THIS week brings the Hunter Valley an exceptional milestone - a celebration of the 50th anniversary of Australia's oldest - and arguably premier - regional wine competition.
The 2022 CCL Hunter Valley Wine Show judging at Singleton Army Infantry Centre began on Monday with a 16-member expert panel headed by Samantha Connew, who in 2014 was the youngest and first female chair of judges at Sydney Royal Wine Show.
The week comes to a climax on Friday at Pokolbin in an awards presentation lunch at Crowne Plaza Hunter Valley with General Sir Peter Cosgrove and Lady Lynne Cosgrove as guests of honour. Sir Peter, the Governor General from 2014 to 2019, is a Freeman of the Shire of Singleton and a former Commandant of Singleton Army Base, which has been home to show judging since 1980.
As Australia's oldest continuous wine region, the Hunter show was the nation's first wine competition. Its history dates to 1847 when pioneer vignerons formed Hunter Valley Vineyard Association and that year launched a wine show within the Hunter Agricultural Society at Maitland. That judging petered out in 1963 and it was 1973 before it was revived by a group of energetic Singleton and Hunter wine folk.
Over the 50 years in their present form at Singleton, the shows have had more than 33,000 entries and awarded more than 1900 gold medals. Its history has been meticulously recorded by former show committee chairman and Singleton civic leader John Flannery in his book From Tendrils to Trophies, which pays tribute to the contribution of Ron Petrie, owner of Singleton's Pannaroo Motel, to the re-establishment of the show.
The event, initially open to entries from other NSW areas and now restricted to Hunter wines, is notable for having two female chairs of judges - this year Samantha Connew, and from 2018 and 2019 former Hunter winemaker Sarah Crowe and now acclaimed winemaker-general manager of Victoria's Yarra Yering brand.
Connew, previously a noted Hunter winemaker and Hunter judge and now owner of the Stargazer operation in Tasmania's Huon Valley, made history between 2015 and 2017 by being the first woman to serve as Sydney Wine Show chair of judges.
The Hunter show's judging chairs have included the inaugural Doug Seabrook, Bill Chambers, Karl Stockhausen and nine-year veterans Len Evans and Iain Riggs. Judges have included the legendary Max Lake, James Halliday, lauded international wine expert Jancis Robinson and leading UK wine writer Matthew Jukes.
WINE REVIEWS by JOHN LEWIS
WELL WORTH A WAIT
THIS lovely Mount Pleasant 2017 Lovedale Semillon is worth waiting for release next month at the Marrowbone Road, Pokolbin, cellar door and at mountpleasantwines.com.au. It's green-tinted straw, jasmine-scented and with elegant lime front-palate flavour. The middle has lemon curd, mineral and honey and toast and the finish slatey acid. PRICE: $90. DRINK WITH: crab soufflé. AGEING: 10 years. RATING: 5 stars
A TALLAWANTA TREAT
FROM Pokolbin's prized Tallawanta vineyard, this 14% alcohol, bright garnet Carillion 2019 Fenestella Shiraz has cherry strudel aromas and expressive blackcurrant front-palate flavour. The middle shows Satsuma plum, spice, briar and savoury oak and the finish has minty tannins. At carillionwines.com.au and the Mount View cellar door. PRICE: $60. DRINK WITH: veal stroganoff. AGEING: 10 years. RATING: 5 stars
GOOD-VALUE QUAFFER
THIS Tulloch 2021 Hunter Verdelho is good-value quaffing with pale lemon hues, tropical fruit salad scents and juicy passionfruit front-palate flavour. The middle palate shows white peach, apple peel and gunmetal elements and a finish of flinty acid. At the Beyers Rd, Pokolbin, cellar, tullochwines.com and BWS and other wine shops. PRICE: $18. DRINK WITH: fish and chips. AGEING: three years. RATING: 4 stars
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