David Pike this week celebrates the Sheraton Wine Awards’ 25th year and pays tribute to ‘the chairman’.
David Pike this week celebrates the Sheraton Wine Awards’ 25th year and pays tribute to ‘the chairman’.
IF anyone needed convincing that the Western Australian wine industry is alive and well, the re-cord number of entries received for the recent Sheraton Wine Awards should put all doubts to rest.
The awards were celebrating their 25th anniversary this year and, to mark the occasion, a highly respected judging panel was assembled to rate the 350 wines from about 100 wineries, with 20 per cent of the wines entered being from labels new to the show.
The Sheraton Awards were overseen by chairman John Hanley, who assembled a cast of notable wine critics and judges among the most respected to ever judge at the awards. Included were: Darrell Corti, a leading wine judge from the Corti Bros wine group in the US; leading Australian winemaker and respected wine commentator Brian Croser; Voyager Estate winemaker Cliffe Royal; Edith Cowan University wine marketing student Simon Hanley; and the man most simply refer to as ‘the chairman’, Len Evans, AO OBE, unquestionably one of Australia’s wine industry’s greatest ambassadors.
Len Evans has a long and distinguished career within the Australian wine industry, becoming its first regular newspaper columnist in 1962 and having been a wine judge at all Australian major wine shows (he has been chairman at most of them as well). He, and a couple of other wine gurus, established Rothbury wines in 1968, and was the founding director of the Australian Wine Bureau. In addition to this he has published numerous wine books, was awarded Decanter Magazine’s UK international man of the year for 1997 and, in 1998, added the AO to the OBE he received in 1982.
His retirement from the judging of wine shows will no doubt be missed, however part of Len Evans’ legacy to the wine show system has been to encourage a healthy tier of associate judges coming through the ranks.
An often controversial character, Len used his address to the Sheraton Wine Awards to comment on claims made during his previous visit to Perth that suggested he exerted too great an influence over other members of the judging panel. These comments obviously deeply offended Len, as he raised the issue again in his address to those at the award’s presentation dinner.
Love him or not, Len Evans will be missed at wine shows around the country. And while you can’t replace his experience overnight, thankfully ‘the chairman’ has left a number of students with a wealth of knowledge.
The results of the 25th Sheraton Awards produced the first tie for the prestigious trophy awarded to the most successful exhibitor. This award is awarded to the winery that gains the most points (gold and silver medals). Sandalford Estate and Gralyn Estate shared the award, each gaining two gold medals and a silver medal.
Situated in the heart of Wilyabrup, Margaret River, Gralyn Estate has enjoyed consistent success at these awards. Over the past few years its red wines have been top of the pops, and so it was this year, with Gralyn Estate collecting the gold for its 2001 cabernet sauvignon and 2001 shiraz cabernet, and a silver with the 2001 shiraz. The wines available through cellar door and mail order constantly sell out quite quickly.
Sandalford Estate has emerged from a sluggish period with a vengeance. Wines being delivered were adequate but perhaps lacking in any point of difference with the competition. In recent years the team at Sandalford has started to deliver the type of quality product you would expect from a winery that has access to some of this State’s oldest vines. Winemaker Paul Boulden has lifted the bar in the winery and the results are certainly showing. Focusing on the strength of access to different regions where Sandalford has vineyards, Paul has produced a number of wines with regional characters that are showing with stunning results. The wines are showing a vibrancy that has been lacking in recent times. The team at Sandalford is back on track and the wines are worth seeking out.
Sandalford scored a gold with its 2002 riesling, Sandalera, and a silver with its 2002 semillon sauvignon blanc, certainly adding to a growing reputation in both the domestic and international markets.
The winners were:
Gold: Sandalford 2002 riesling.
Silver: Houghton 2002 riesling.
Gold: Ashbrook 2002 sauvignon blanc.
Silver: Houghton 2002 sauvignon blanc.
Gold: Moss Brothers 2002 semillon.
Silver: Capel Vale 2002 semillon.
Gold: Moss Brothers 2002 verdelho.
Silver: Talijancich 1995 verdelho.
Gold: Gloucester Ridge 2001 chardonnay.
Silver: Cape Grace 2001 chardonnay.
Gold: Goundrey 2002 sauvignon blanc semillon.
Silver Sandalford 2002 semillon sauvignon blanc.
Sliver: Castle Rock 2001 pinot noir.
Gold: Gralyn 2001 cabernet sauvignon.
Silver: Woody Nook 2001 cabernet sauvignon.
Gold: Preveli 2001 shiraz.
Silver: Gralyn 2001 shiraz.
Gold: Gralyn 2001 shiraz cabernet.
Silver: Chalice Bridge 2001 cabernet shiraz.
Gold: Sandalford Sandalera.
Silver: Lamonts fortified shiraz.
Qantas chairman’s award for the best wine of the show: Sandalford 2002 riesling.
