Victorian vignerons sweep the pool at the Australian wine awards

It was all about Victorian wineries at the recent James Halliday Wine Companion Awards, the leading reference guide for Australian wine.

Local labels took out half of the six major categories, including Best Winery, Best Value Wine and Dark Horse Winery of the Year.

Wine critic James Halliday, who turns 80 this year, said Victoria’s numerous wine regions (more than any other state) benefitted from a confluence of climatic conditions.

“2017 was a superb vintage for cool-climate styles, and it was really this that saw the barometer swing so strongly towards Victoria,” he said.

“It won’t happen again like this for some time.”

Winery of the Year went to Seville Estate in the Yarra Valley, which also took out gongs for Best Pinot Noir and Best Shiraz (both wines receiving 99 points out of 100).

“It’s an amazing honour,” said Seville’s chief winemaker Dylan McMahon, grandson of the late Dr Peter McMahon who planted the vineyard in 1972.

“It’s a testament to the hard work that the team’s been doing over a handful of years. And it’s also a bit of a tribute to the legacy of my grandfather, Peter, and his hard work in those early years establishing the vineyard, getting the Seville Estate name out there, and producing amazing wines.”

With Seville having recently completed works on landscaping, refurbishment of the old homestead and a 60-seater restaurant, McMahon hoped the accolades would inspire more people to make the one-hour drive from the city to visit.

“It’s an exceptionally beautiful property,” said McMahon, whose grandmother Margaret originally chose the site. “We’re perched up on what we call the ‘upper Yarra’, sitting about 180 to 200 metres above sea level. We have this amazing outlook to the east, looking out towards Warburton. It’s very picturesque.”

Other major winners from Victoria included Geelong’s Provenance Wines (Best Value Winery of the Year) and Principia on the Mornington Peninsula (Dark Horse Winery of the Year, an award for wineries that receive a five-star rating for the first time).

A panel of six judges tasted 9289 wines for the awards and accompanying book, which independent wine commentator and educator Dan Sims calls “the” guide for Australian wine.

There are plenty of benefits for award-winners.

“You’d be able trade on that success for years to come,’’ Sims said.

‘‘It could help drive cellar-door traffic, direct sales and more than likely see your wines put in front of trade buyers and influencers internationally, which would further their reach.”

But for the rest of us it may be a case of enjoying the fruits of our state’s labour while (at least some of us) can still afford it.

At the gala dinner held at NGV International to announce the awards, James Halliday talked up the $180 billion Chinese alcohol market, which could swing to include more Australian wine.

“What you are going to see is China demanding more and more of our best wines, and they will be prepared to pay for them,” he said.

The winners

Winery of the year

Seville Estate, Yarra Valley, Victoria

Wine of the year

2017 Duke’s Vineyard Magpie Hill Reserve Riesling, Great Southern, Western Australia

Winemaker of the year

Julian Langworthy, Deep Woods Estate, Margaret River, Western Australia

Best value winery of the year

Provenance Wines, Geelong, Victoria

Best new winery

Mewstone Wines, Tasmania

Dark horse winery of the year

Principia Wines, Mornington Peninsula, Victoria