Adrian Rodda (winner of the Victorian Wine Show Premier’s Trophy) with Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan. Image courtesy Victorian Wine Show
The 2023 A.Rodda Baxendale Chardonnay from the King Valley has been awarded the Victorian Premier’s Trophy.
An initiative of the Victorian Wine Show, supported by the Department of Premier and Cabinet, this award is based on a taste-off between the winning wines from each of Victoria’s regional wine shows in 2024.
This year’s winning wine was selected by a panel of wine experts; Josh Cooper from the Macedon Ranges, Matt Harrop from Strathbogie, Luke Lomax from the Mornington Peninsula and Sarah Fagan from the Yarra Valley.
“The judging represents the best of the best of the Victorian wine industry, a diverse range of styles and varieties that show the depth and breadth of this great state for winegrowing and making,” explained Cooper, the incoming chair of judges at the Victorian Show.
“The A Rodda Chardonnay won in a hotly contested taste off. It is a neo-classic style from a great vintage showing a combination of fruit quality, depth of flavour with deft winemaking to amplify the quality raw materials.”
The various regional wine shows in Victoria have been instrumental in improving and the raising the profile of local wines throughout the state. The Premier’s Trophy tasting included regional classics such as Rutherglen Durif, Yarra Valley Pinot Noir and Western Victorian Shiraz. The finalist tasting also served to highlight the emergence of new varieties such as a white wine made from grapes grown in Beechworth from the Italian variety Verdicchio. Of the 12 finalists, five were Chardonnay, demonstrating how adept local winemakers have become with this variety.
The finalists attended Parliament House to celebrate Victorian wine, with their wines presented at a tasting which included Government and industry representatives. As part of the awards, all the finalists’ wines will be served at functions at Parliament House over the coming year to further promote the local wine industry.
“The Victorian wine industry is facing tremendous external pressures at the moment” noted Narelle King, lead of the Victorian Wine Show Council. “The state’s winemakers provide employment and important economic activity to the regions as well as being essential drivers of tourism.
“As demonstrated by the tasting, despite the challenges our winemakers are facing, the wine lover has never had it better in terms of what is poured in the glass,” said King.
“These wines are a real celebration of the quality, commitment and collaborative nature of Victoria’s Winemakers”.
Jacinta Allan, the Premier of Victoria, conducted her own tasting under wine show conditions. Here Allan was in agreeance with the professional judges and also named the 2023 A.Rodda Chardonnay as her top wine. Like the judges, she also selected the King Valley Chardonnay, a Henty Riesling and Grampians Shiraz on a short list before deciding on the eventual winner. The Premier admitted prior to the tasting that Chardonnay was “not her favourite”, but left the tasting impressed with the quality of local Chardonnay. As such, the A.Rodda Chardonnay was awarded the Premier’s Choice Award as well as the Premier’s Trophy.
The finalist wines:
2023 Fighting Gully Road Verdicchio (Beechworth)
2024 B Seppelt and Son Drumborg Riesling (Henty)
2024 Hanging Rock Jim Jim The Three (Macedon Ranges)
2023 Shadowfax Midhill Chardonnay (Macedon Ranges)
2023 Oakdene Liz’s Chardonnay (Geelong)
2023 Gippsland Wine Company Loch Chardonnay (Gippsland)
2023 Port Phillip Estate Morillon Chardonnay (Mornington Peninsula)
2023 A. Rodda Baxendale Vineyard Chardonnay (King Valley)
2023 Oakridge Wines Hazeldene Pinot Noir (Yarra Valley)
2021 Conforti Estate Reserve Shiraz (Heathcote)
2022 Miners Ridge Shiraz (Grampians)
2022 Anderson Winery Cellar Block Durif (Rutherglen)
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