These notes come from two days of tasting at this years Sydney Wine Show. Day 1 was the exhibitors session, followed up by the WCA Trophy lunch. Day 2 was the public tasting and I'll put it in a separate post
Yarra Burn Blanc de Blancs 2005 (Yarra Valley, Vic)
Trophy & gold medal
How this beat the brace of Arras vintages in this bracket is beyond me. Sure it's obviously very well made (probably by Ed Carr as well) but the acid is jarring, the sweetness cloying and the length missing. Not nasty, just a little average. 15.5/85
Tower Estate Clare Riesling 2009 (Clare Valley, SA)
Gold medal
Beautiful Clare lime juice nose. Really classic aromatics. Lovely form, though it is perhaps just lacking a little intensity. Nice stuff regardless. 17.7/92
Crabtree 'Hilltop' Riesling 2009 (Clare Valley, SA)
Trophy & gold medal
Just a hint of green pea on the nose - it's very green indeed, but flush with the typical Watervale richness on the nose. Long, vibrant and ageworthy Riesling, though I would wait a year or two before drinking. 17.8/92+
Mcwilliams Eden Valley Riesling 2009 (Eden Valley, SA)
Trophy & gold medal
Very pure and so obviously an Eden Valley Riesling, but really lacking the piercing definition, length or character to warrant its award. It's ultimately just a nice wine, not really a trophy wine. 16.6/89
Peter Lehmann 'Wigan' Riesling 2006 (Eden Valley, SA)
Trophy & gold medal
Classic Eden Slate with just the first hint of toast. Very well formed, pure and clean with lifted aromatics and clean varietal flavours. In a bit of a transitional phase right now, but no doubting the glory here. 18.3/93
Stella Bella Sauvignon Blanc 2009 (Margaret River, WA)
Trophy & gold medal
Intensely pungent Sauvignon with the most varietal nose you will ever smell. Bone dry palate - no sugar here! Not for the faint hearted, but so precise1 I'm marking it off the gold as I just found the acid a bit too aggressive for actual drinking. 17.5/91
Pepper Tree Alluvius Semillon 2009 (Hunter Valley, NSW)
Gold medal
Rather ripe and full for a Hunter Sem, its powerful and juicy upfront stuff. Lots of green apple fruit and citrussy acidity. Plenty of appeal here! Price? 17.6/91
Two Rivers Stone Throw Semillon 2009 (Hunter Valley, NSW)
Gold medal
Clean, grassy Semillon with rounded fruit flavours and a quite broad palate. Nice and generous though just a bit short for higher points. 16.5/88
Meerea Park Alexander Munro Semillon 2008 (Hunter Valley, NSW)
No medal
As if to remind the Eather boys how important it is that this is released with appropriate bottle age, this scored poorly here. I can understand why too - at present it's completely in its shell, a tight, short and grassy Semillon that shows the green pea herbaceousness of the vintage, whilst barely hinting at the glories of the future. Bloody hard wine to rate too. I'm scoring it as I see it now, yet this reminds how useless points are with a beast such as Hunter Semillon. 15.8/86+++
Tyrrells Vat 1 Semillon 2005 (Hunter Valley, NSW)
Trophy & gold medal
Thoroughly deserving of its bling (the label is seriously groaning with trophies and gold medals) this is a classic, world class wine of unparallelled character, style and definition. Destined to be an all time great. It starts with a green straw colour, and a green apple over very light toast development, with just a hint of lemon curd. Palate is searingly, breathtakingly acidic in a typical, natural acid style that is absolutely refreshing but spankingly dry regardless. We drank this over lunch and even after being open for 3 or 4 hours it still seemed to be scorchingly dry. My conclusion? Don't miss out on this epic wine. 19/96
Tyrrells HVD Semillon 2005 (Hunter Valley, NSW)
Silver medal
Lovely clean and charismatic green apple and toast nose. It's a much broader and softer Semillon wine than the 05 Vat 1, which perhaps makes for a more drinkable wine, especially when backed with typical Sem acidity. Feels like a step behind it regardless. Still a glorious wine. 17.5/91
Wignalls Chardonnay 2009 (Great Southern, WA)
Gold medal
Very oaky. Bright, full & nutty with sophistication below all that oak. Just a bit too oaky to drink now though. 17/90++
Castle Rock Diletti Chardonnay 2008 (Great Southern, WA)
2 trophies & gold medal
Superb. Lovely rich Chardonnay with classy, somewhat oaky nose backed by cleverly worked palate. Complex, leesy palate shows particularly well, finishing with plenty of acid. Brilliant modern Chardonnay. 18.5/94
Eileen Hardy Chardonnay 2008 (multi regional Blend)
3 trophies, including wine of show, 1 gold medal
