Hunter Valley wineries are bringing home six trophies from Thursday night's 2024 Sydney Royal Wine Show.
It was a good year for NSW wineries who won 10 of the 23 wine awards handed out on the night.
De Bortoli Wines' 2020 Deen De Bortoli Botrytis Semillon was named best sweet white.
Brokenwood Wines' 2019 Brokenwood Tallawanta Vineyard Semillon won three trophies: best semillon, best mature white and best single vineyard wine.
De Iuliis Wines won the best rose category for its 2024 De Iuliis Rose, and Silkman Wines was named best small producer wine for its 2023 Silkman Wines Silk Chardonnay.
A young Tasmanian pinot noir - the 2023 Bream Creek Vineyard Pinot Noir - claimed the coveted Tucker Seabrook Perpetual Trophy for best wine of show. It is the first pinot noir to win 'best of show' since 2015.
Outgoing Sydney Royal Wine Show chair of judges, Sarah Crowe, said the young red was "a real standout" congratulated Bream Creek on a fantastic vintage.
"For a young red to stand out among over 1700 entries is impressive, and if that wasn't remarkable enough, it is also the youngest red to win 'wine of show' in Sydney in the last two decades, if not longer. It is quite the achievement," she said.
"In addition to the high-scoring young pinot noir class, chardonnay was an absolute delight to assess.
"Chardonnay is at the top of its game and Australian producers are consistently delivering a world-class wine that rivals any international competitor.
"From the larger producers like Evans & Tate, who took home best white and best chardonnay with the 2022 Evans & Tate Redbrook Reserve Chardonnay, to smaller producers such as Silkman Wines, who claimed best small producer with the 2023 Silkman Wines Silk Chardonnay, the quality of chardonnay Australians are getting is exceptional."
Across the 52 classes judged during the Sydney Royal Wine Show, the 2024 and 2023 chardonnay class claimed the highest medal count with 118 medals awarded, nine of which were gold medals.
Next year Crowe will hand the chief of judges baton to Hunter Valley winemaker Mike De Iuliis, of De Iuliis Wines. You can read all about it in wine writer Rick Allen's column in Wednesday's Newcastle Herald.
