Sacred Hill scoops Trophy and Gold at Hawke's Bay Wine Awards
Thursday 21 October 2010, 3:45PM
By Sacred Hill
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Sacred Hill’s Riflemans Chardonnay has scooped yet another accolade to add to its glowing stable.
The 2004 Riflemans Chardonnay has been awarded a Trophy and Gold medal at the 10th annual Hawke’s Bay A&P Mercedes-Benz Wine Awards 2010 held last night (19th October).
Riflemans Chardonnay is no stranger to accolades. The 2007 vintage was a joint winner of the 2010 Sydney International Wine Competition Perpetual Trophy, for best fuller bodied dry white table wine, and also picked up a Blue-Gold award. In March this year, it was awarded a Gold medal and Champion Chardonnay New World Trophy at the 57th Royal Easter Show. It has also gained the sought-after five-star Cuisine Magazine stamp of excellence.
“Riflemans Chardonnay continues to go from strength to strength. It gained Gold medals previously in the 2005 and 2006 Hawke’s Bay Wine Awards, so following this with a Trophy for one of our older vintages in this year’s Awards, is fantastic news. It really goes to prove that these wines simply get better with age. We have received some extraordinary accolades over the past few months and this medal further confirms the exceptional quality of this particular vineyard,” says Tony Bish, Sacred Hill Senior Winemaker.
As are all of Sacred Hill’s Special Selection Range, Riflemans Chardonnay is only produced in years when the quality of grapes is considered to be of a high enough standard. Both the 2004 and 2007 vintages were deemed to be outstanding, with the Hawke’s Bay region experiencing exceptional weather allowing maximum fruit maturity and flavour development.
“We were compared against some outstanding competition and we are thrilled, this shows the outstanding nature of Hawke’s Bay for producing high quality, award-winning wines,” says Bish.
The Hawke’s Bay A&P Mercedes-Benz Wine Awards is the only regional wine competition in New Zealand. The awards were held in a spectacular silk-lined marquee in the historic Waikoko Gardens. More than 400 guests attended the prestigious event, hosted by master of ceremonies, well-known New Zealand entertainer Frankie Stevens.