South Australia – and the cool-climate Adelaide Hills region in particular – has taken the lion's share of prizes in the seventh annual Mamba Awards for Australian wines on sale in the UK.
Photo credit: Chloe Kingham Photography
Shaw & Smith’s Sauvignon Blanc 2013 from Adelaide Hills and Wynns’ John Riddoch Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 from Coonawarra won their respective categories, with two other Adelaide Hills wines runners up.
Supported by Decanter, the awards were set up by Roger and Sue Jones, chef/proprietor and front of house respectively of the Michelin-starred The Harrow at Little Bedwyn in Wiltshire, and sponsored by Wine Australia and glassware maker Riedel.
The awards highlight the quality and value of Australian wines in the UK market and are judged (non-blind, with prices revealed) by 100 consumers and wine trade members. Wines ranged in price from £9.50 to £215.
This year the focus was on Sauvignon Blanc (18 entries) and Cabernet Sauvignon / Bordeaux blends (54 entries), with the winners of each category receiving a Mamba decanter from Riedel and dinner at The Harrow.
Roger Jones is one of the judges on the Australia panel at the Decanter World Wine Awards and regularly judges Australian wines at Decanter panel tastings. The Harrow’s wine list of 1,000 bins is more than a third Australian.
The top three wines from each category in this year’s awards were:
Cabernet Sauvignon / Bordeaux blends:
1. Wynns, John Riddoch Cabernet Sauvignon, Coonawarra, South Australia 2010 (£75 Wine Treasury)
2. Henschke, Abbots Prayer Cabernet-Merlot, Adelaide Hills, South Australia 2010 (£46 Enotria)
3. Vasse Felix, Heytesbury Cabernet Sauvignon, Margaret River, Western Australia 2010 (£45 Negociants UK)
Sauvignon Blanc:
1. Shaw & Smith, Sauvignon Blanc, Adelaide Hills, South Australia 2013 (£15.99 Liberty Wines)
2. Teusner, Woodside Sauvignon Blanc, Adelaide Hills, South Australia (£22 Hallowed Ground)
3. Phi, Lusatia Park Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc, Yarra Valley, Victoria 2008 (£11 De Bortoli Wines)
Written by Tina Gellie
