The gold medal winning wines from the 2016 Royal Easter Show Wine Awards have been announced. There were 77 (6.66%) gold medals, 230 (19.88%) silver and 441 (38.12%) bronzes awarded, making a total of 748 (64.65%) wines awarded medals from 1157 wines judged.
The judging took place in Auckland last weekend over 12-14 February by a judging team chaired by Kate Radburnd with Mike de Garis as Deputy Chair. The senior judges were Oliver Masters, Jim Harre, Terry Copeland, Rod Easthope, Jane Boyle, Jane Cooper, Sam Kim, Geoff Kelly, Greg Harris, Ian Isaacs, Barry Riwai and Alan McCorkindale. The associate judges were: Dr Rebecca Deed, Jen Parr, Jo Gear, Brandon Nash, Greg Allinson, Dave Roper, Matt Murphy and Richard Tollenaar.
It was Geoff Kelly’s 35th time at the Easter Show as a senior judge, and his last. Geoff has been and continues to be a wonderful supporter for the wine industry and those who show an appreciation for wine, and is always keen to espouse the virtues of well-cellared wines. At this year’s show, he put on a ‘farewell’ tasting of older Cabernet Sauvignon wines for the judges, the demonstrating the very different characteristics and qualities from what the judges had been working with at the show. The wines were a 1966 Ch. Talbot, and Cabernet Sauvignons from New Zealand, these being the 1967 McWilliams an Western Vineyards, 1969 McWilliams and 1974 Nobilo.
The Class Results and Winners – An Analysis
The most successful class was Sauvignon Blanc with 16 golds awarded. The results confirmed the excellent quality of the Marlborough 2015 vintage, with 13 of the wines fitting those parameters. All 16 wines were from Marlborough fruit.
Pinot Noir was also very successful with 13 gold medal awarded. 6 of the wines came from Central Otago and 5 from Marlborough. Of the gold medal wines, 11 were from the 2014 vintage, confirming that this year was a top growing season. The other 2 wines were from 2013.
Proportionally from the number of entries, it could be said that Chardonnay was the most successful variety overall, with 12 gold medal wines. 6 of these were from Hawke’s Bay fruit and 4 from Marlborough. The other two were from Auckland/Waiheke Island area fruit. As with Pinot Noir, the 2014 vintage came through strongly, with 8 of the gold medal wines from that year.
Syrah was also a very strong category, with 7 golds, 6 of which came from Hawke’s Bay, and all but two from the 2014 vintage.
Combining the Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot Predominant wines to form the Bordeaux Varieties, there were 7 gold medal wines, 3 from Cabernet and 4 from Merlot, all of these wines from Hawke’s Bay, and all but one from the superlative 2013 vintage.
Somewhat down was the performance of the Aromatic Whites, with 2 Gewurztraminers, 4 Rieslings and 4 Pinot Gris winning gold. The specialist styles again showed variable performance, with 4 Sparklings, 2 Rosés, and 3 Sweet Wines winning gold. There was 1 Viognier and 1 Other White Varietal, a Verdelho, which also took gold.
As has been the case as long as one can remember, the Villa Maria group was the most successful exhibitor, taking 19 (24.7%) of the gold medals, these going to the different labels as following: 14 for Villa Maria, 3 for Esk Valley and 1 each for Vidal and Te Awa. It was very pleasing to see Whitehaven take 5 gold medals.
I list the gold medal wines below. The full results with silver and bronze medals can be seen at www.wineshow.co.nz The trophies and special awards will be announced at the awards dinner at The Pullman Hotel in Auckland on Saturday 27 February. I will list these as the results come to hand.
