Tasmania wine wins best Pinot Noir in Australia for 2019

Tertini Wines has won the 2019 Australian Pinot Noir Challenge with its 2018 Tasmania Pinot Noir.

The awards were announced at a trophy dinner at Cumulus Inc. in Melbourne.

Chair of judges Phillip Rich said Tertini beat strong competition to win best Tasmanian wine and clearly shone among an outstanding suite of the best wines from other regions across Australia.

“The quality of wines overall was high and there was a range of styles presented, showing how assured Australian winemakers have become with Pinot Noir,” Rich said.

“Most of the wines were from the 2018 vintage, which was relatively warm in most Australian Pinot Noir regions, so to get the quality of wines we saw, it means viticulturists are getting it right in the vineyards too.”

Based in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, where founder Julian Tertini planted a vineyard in 2000, Tertini also makes wines in Hilltops (NSW) and Tasmania, where it recently planted a vineyard in Coal River Valley, near Hobart.

“Tasmania is becoming one of Australia’s key Pinot Noir regions and there is a lot of buzz around Tasmania at the moment, so it’s fitting to have a Tasmanian wine win the Challenge this year,” Rich said.

“This is fantastic, Julian is so passionate about Pinot Noir and Tasmania, what a great surprise,” said Tertini winemaker Jonathan Holgate.

Other regions represented in the Australian Pinot Noir Challenge and trophy-winning wines were:

  • Mornington Peninsula: Handpicked – 2018 Collection Pinot Noir
  • Yarra Valley: Giant Steps – 2018 Primavera Vineyard Pinot Noir
  • Geelong: Clyde Park – 2018 Block F College Pinot Noir
  • Gippsland: Dirty Three – 2018 Dirty Three Holgates Road Pinot Noir
  • New South Wales: no trophy awarded
  • South Australia: no trophy awarded

Judging with Phillip Rich were winemakers Sarah Crowe, of Yarra Yering, and Melanie Chester from Sutton Grange.

Now in its third year, the Challenge attracted more than 200 entries from around Australia.

Photo: Pinot Noir trophy winner Jonathan Holgate – Tertini and Helen Walker