Central Otago Pinot Noir takes top trophy at Air New Zealand Wine Awards
The Lowburn Ferry Home Block Pinot Noir Central Otago 2014 received the Air New Zealand Champion Wine of the Show Trophy.
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Hawke’s Bay
A Central Otago Pinot Noir won the top prize at the 30th Air New Zealand Wine Awards at Auckland’s Viaduct Events Centre at the weekend.
The Lowburn Ferry Home Block Pinot Noir Central Otago 2014 received the Air New Zealand Champion Wine of the Show Trophy, as well as the JF Hillebrand New Zealand Champion Pinot Noir.
The O-I New Zealand Reserve Wine of the Show Trophy went to the Brancott Estate Letter Series "O" Chardonnay Marlborough 2015. It also won the Rabobank New Zealand Champion Chardonnay Trophy.
The awards attracted 1400 entries, from which the judges, headed by Michael Brajkovich, chose 91 gold medals. From these, the judges chose 18 trophy or elite gold medal winners.
Mr Brajkovich says the overall champion is one of the more complex Pinot Noir wines in this year’s competition and at $55 a bottle is also one of the most expensive.
“This wine has lovely ripe wild cherry aromas with earthy herbal and truffle-like undertones,” he says. “The palate is full-bodied with a seductively silky texture and is showing the benefit of bottle maturation.
“Pinot Noir was undoubtedly the strongest class of wine this year, showing very high quality across a range of styles. All of the gold medal winning wines are outstanding but this older example had that ‘something special’ to attract the judges’ attention in the trophy tasting.
"The argument is no longer about quality because we already know that the wines are all outstanding. The trophies are determined by the stylistic preferences of the senior judges, who vote accordingly."
Giesen Wines won three categories – its 2015 Riesling was the open white and Riesling winner while a 2014 late harvest Sauvignon Blanc won the sweet white wine award.
Yealands' 2015 Marborough Pinot Noir won the open red wine section while Babydoll's Marlborough 2016 Sauvignon Blanc was the trophy winner in the biggest white category.
Nevil Gibson
Mon, 14 Nov 2016
Mon, 14 Nov 2016
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Central Otago Pinot Noir takes top trophy at Air New Zealand Wine Awards
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