The Gold Medal Wines
Sauvignon Blanc
Giesen ‘The August’ Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2012
Invivo Organic Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2015
Kim Crawford ‘Small Parcels Spitfire’ Sauvignon Blanc 2015
Lawson’s Dry Hills Sauvignon Blanc 2015
Leefield Station Sauvignon Blanc 2015
Matua ‘Single Vineyard’ Awatere Sauvignon Blanc 2015
Morton Estate ‘Black Label’ Sauvignon Blanc 2013
Peter Yealands ‘Eco’ Sauvignon Blanc 2015
Saint Clair Pioneer Block 3 43 Degrees Sauvignon Blanc 2015
Selaks ‘Founders’ Sauvignon Blanc 2015
Spy Valley Sauvignon Blanc 2015
Starborough ‘Family Estate’ Sauvignon Blanc 2015
te Pa ‘Oke’ Sauvignon Blanc 2015
Villa Maria ‘Reserve’ Wairau Valley Sauvignon Blanc 2015
Whitehaven Awatere ‘Single Vineyard’ ‘Greg’ Sauvignon Blan 2015
Yealands Estate ‘Winemaker’s Reserve’ Sauvignon Blanc 2014
Chardonnay
Church Road ‘Grand Reserve’ Chardonnay 2014
Church Road ‘McDonald Series’ Chardonnay 2015
Clearview Estate ‘Reserve’ Chardonnay 2014
Matua ‘Single Vineyard’ Marlborough Chardonnay 2014
Mudbrick Vineyard ‘Reserve’ Chardonnay 2015
Villa Maria ‘Library Release’ Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2010
Villa Maria ‘Reserve’ Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2014
Villa Maria ‘Reserve’ Marlborough Chardonnay 2014
Villa Maria ‘Single Vineyard Keltern’ Chardonnay 2014
Villa Maria ‘Single Vineyard Taylors Pass’ Chardonnay 2013
West Brook Waimauku Chardonnay 2014
Whitehaven Marlborough Chardonnay 2014
Gewurztraminer
Johanneshof Cellars Marlborough Gewurztraminer 2014
Whitehaven Marlborough Gewurztraminer 2015
Riesling
Abbey Cellars Medium-Dry Riesling 2015
Ceres ‘Black Rabbit’ Riesling 2015
Forrest Riesling 2014
Wairau River ‘Summer’ Riesling 2015
Pinot Gris
Catalina Sounds Marlborough Pinot Gris 2015
Dusky Sounds Pinot Gris South Island 2015
Red Card Pinot Gris 2014
Whitehaven Marlborough Pinot Gris 2015
Viognier
Villa Maria ‘Cellar Selection’ Hawke’s Bay Viognier 2015
Other Specified White Varieties
Esk Valley Hawke’s Bay Verdelho 2015
Sweet White
Giesen ‘The Brothers’ Marlborough Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc 2013
Sileni ‘Exceptional Vintage’ Pourriture Noble 2014
Villa Maria ‘Reserve’ Marlborough Noble Riesling Botrytis Selection 2015
Rosé or Blush
Akarua ‘Rua’ Pinot Rosé 2015
Esk Valley Hawke’s Bay Rosé 2015
Pinot Noir
Ballasalla Central Otago Pinot Noir 2014
Bannock Brae Central Otago Pinot Noir 2014
Brightwater Vineyards ‘Lord Rutherford’ Pinot Noir 2014
Martinborough Vineyard ‘Te Tera’ Pinot Noir 2014
Saddleback Pinot Noir 2014
Squealing Pig Central Otago Pinot Noir 2014
Tarras ‘The Canyon’ Pinot Noir 2013
Two Degrees Pinot Noir 2014
Vidal ‘Reserve’ Marlborough Pinot Noir 2014
Villa Maria ‘Single Vineyard Seddon’ Pinot Noir 2014
Villa Maria ‘Single Vineyard Taylors Pass’ Pinot Noir 2013
Villa Maria ‘Single Vineyard Taylors Pass’ Pinot Noir 2014
Whitehaven Marlborough Pinot Noir 2014
Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Predominant
Babich ‘The Patriarch’ 2013
Coopers Creek ‘Reserve’ Hawke’s Bay Cabernet Sauvignon 2013
Villa Maria ‘Reserve’ Gimblett Gravels Hawke’s Bay Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot 2013
Merlot and Merlot Predominant
Elephant Hill ‘Le Phant’ 2014
Mills Reef ‘Reserve’ Merlot 2014
Te Awa ‘Single Estate’ Gimblett Gravels Hawke’s Bay Merlot/Cabernet Sauvignon 2013
Villa Maria ‘Single Vineyard Braided Gravels’ Hawke’s Bay Merlot 2013
Syrah
Church Road ‘McDonald Series’ Syrah 2013
Esk Valley Hawke’s Bay Syrah 2014
Mission Estate ‘Jewelstone’ Syrah 2014
Mission Estate ‘Reserve’ Syrah 2014
Saint Clair ‘Pioneer Block 17 Plateau’ Syrah 2014
Villa Maria ‘Reserve’ Gimblett Gravels Hawke’s Bay Syrah 2013
Wairau River ‘Reserve’ Syrah 2014
Sparkling
Soljans Estate ‘Legacy’ Methode Traditionnelle 2012
Te Hana Reserve Brut NV
Te Hana Rosé NV
Verde Brut NV
