The Royal Sydney Wine Show has taken place once again, with the 2023 Bream Creek Vineyard Pinot Noir taking out the coveted Tucker Seabrook Perpetual Trophy for Best Wine of Show.
The wine is the youngest red to win the acclaimed title for over 24 years and is the first pinot noir to claim Best Wine of Show since 2015. It is also the first Tasmanian wine to win since 2016.
Sydney Royal Wine Show Chair of Judges, Sarah Crowe, says the young red was a real standout and she congratulates Bream Creek on a fantastic vintage.
“The young pinot class was a real highlight for our judges this year, and this standard of quality can be reflected in our 2024 Wine of Show winner, the 2023 Bream Creek Vineyard Pinot Noir,” Crowe said.
“For a young red to stand out amongst over 1,700 entries is impressive, and if that wasn’t remarkable enough, it is also the youngest red to win Wine of Show in Sydney in the last two decades, if not longer. It is quite the achievement.
“In addition to the high-scoring young pinot noir class, chardonnay was an absolute delight to assess. Chardonnay is at the top of its game and Australian producers are consistently delivering a world-class wine that rivals any international competitor.
“From the larger producers like Evans & Tate, who took home Best White and Best Chardonnay with the 2022 Evans & Tate Redbrook Reserve Chardonnay, to smaller producers such as Silkman Wines, who claimed Best Small Producer with the 2023 Silkman Wines Silk Chardonnay, the quality of chardonnay Australians are getting is exceptional.”
Across the 52 classes judged during the Sydney Royal Wine Show, the 2024 and 2023 chardonnay class claimed the highest medal count with 118 medals awarded, 9 of which were gold medals.
Other award winners included Calabria Saint Petri 2022 Shiraz Carignan winning the Arthur Kelman Perpetual Trophy for ‘Best Shiraz Dominant Blend’, Yalumba Sanctum Cabernet Sauvignon 2021 named Best Cabernet Sauvignon, Tasmania’s House of Arras Grand Vintage 2015 crowned as Best Sparkling White for the second-year running. Robert Stein Rieslings took home three awards with the 2017 winning the Douglas Lamb Perpetual Trophy for Best Riesling, the 2023 named Best NSW Wine and the 2024 named Best Current Vintage White.
The fruit for the Calabria Saint Petri 2022 vintage is sourced from the Calabria family’s William vineyard in the Barossa Valley, named after Bill and Lena’s first grandson.
“Someone was working hard in 1914 when they planted these vines, and we’ve done our very best to maintain the integrity of the vines and the fruit they produce. This wine represents not only our family’s love and dedication for the craft of winemaking, and also the families before us that worked hard and made sacrifices to develop the vineyard,” said Bill Calabria AM.
Yalumba’s Senior Winemaker Heather Fraser, described the Sanctum Cabernet Sauvignon as “a modern take on a classic regional and varietal stalwart that is fun, flavoursome, stylish and uninhibited.”
She added: “[The 2021 vintage] was an excellent growing season, and the harvest period will be remembered for being dry and exceptionally mild which resulted in grapes that retained freshness, acidity and wonderfully expressive flavours. Silky and vibrant, the wine bursts with intense black fruits, the palate is structured with the mid-palate balanced by fine, long tannins.
“It is the product of a great vintage and a real testament to the viticultural team headed up by James Freckleton in the southeast.”
House of Arras Chief Winemaker Ed Carr said: “We are thrilled to gain this recognition once again for our Grand Vintage 2015 at such a prestigious and well-respected program such as the Sydney Royal Wine Show. “There’s no doubt that the sparkling wine sector in Australia is growing to produce exceptional examples that rival the best-of-the-best, so we are very proud to be a part of that movement.”
Robert Stein’s winemaker and owner, Jacob Stein said: “To win these Trophies far exceeds all of our expectations. While we have a strong focus on Riesling, to consistently be awarded The Douglas Lamb Trophy is truly fantastic. Our history with growing Riesling dates to 1838 when our forebears established Riesling vines at Macarthur’s Camden Park Vineyard; if only they could see how far we’ve come.”