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Publish Date: 08 Dec 2011
A slightly strange press release described Hedonist Wines, which I know as Walter Clappis Wine Co., as a ‘leading McLaren winery’, little known might be more accurate. However, of greater importance is its receipt of the 2011 George Mackey Memorial Trophy for its 2009 The Hedonist Shiraz. The judging process is exhaustive: during the year more than 14,500 wines were tasted by panels appointed by Wine Australia to taste each and every wine submitted for export approval in the year in question. These are then shortlisted, and further refined by the requirement that at least one pallet of wine has to have been exported within the year of nomination. Thus 53 wines were in the final line up.
Penfolds had an unbeaten run over ‘06, ‘07 and ‘08, winning with the ‘03 RWT Barossa Valley Shiraz, then ‘04 Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon, and finally ‘05 Yattarna Chardonnay. Coldstream Hills is the only winery to win the award with a Pinot Noir (its 1991 vintage, winning again in ‘98 with its ‘96 Reserve Chardonnay). Chardonnay was the dominant variety in the first five years of the trophy from ‘91 to ‘95 respectively, but since that time Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay have shared the spoils, South Australia overwhelmingly the most successful state.
Authored by: James Halliday
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Wines considered to offer special value for money.