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For yet another year, we’re excited to deliver an Official Royal Adelaide Wine Show Dozen. Each wine here has been awarded a Gold Medal and in some cases, Trophies too. The Trophy winners are:

Two trophies - Best Sauvignon Blanc in Show and Best White Under $20 – 2017 Lambrook Sauvignon Blanc
Professor AJ Perkins Trophy for Best Cabernet Sauvignon – 2013 Blue Pyrenees Richardson Cabernet Sauvignon

2017 saw over 2,500 entries at the Royal Adelaide Wine Show. Every wine being judged is tasted blind, that is, none of the judges know what wines they are tasting other than its variety and vintage. In total 5 judges look at each wine in a class, compare notes, argue and work out which deserve a Gold (less than 1 in 14 score Gold), Silver or Bronze medal, and indeed, nothing at all (about two thirds of all entries score nil, nix, nada). Such is the standard of competition that a lot of very good wines do not even score Bronze.

Where the judges can’t agree on a medal, and if the wine is under consideration for a Gold, they are recalled and tasted at greater length, again blind, by the same judges before being considered for a Gold Medal or consigned to Silver or Bronze. At this point, the Deputy and Chair of Judges look at the finalists and give the nod, or otherwise, to those selections. The Henschke scored 18.8 points in the first round and must have been mightly close to picking up a Trophy as well, and we heard a whisper that the Purple Hands MGS got down to the last two. Both are absolutely stunning.

Our buyer Matt who has judged 5 times at wine shows, (including twice in Adelaide) reckons the process is “fun, rigorous, tooth staining and fair to each of the wines entered and ensures that if a wine scores even a Bronze medal that it is bloody good.”