winemakers. Babich Wines, established in 1916, will soon be celebrating their centenary. Following are the inductees to date:
Inaugural 2005: James Busby, Romeo Bragato, Heinrich Breidecker, Charles Levet, Joseph Soler, Israel Wendel, Friedrich Wohnsiedler, Assid Abraham Corban, Tom McDonald, George Mazuran
2006: Mate Brajkovich, Alex Corban, David Hohnen, Frank Yukich
2007: Joseph Annis Corban, Dr Richard Smart, Ross Spence
2008: Bryan Mogridge, Kevyn Moore
2009: Peter Hubscher, Terry Dunleavy
2010: Ross Goodin, Richard Riddiford
2011: Sir George Fistonich
2012: John Buck
2013: Jane Hunter, Bob Campbell MW
2014: Alan Brady, Larry McKenna
2015: Peter Babich, Joe Babich
The Trophy Winners
Following are the trophy winning wines of the 2015 Easter Wine Show. For a full list of medal winners, go to www.wineshow.co.nz
Royal Easter Show Trophy for Champion Wine of the Show:
Matua ‘Single Vineyard’ ‘Matheson’ Syrah 2013
Rapid Labels Trophy for Champion Sparkling
:Verde Methode Traditionnelle Brut NV
The Village Press Trophy for Champion Gewürztraminer
:Spy Valley Gewurztraminer 2013
Red Badge Security Trophy for Champion Riesling
:Saint Clair ‘Pioneer Block – 9 Big John’ Riesling 2013
Datacom Trophy for Champion Pinot Gris
:Aronui ‘Single Vineyard’ Pinot Gris 2014
Esvin Wine Resources Trophy for Champion Rosé
:Murdoch James Pinot Rosé 2014
Guala Closures NZ Trophy for Champion Sauvignon Blanc
:Mt Olympus ‘W5’ Sauvignon Blanc 2014
New World Trophy for Champion Chardonnay
:Vidal ‘Legacy’ Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2013
DrinksBiz Trophy for Champion Wine of Other Varieties
:Bishops Head Waipara Valley Chenin Blanc 2014
New Zealand WineGrower Magazine Trophy for Champion Pinot Noir
:Villa Maria ‘Single Vineyard – Seddon’ Pinot Noir 2012
Generator Rental Services Trophy for Champion Merlot
:Coopers Creek ‘SV’ ‘Metals and Gravels’ Hawke’s Bay Merlot/Malbec 2013
United Cleaning Trophy for Champion Cabernet Sauvignon
:Mills Reef ‘Elspeth’ Cabernet Sauvignon 2013
The Pullman Hotels Trophy for Champion Syrah
:Matua ‘Single Vineyard’ ‘Matheson’ Syrah 2013
Corporate AV Services Trophy for Champion Medium or Sweet Wine
:Brancott Estate ‘Letter Series’ ‘B’ Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc 2013
Auckland Agricultural & Pastoral Association Heritage Rosebowl
Villa Maria ‘Reserve’ Gimblett Gravels Hawke’s Bay Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot 2013, 2008, 2002
Wine Maker of the Year – Royal Agricultural Society Gold Medal
:Nikolai St George – Matua
