Image: The 2020 Marlborough Wine Show Judging Team. Photo by Richard Briggs
After two days of tasting by a panel of 17 independent judges, 49 Marlborough wines have been awarded Gold Medals at the 2020 Marlborough Wine Show.
The regional New Zealand wine show attracted a total of 604 wines, including 10 from students of NMIT and 69 entered into the Legacy Award.
Chief judge Ben Glover says the quality of the wines entered was outstanding.
“They were pretty awesome to be honest, off the back of two excellent years, 2019 and 2020,” he said.
“The varietal gaining the most gold medals was Pinot Noir, with 12 awarded to wines produced in 2019.
“These would be some of the very best Pinots to come out of Marlborough,” he continued.
“All very stylish and diverse, showing the true character of Marlborough and its sub-regions. They had a lovely nuance and subtlety, and are quite refined. Quite stunning.”
This year’s Sauvignon Blanc also excited the judges, Glover says, with nine golds awarded.
“The Sauvignon Blancs were especially exceptional from the 2020 vintage, and are a credit to the winemakers and vineyard managers that had to work through some tough circumstances, given the COVID-19 lockdown.”
Glover says he was also impressed with the large number of wines entered into the Legacy Award, which is judged on three wines of the same variety, produced within a 10-year period. In total there were 23 entries, encompassing 69 wines.
“This was an extremely impressive class and it would be great to see even more of these wines as they really show what Marlborough can do.”
With 49 Golds awarded, Glover says another 130 wines were given Silver Medals and 236 wines received a Bronze.
Marlborough Wine Show Varietal Trophies along with the Marlborough Museum Legacy Award and The Coterie Provenance Award will be announced at the Celebration Long Lunch, being held on October 30.
The Board of Wine Marlborough will also present a Lifetime Achievement Award to a member of the Marlborough wine industry for their contribution to and promotion of the region’s wine industry.
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