The Great Australian Red - medal winners 2009
Value for money shines in The Great Australian Red 2009
Media release
Yalumba Winery, Barossa, South Australia
The consumer is the ultimate winner in The Great Australian Red competition judged recently, after more than one-third of the thirty-one medals awarded were won by wines priced under $20.
St Hallett’s brand new fifteen dollar Gamekeepers Shiraz Cabernet 2008 made a debut splash, winning not only the sub-$20 trophy but also the trophy for the best Shiraz-dominant blend, blitzing wines up to six times its price. This is the first time in the competition that a budget wine has gone on to snatch one of the top trophies.
The result reaffirms that the Shiraz Cabernet blend makes not only some of Australia’s greatest and most age-worthy reds but also some of its best value quaffers – a pertinent reminder in current economic times.
The winner of The Great Australian Red 2009 was Yalumba FDR1A Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz 2006. A champion of this blend for decades and a trophy winner in every year of the competition, this is a fitting result for Yalumba, which also won one gold and two silver medals in the competition.
Another champion of the blend, Penfolds, won the trophy for the best wine over $50 with Penfolds Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz 2006, the successor to last year’s competition winner, the 2005 vintage of the same wine. The company ranked among the most successful in the competition this year, also winning one gold and three silver medals.
A change of venue this year took the judging to the illustrious Balcony Room at Parliament House in Adelaide. The format followed the usual stringent standards for The Great Australian Red, with two panels simultaneously judging the same wines, allowing every wine a second chance to be awarded or knocked back.
The judges of The Great Australian Red 2009 were Steve Webber (De Bortoli; Chair of Judges), Matthew Jukes (panel chair), Tyson Stelzer (panel chair), Toby Barlow (St Hallett), Sam Connew (Wirra Wirra), Stephen Dew (Kaesler Wines), Linda Domas (Linda Domas Wines), Michael Fragos (Chapel Hill), Andrew Hardy (Petaluma), Steve Pannell (S.C. Pannell Wines)>and Amelia Pinsent (Country Life, UK).
In total, five trophies, five gold medals, eleven silver medals and fifteen bronze medals were awarded.
Trophies
The Great Australian Red 2009 - Yalumba FDR1A Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz 2006, $36.95
The Trophy for the Best Wine over $50 - Penfolds Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz 2006, $59.95
The Trophy for the Best wine under $20 - St Hallett Gamekeepers Shiraz Cabernet 2008, $14.95
The Trophy for the Best Cabernet-dominant Blend - Yalumba FDR1A Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz 2006, $36.95
The Trophy for the Best Shiraz-dominant Blend - St Hallett Gamekeepers Shiraz Cabernet 2008, $14.95
Gold Medals
Hardys HRBD640 Cabernet Shiraz 2007, $39.95
Metala Shiraz Cabernet 2007, $21.95
Penfolds Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz 2006, $59.95
St Hallett Gamekeepers Shiraz Cabernet 2008, $14.95
Yalumba FDR1A Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz 2006, $36.95
Silver Medals
Anvers Wines Razorback Road Shiraz Cabernet 2006, $19.95
Jacob's Creek Johann Shiraz Cabernet 2002, $74.95
Penfolds Koonunga Hill Seventy Six Shiraz Cabernet Sauvignon 2008, $17.95
Penfolds Coonawarra Cabernet Shiraz 2008, $TBC
Penfolds Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz 2007, $59.95
The Musician by Majella 2008, $16.95
Wolf Blass Black Label Cabernet Shiraz 2005, $129.95
Wynns The Gables Coonawarra Cabernet Shiraz 2006, $44.95
Wynns The Gables Coonawarra Cabernet Shiraz 2008, $44.95
Yalumba The Scribbler Cabernet Shiraz 2008, $19.95
Bronze Medals
Bimbadgen MCA Art Series Shiraz Cabernet Sauvignon 2008, $24.95
Flaxman Wines The Stranger Shiraz Cabernet 2007, $34.95
George Wyndham Shiraz Cabernet 2006, $19.95
Glaetzer Anaperenna Shiraz Cabernet 2007, $54.95
Jip Jip Rocks Shiraz Cabernet 2008, $16.95
Lake Breeze Bernoota Shiraz Cabernet 2007, $19.95
Olivers Taranga Corrinas Shiraz Cabernet 2006, $29.95
Stella Bella Skuttlebutt Shiraz Cabernet 2007, $17.95
Taltarni Reserve Shiraz Cabernet 2005, $64.95
The Lane JC John Crighton Single Vineyard Shiraz Cabernet Sauvignon 2007, $99.95
Ulithorne Paternus Cabernet Shiraz 2008, $34.95
Wangolina Station Cabernet Shiraz 2007, $17.95
Watershed Wines Shades Shiraz Cabernet 2005, $15.95
Wolf Blass Black Label Cabernet Shiraz 2006, $129.95
Zema Estate Saluti Cabernet Shiraz 2006, $69.95
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