Melbourne Royal Wine winners announced

The winners of the 2024 Melbourne Royal Wine Awards have been announced, attracting 2300 entries from over 450 wineries across Australia.

Established in 1883, the Melbourne Royal Wine Awards is one of Australia’s oldest and most respected wine shows, recognising and rewarding excellence in Australian winemaking.

This year, a total of 1222 medals were presented, including 177 Gold, 316 Silver and 729 Bronze. The awards were judged by 35 wine specialists, who each sampled 100 wines on average per day over five days of judging.

Melbourne Royal CEO, Brad Jenkins, said the Melbourne Royal Wine Awards offer Australian winemakers the annual opportunity to have their wines benchmarked against their peers and receive valuable feedback from judges to improve quality and inspire innovation.

“Winning a trophy or a medal in the Melbourne Royal Wine Awards can be a game changer for a winemaker and winery. The Melbourne Royal seal of excellence has significant cache in the wine industry and with consumers that offers unique marketing value to medal and trophy winners,” said Jenkins.

One such trophy winner was Tasmania’s Pirie, winning the Dr Tony Jordan Trophy for Best Sparkling for its Pirie Sparkling Vintage 2020.

Pirie senior winemaker, Tom Wallace, said the team was thrilled with the results, and extremely fortunate to have a wealth of sparkling knowledge and expertise in its winemaking team.

“Pirie only comes together through exceptional teamwork. From meticulous pruning and monitoring of the grapes in the vineyard, through to the critical tirage process in the winery,” said Wallace.

“Pirie is made from 100 per cent Tasmanian grapes from our Kayena Vineyard in the Tamar Valley. Ben Pietsch, our viticulturist, provides us with outstanding Chardonnay and Pinot Noir each year so we can continue to craft world-class Tasmanian sparkling wine.”

The full list of winners includes:

• Best Riesling
  Kirrihill Wines – Regional Series Clare, 2023
• Best Semillon
  Brokenwood Wines – Brokenwood ILR Reserve Semillon, 2018
• Best Sauvignon Blanc
  White Label Sauvignon Blanc, 2023 – Petaluma
• Best Pinot Gris/Grigio
  Wayward Child Pinot Gris, 2024 – Helen & Joey
• Best Single Varietal White
  Kroos Chenin Blanc 2023 – Tripe.Iscariot
• Best Victorian Chardonnay
  Oakridge 864 Henk Aqueduct Chardonnay, 2022 – Oakridge Wines
• Best Tasmanian Chardonnay
  Tolpuddle Vineyard Chardonnay, 2023 – Tolpuddle Vineyard
• Best South Australian Chardonnay
  Signature Owen's Chardonnay, 2022 – Sidewood Estate
• Best Western Australian Chardonnay
  Reserve Chardonnay, 2023 – Deep Woods Estate
• Best New South Wales (incl. ACT) Chardonnay
  Kaleidoscope Tumbarumba Chardonnay, 2023 – Pinnacle Drinks
• Best Chardonnay
  Tolpuddle Vineyard Chardonnay, 2023 – Tolpuddle Vineyard
• Best White Blend
  Estate Reserve Marsanne Roussanne, 2023 – Glenlofty Estate
• Best Sweet White Wine
  R139 Riesling, 2022 – Pressing Matters
• Best Rose
  'Juno' Rosato, 2024 – Longview Vineyard
• Best Grenache
  Smart Vineyard, Clarendon Grenache, 2023 – Willunga 100
• Best Victorian Shiraz
  Yarra Yering Underhill, 2022 – Yarra Yering
• Best South Australian Shiraz
  Small Victories Shiraz, 2023 – Small Victories Wine Co
• Best Western Australian Shiraz
  Lifestyle Shiraz, 2023 – Forester Winery
• Best New South Wales (inc. ACT) Shiraz
  2023 Shiraz, 2023 – Four Winds Vineyard
• Best Cabernet Sauvignon
  Cabernet Sauvignon 2023 – Xanadu Wines
• Best Red Blend
  Frank Potts, 2023 – Bleasdale Vineyards
• Best Single Varietal Red
  Wilyabrup Cabernet Franc, 2023 – Wines of Merritt
• Best Organic or Biodynamic Wine Trophy
  Battle Of Bosworth Cabernet Sauvignon, 2023 – Battle of Bosworth Wines
• The Dr Tony Jordan Trophy for Best Sparkling
  Pirie Sparkling Vintage, 2020 – Brown Family Wine Group
• The Douglas Seabrook Trophy for the Best Single Vineyard Wine
  2023 Shiraz – Four Winds Vineyard
• The Kym Ludvigsen Trophy for Viticultural Excellence
  John Collingwood, Viticulturalist Four Winds Vineyard
• The Bill Chambers Trophy for Best Fortified Wine
  McWilliams Wines 20 Year Old Tawny, NV – Calabria Family Wines
• The James Halliday Trophy for Best Pinot Noir
  Kelly's Reserve Pinot Noir, 2023 – Home Hill Wines
• The Trevor Mast Trophy for Best Shiraz
  2023 Shiraz, 2023 – Four Winds Vineyard
• The Champion Victorian Winery Trophy
  Oakridge Wines
• The Francois De Castella Trophy for Best Young White
  Tolpuddle Vineyard Chardonnay, 2023 – Tolpuddle Vineyard
• The Jimmy Watson Memorial Trophy
  2023 Shiraz – Four Winds Vineyard