By JESSE GRAHAM
SEVILLE Estate dominated the competition in the Yarra Valley Wine Show earlier this month, taking out four trophies and almost scraping an Australia-wide accolade.
The winery’s 2013 Seville Estate Reserve Chardonnay was awarded four trophies at the show on 19 September – Best Chardonnay, Best Single-Vineyard White Wine, Best White Wine of Show and Champion Wine of Show.
The wine was also scored a 97 as part of the James Halliday Chardonnay Challenge, beaten to the title of Australia’s best Chardonnay by one point – Margaret River’s Deep Woods Estate took out the title with its 2013 Reserve Chardonnay, scoring 98 points.
Seville Estate owner Margaret Van Der Meulen said that she was “outstandingly proud” of the result.
“This has been a particularly standout year for us – we’ve won the best chardonnay before, but never picked up the champion wine of show award,” she said.
She said the estate was established in 1972 by Peter McMahon, the grandfather of current-winemaker Dylan McMahon and that the winery has had a consistent attention to detail that separates it from the rest.
“It’s the attention in the vineyard,” she said.
“You have to grow exceptionally good fruit, and good winemaking makes the difference.
“They are classic Yarra Valley wines that really show the terroir of the region.”
Ms Van Der Meulen said that, as secretary of the show, she was pleased to have the James Halliday Chardonnay Challenge alongside the Yarra Valley Wine Show.
“It is extremely gratifying for the Yarra Valley, I think,” she said.
“Some of the highly-contested chardonnays were definitely the Yarra Valley ones, and that makes me really proud.”
Coombe Farm’s 2011 Coombe Farm Nellie Melba Blanc de Blancs took out the Best Sparkling class while the 2013 Coldstream Hills Esplanade Pinot Noir was marked the Best Pinot Noir, along with Best Single Vineyard Red Wine and Best Red Wine in Show.
Yeringberg’s 2012 Yeringberg was awarded the Best Cabernet Sauvingnon or blend thereof, Innocent Bystander’s 2013 Mea Culpa Shiraz took out the best in its field, while also scooping the Best Alternative Red Variety for its 2013 Giant Steps Sexton Merlot.
Oakridge Wines’s 2009 Oakridge 864 Chardonnay Van Der Meulen Vineyard won Best Museum Wine, Coldstream Hills took out the Most Successful Exhibitor award and Shelmerdine Vineyards’s Lusatia Park Vineyard won Vineyard of the Year.
