Image courtesy Perth Royal Wine Awards

Six WA wines have been named Australia’s top drops at the 2024 Perth Royal Wine Awards.

The annual awards acknowledge the highest standards of wine production, with WA wineries this year pitted against “incredibly strong” entrants from South Australia, Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania.

Eight of the 19 trophies were awarded to Western Australian producers—two from the Swan Valley, one located in the Geographe region and four in Margaret River.

The WA winners:

• Driftwood Estate’s Single Site Chardonnay 2023 was awarded top honours, winning the Trophies for Best Chardonnay, Best White Wine and Best Western Australian Wine.
• Popular Swan Valley winery Mandoon Estate received the coveted Trophy for Best Sparkling Wine for their Reserve Sparkling 2016.
• Talisman Wines in the Geographe region was recognised for their Riesling 2023, awarded the Trophy for Wines of Provenance Best Red or White Varietal.
• West Cape Howe Wines was awarded Trophy for Best Sauvignon Blanc for their Mount Barker Sauvignon Blanc 2024.
• Torrent Wines, a small Italian-style winery in the Swan Valley, received top honours for their La Famiglia Chenin Blanc 2019, which won the Trophy for Best Dry White Varietal.
• Devil’s Lair Cabernet Sauvignon 2022.was recognised for Best Cabernet Sauvignon, an impressive feat for a WA Winery.

Over four days last week, experienced industry judges from across Australia came together to assess over 1200 white, red, sparkling and fortified wines from the country’s best wine regions.

41% percent of wines entered hailed from WA, 29% from SA, 19% from NSW, 10% from VIC, and 1% from QLD and TAS.

The judging panel consisted of 26 independent experts who evaluated entries from 141 exhibitors in the company of 15 stewards.

After meticulous assessment of each entry based on colour and clarity, bouquet and palate characteristics, the judges awarded only the producers who outshone the rest a Trophy.

“Australian Chardonnay continues on the up and up,” said chief judge Courtney Treacher. “We saw a great range of styles with the strongest wines showing good energy, concentration and overall balance. The Shiraz classes were another highlight of the week. There were some diverse styles amongst the younger wines with lovely primary freshness. Additionally, our Pinot Noir classes were very strong. There was lovely detail in the wines and a wide variety of styles. Awarded wines came from across the spectrum of styles but had beautiful fruit at their core.”

Treacher is in her final year as chief judge at the Perth Royal Wine Awards and will hand the reigns over to Steve Flamsteed in 2025.

Corrine Mui, the visiting international judge, said the judges were looking for wines “with a soul, with a story”.

“All of the wines were so good, and so diverse,” said Mui. “There is very good Shiraz, Riesling, sparkling and Cabernet in this part of the world. WA wines offer massive opportunity to Hong Kong, Asia and the International wine market. Hong Kong in particular is a very good market for mid to high price point wines. I would like to see more WA wines back home.”

Mui is a wine and sake educator, writer and consultant based in Hong Kong.

Other notable winners at the show included:

• Clare Valley winery Jim Barry was awarded two Trophies – Best Red Wine for Barry Brothers Shiraz 2021 and Best Riesling for Barry and Sons Riesling
• De Bortoli Wines, with multiple vineyards across the Eastern States, won the Trophy for Best Rosé for their Rutherglen Estate Rosé 2024, as well as Best Sweet White Wine Trophy for their Noble One 2021.
• Jacob’s Creek was awarded the Best Semillon Sauvignon Blanc / Sauvignon Blanc Semillon Trophy for their Classic Semillon Sauvignon Blanc 2024.
• Hunter Valley-based McGuigan Wines received the Best Semillion Trophy for their McGuigan Wines Bin 9000 Semillon 2018.
• Bream Creek in Tasmania was awarded the Trophy for Best Pinot Noir for their Reserve Pinot Noir 2023.
• McLaren Vale winery Shingleback Shingleback was recognised for Best Dry Red Varietal for their NX Gen McLaren Vale Grenache 2023.

A full list of 2024 Perth Royal Wine Award Winners and results, plus detailed information on the judging panel and judging process, can be viewed here.

The Perth Royal Wine Awards are WA’s premier wine competition. Established in 1843, the competition is credited with putting WA on the map as a producer of quality wines.

The awards form part of the Perth Royal Food Awards organised by the Royal Agricultural Society of WA (RASWA), which celebrate exceptional producers from across the regions of WA and around Australia.

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