by Amy Looker
Peter Lehmann Wines came up trumps at the 2011 Macquarie Group Sydney Royal Wine Show, taking home three trophies and numerous medals.
The South Australian winery was described by chairman of judges, Iain Riggs, as the standout performer of this year’s show, having been awarded the top gong, the Macquarie Group Perpetual Trophy for Best Wine in Show for its 2005 Margaret Semillon, the Royal Agricultural Society of NSW (RAS) Annual Prize for Best Semillon and the Albert Chan Memorial Prize for Best White Wine of Show.
“Peter Lehmann Wines was exceptional this year, picking up three trophies, four gold, three silver and six bronze medals in total and in the process made a bold claim for Barossa semillon,” said Riggs.
Peter Lehmann’s chief winemaker, Andrew Wigan, was in Sydney for the presentation dinner last night (Thurs 17) and accepted all three awards on behalf of his winemaking team.
“This is a great result for semillon, Peter Lehmann and the Barossa. Semillon has been growing in our valley for 150 years or so and many of our grower’s plantings are quite ancient. It makes delicious, refreshing young wines as well as complex bottle-aged examples such as the 2005 Margaret that is released as a five year old and represents our best semillon of vintage,” said Wigan.
“This is a testament to our loyal Barossa growers and the talented Peter Lehmann team, and rest assured we will celebrate long into the night.”
Wine Show Committee chair, Lyndey Milan, said the judges were impressed with the standard of chardonnay, describing it as exceptional.
“It was pleasing to see the depth of quality of Australia’s chardonnay with gold medals being awarded to wineries stretching from Tasmania to Western Australia. However, the ever-reliable shiraz topped the medal tally,” she said.
The Wine Communicators of Australia (WCA) will host the WCA Macquarie Group Sydney Royal Wine Show Trophy Winners Lunch this afternoon at the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre to celebrate the winning wines.