By JESSE GRAHAM
THE YARRA Valley has again punched above its weight with its wine, making up a third of the 100 wines recently announced as the state’s best.
On Tuesday, 18 August, the best 100 wines in the state were announced as part of the VIC100 Wine Awards, judged by Nick Stock and six others, who blind-tasted more than 500 wines for the event.
The Yarra Valley was one of the strongest-featured regions in the awards, with 33 wines from local wineries listed out of the 100 total – roughly one third of the entire list.
Mr Stock noted that the valley’s more contemporary wines, including some different-style varieties, made the list.
“It was terrific to see the contemporary edge of the Yarra Valley wines being recognised alongside the classic and legendary wines of Rutherglen,” he said.
Wine Yarra Valley CEO, Richard Howden, said the valley often did well when it came to awards and competition, whether it be the “usual suspects” of award-winning wines or newcomers.
“We think it’s fantastic,” he said.
“We’re obviously known as a premier wine region and certainly the wines that are out and about there getting these medals, they do punch above their weight, I think.
“Not only are there the bigger houses which are doing fantastic things, but also these really extreme, different wines – people are able to push into new areas, push boundaries with these new wines.”
Some of the boundary-pushing wines acknowledged in the awards were De Bortoli La Boheme range, which Leanne De Bortoli said were inspired by Dame Nellie Melba.
“We have a range of red cabernet wines under the Melba label, and we wanted to put out some aromatic whites and other wines under a label that was complementary to Melba,” she said.
“Because each of the different wines are obviously aromatic, they’re not really your standard wines that you would expect from the valley.”
The awarded varieties were the Pinot Gris and Friends, the Syrah Gamay and the Pinot Noir Rose, all blends of different wines, to create “real food-type wines,” according to Ms De Bortoli.
The labels all feature intricate details, which Ms De Bortoli said attracted people to the wine – but the important part was what was within.
“Of course, as long as you can back it up with some pretty good stuff inside, then they keep coming back.”
Other wines in the list include those from Giant Steps and Innocent Bystander, Coombe Farm, Coldstream Hills, TarraWarra Estate, Seville Estate and Punt Road, among others.
All of the top 100 wines will be presented for tasting in Federation Square in Melbourne on Saturday, 5 September.
For the full list, visit www.flavourexchange.com.au.
