A trifecta for the Hunter Valley as Halliday names his Wine of the Year

In a first in the history of Halliday, the annual Wine Companion Awards were announced via a virtual event last Wednesday 5^th August in Melbourne.

It was a night of firsts for the Hunter Valley too, with a Hunter Valley wine being named Wine of the Year, one of only 6 top categories in the widely respected annual Australian wine awards.

Brokenwood’s flagshipGraveyard Shiraz 2018now carries the prestigious title 2021 Halliday Wine Companion Wine of the Year title and clearly places Hunter Valley Shiraz on the global stage with its 99-point score.

Not only is this a significant result for the region which prides itself on its two signature varieties – Shiraz and Semillon, but tops off a 40 year career at the helm of Brokenwood for retiring Managing Director/Chief Winemaker Iain Riggs who walks away with the trifecta having his namesake wine Brokenwood ILR Reserve Semillon 2014(also 99 points) being named Semillon of the Year, and the outstanding  Brokenwood Graveyard Shiraz 2018 also being crowned Shiraz of the Year.

“It’s certainly a top result for our 30^th Graveyard release. But for me these three gongs just confirm that Semillon and Shiraz are perfect styles for the Hunter. It’s a unique combination of variety, terroir and style that really works.” says Iain of his parting gesture, and also pays tribute to the team behind these great wines including Brokenwood’s Senior Winemaker Stuart Hordern.

Every year the six-person Halliday panel, headed by James Halliday AM, Australia’s foremost wine critic, tastes around 10,000 of Australia’s best wines and scores them points out of 100 based on their quality. It’s one of only a couple of references that both trade and consumers rely on to make buying decisions that relate to Australian wine, so any rating or award within the annual industry bible is sought after by our industry.

It’s 5-star winery rating system is also much anticipated and coincides with the print release each year of the celebrated Companion. The highly sought after “Top Red 5 Star” rating and “Red 5 Star” listings being the goal for so many winemakers.

The 2021 ‘bible’ lists 31 Hunter Valley wineries as Five Star producers. Of those 6 are rated the best of the best – “Top Red Five Star” namely, Brokenwood, Lake’s Folly, Meerea Park, Mount Pleasant, Thomas Wines and Tyrrell’s Wines and 14 “Red Five Star” wineries, both incredible ratings for our region.

“To have so many of our wineries named amongst the best of the best on the back of a year that’s brought so many challenges is a terrific lift for our region. Congratulations to all the winners around the country, and to all our 5 star hunter wineries, and of course to Brokenwood.” Christina Tulloch, President Hunter Valley Wine & Tourism Association comments.