Westend Estate Wines are celebrating once again, as the Westend Cool Climate Riesling has been awarded ‘2011 White Wine of the Year’ in Peter Forrestal’s 2011 edition of ‘Quaff – The Best Wines in Australia under $15.’
Westend have also come away with two of its wines, Westend Cool Climate Pinot Noir & Riesling, being placed in the TOP 5 wines for ‘best of the best of Quaff 2011’.
The Richland Sauvignon Blanc has also made it’s way into the ‘Quaff Hall of Fame’ as a consistent quality wine, year in-year out. Stand out reviews, from the Poker Face range, Westend Cool Climate Series and the Richland range are featured below.
Cool Climate Series Riesling – 2011 WHITE WINE OF THE YEAR
TOP 20 QUAFFING WINE, RANKED # 2
‘UTTERLY DELECTABLE’
Bill Calabria, Bryan Currie and the team at Westend in the Riverina have made a clever move with their Cool Climate range, using white grapes from Cool Climate regions to produce quality wines at a budget price. In 2009, there’s heady lemon blossom, Lemongrass aromatics, fresh, clean, intense powerful limey flavours, power, before an impeccably balanced crisp, dry finish.
Richland Sauvignon Blanc – HALL OF FAME: THE RELIABLE
After 11 years of sniffing and slurping through thousands of wines for Quaff, there is one wine that has never failed to impress, Richland Sauvignon Blanc, a Consistent-quality wine, year in, year out. It is a stunning performance as most of the other Riverina, or indeed warm area, sauvignons lack intensity and concentration of flavour.
Westend ‘Cool Climate’ Pinot Noir – BLOODY GOOD
TOP 20 QUAFFING WINE, RANKED # 5
I do at least three new release tastings a week with the panel and that involves 28 wines, so I’m pretty tired afterwards and I don’t drink much wine with the meal that follows – unless I’m sorely tempted. This was one of those wines. I loved it during the tastings and thought I’d have a glass over dinner. Well I enjoyed it that much I had another … it’s that good. The 2009 ‘Cool Climate’ Pinot is sourced from Canberra and is light to medium bodied, has rich, intense and persistent redcurrant and black cherry flavours, silky smooth viscosity and ripe, fine grained tannins. I have a slight question mark over the tannins but that didn’t stop me quietly sipping the wine.
For more information visit our website www.westendestate.com.au