The biggest debate was really centred around whether this iconic Chardonnay was better than the Penfolds below (for the record I would drink this now, the Penfolds for the cellar). Ultimately this very cool, dry and rich Chardonnay displayed a lovely mix of bright melon fruit, well judged oak and cool climate acidity. It's actually quite a soft wine, though with that acid punch reminding of its origins. A very tasty wine that is definitely worthy of its silverware, even if I wasn't totally blown away. 18.0/92
Penfolds Bin 07A Chardonnay 2007 (multi regional blend)
Trophy & bronze medal
Another wine that affirms Penfolds reputation as producers of absolute top shelf Chardonnay. This is a bigger, firmer, denser wine than the Eileen Hardy above, with some rather brisk acidity dominating the palate. In the more mineral and lemony Chardonnay style, this has real depth, even if I think its best work is still some way off. Score is lower than the Eileen above, but I expect them to swap with a few more years bottle age. 17.8/92
Yabby Lake Block 5 Pinot Noir 2008 (Mornington Peninsula, Vic)
Gold medal
Wow. Now this is a Pinot! Fleshy, ripe, red cherry, Vosne like voluptuous red fruit on the nose, with a sexy plush and delicious palate that starts juicy and then gets drier and more tannic as the palate builds, finishing stemmy, stern and plain delicious. Archetypal Mornington Pinot. 18.7/95
Home Hill Pinot Noir 2008 (Tasmania)
No medal
Lots of bling on this bottle and its no surprise why. Rich, showy and very ripe Pinot with quite dominant oak and a really upfront style. Backed by nice Pinot Noir weight it's a genuinely good quality wine, if just a bit sweet and obvious (at the moment). 17/90
Yabby Lake Block 2 Pinot Noir 2008 (Mornington Peninsula, Vic)
No medal
Such a different beast to the block 6. This a much simpler, almost muted wine that shows quite simple red fruits and a smidgen of bitterness. Finishes short too. Terroir at work! 16.0/86
Wolf Blass Gold Label Pinot Noir 2008 (South Australia)
Trophy & gold medal
THE controversy of the show. A simple, clearly varietal and certainly well polished Pinot Noir that may look 'spot on' in show conditions, but in the glass (over lunch) quickly showed to be a very one dimensional and characterless commercial wine that deserves no more than a bronze medal. Many judges were plain embarrassed by this, but everyone agreed that it was a difficult class to judge, and that the wine was at least clean and varietal. Clean and varietal however doesn't make for satisfying wines. 15.8/86
Grove Estate Somita Nebbiolo (Hilltops, NSW)
Gold medal
It's probably far too young to right this off completely, but for my mind this is a confected, sweet and rather plain Nebbiolo that only shares its tannin structure with that of the Italian classics. That's hardly a fair comparison, but i was totally put off by the sweetness and couldn't get past it. 15.3/84
Collector Reserve Shiraz 2008 (Canberra district)
3 trophies & gold medal
Great to see that a well priced Canberra wine got so many gongs this year, and that so many people were rather enthused by the wine whilst actually drinking it over lunch. Personally I think this is a lovely wine, though a bit simple for super excitement. With a nose of roast lamb, spicy red plum fruit and redcurrants backed by a smooth, medium weight and rather youthful palate, finishing dry and quite long. Nice now and even better later. 17.7/91+
Brokenwood Graveyard Shiraz 2007
No Medal (and low score)
In a solid indictment of the rather technical leanings of a modern wine show, this iconic (and serioulsy good) wine received a particularly low score. I'm guessing this was mainly due to some typically sweaty (brett?) Hunter characters on the nose, which would have stuck out as questionable in a lineup of young modern Shiraz. The palate is tight, rich and oaky, with everything to come as it matures. Medium weight, lovely Hunter Shiraz for the long term. Score will go up in time. 17.6/91+
Harcourt Valley Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 (Bendigo, Vic)
Silver medal
Go no further if you don't like a little eucalypt in your Cabernet. This is riddled with it. Behind the gumleaf though is a wonderfully ripe, decadent and smooth Cabernet with ample flavour and that seamless power that Bendigo does so well. Excellent wine, though the eucalypt is a distraction. 17/90
Vasse Felix Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 (Margaret River, WA)
Trophy & gold medal
Right up my alley. Announcing its Margaret River origins from the first whiff, this has mildly herbaceous/cedary varietal characters on the nose, a medium weight, yet typically rich palate, and proper fruit tannins. In a sea of dry reds with massive impact and sweetness, this dry and plain delicious wine sticks out largely with its moderation. Buy some. 18.5/94
Andrew