NZ wins Tri-Nations the second time this year 

Saturday 18 September 2010

Vidal Estate has triumphed over our tri-nations competitors to take out the Shiraz Trophy at the Tri Nations Wine Challenge announced this evening.

The Vidal Reserve Syrah 2007 was the trophy winning wine judged the best of 33 other Syrahs (or Shirazs) that were asked to compete in this invitation only challenge. 

Vidal Winemaker Hugh Crichton said the Tri Nations trophy is one of their greatest achievements ever, “Vidal has a history of producing Syrahs of fine quality and distinction, reflecting the uniqueness of the Gimblett Gravels. Our ultimate aim in the winery is be hands off allowing site, season and viticultural expertise to set the standard, giving the wines the opportunity to speak clearly of their origin. Coming up against our rugby rivals on the wine front is an excellent test of what we’re doing with this variety and as on the field, we’re clocking up the wins,” he says.

New Zealand did particularly well in this hotly contested wine challenge, winning six of the 13 classes and taking out the overall winner of the competition.

New Zealand judge Bob Campbell (MW) commented on this year’s competition: “I select a short list of the very best New Zealand wines and act as one of three judges together with Huon Hooke from Australia and Michael Fridjhon from South Africa. It is particularly exciting for New Zealand to win the Syrah and Bordeaux Blend classes because both Australia and South Africa have a reputation for making world class examples of both. Australia, for example, has 45,000 hectares of Syrah while South Africa has around 8500 hectares of the variety. New Zealand by comparison has less than 300 hectares of Syrah vines,” he said.

This win comes just weeks after the same wine was awarded three trophies at the Romeo Bragato Wine Awards.

The Tri Nations Wine Challenge is an important event in the Australasian wine awards calendar, judged by the ‘best of the best’ wine writers from the three competing nations. This year’s show saw 352 wines put forward for judgement in 14 categories. Wines are entered by invitation, making the Tri Nations awards unique by world standards.

2004 Reserve Syrah

Cuisine                                                            Top NZ Syrah

Gold                                                                 Air NZ Wine Awards

2005 Reserve Syrah
Trophy and Champion Wine of the show       Hawkes Bay Wine Awards
92/100 ..(“..one of NZ’s top class Syrahs..”)   Wine Advocate
5 stars                                                             Winestate
Gold                                                                 Royal Easter Show

2006 Reserve Syrah

96/100                                                             Bob Campbell

Elite Gold                                                         Air NZ Wine Award

Double Gold                                                    Tri-Nations 2009

Gold                                                                 Hawkes Bay Wine Awards

Gold                                                                 Royal Easter Show 2010

Gold                                                                 Liquourland Wine Awards 2010

2007 Reserve Syrah

Trophy Syrah                                                  Bragato 2010

Trophy Reserve Wine of the Show                Bragato 2010

Trophy Sustainable                                         Bragato 2010

92/100                                                             Bob Campbell

2008 Not made due to weather conditions providing grapes that were not up to Vidal Reserve standard

2009 and 2010 still in barrel with expectations of reserve releases.

For more information please contact:
Hugh Crichton
Winemaker
Vidal Estate
06 872 7444
021 943 079