Wine of the Year Awards 2009

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Summary of Winestate Wine of the Year Awards below. A full 56 page detailed feature on the award winning wines is available in our Special Edition Mid December 2009

Nigel Dolan named Australian winemaker of the year

Award-winning Barossa-based winemaker Nigel Dolan has added another major title to his portfolio after being named Winestate magazine's Australian Winemaker of the Year.

The annual award is given to the winemaker who produces the largest number of high ranking wines from more than 10,000 tasted over the past 12 months by the magazine's expert judging panel.

Mr Dolan was principal winemaker at Saltram for 16 years before his appointment as chief winemaker at Wyndham Estate in 2007. He has the rare distinction of winning two Jimmy Watson Trophies and his latest success confirms his status as one of Australia's leading winemakers. "Nigel is a master at producing reds with a beguiling mix of elegance, complexity and intensity that stand as a powerful statement of the Barossa character," said Winestate publisher Peter Simic. "Most of the wines that contributed to him winning this year's award are from vintages that he made while still was at Saltram."

For the first time in the 13-year history of the Winestate awards, a New Zealand wine won the major prize for Wine of the Year, which went to Peregrine's 2007 Pinot Noir. All five of the top-rated pinot noirs came from NZ's Central Otago in a performance that again demonstrated the importance of regional influences. This was highlighted in several of the other varietal categories with winners chosen after a blind taste-off of the top 300-rated wines judged by Winestate during 2009.

Rutherglen's Morris Wines, which is celebrating its 150^th birthday this year, again proved its dominance in the fortified category with its wines taking the top four places. The Old Premium Liqueur Tokay NV was placed first, an incredible 10^th time in 12 years that Morris has led the category.

Australian Wine Company of the Year, for best overall performance, went to Australia's oldest family-owned company Yalumba.

FULL LIST OF WINNERS

Australasian Wine of the Year: Peregrine 2007 Pinot Noir

Australian Winemaker of the Year: Nigel Dolan, Chief Winemaker, Wyndham Estate

New Zealand Winemaker of the Year: Steve Smith, Winemaker, Craggy Range

Australian Wine Company of the Year: Yalumba, Barossa Valley, SA

New Zealand Wine Company of the Year: Villa Maria, New Zealand

Australasian category winners

Sparkling: Grampians Estate 2006 Rutherford Sparkling Shiraz (Vic)

Pinot Gris/Pinot Grigio: Spy Valley 2009 Marlborough Pinot Gris (Marlborough, NZ)

Sauvignon Blanc: Saint Clair Family Estate 2009 Pioneer Block 6 Oh! Block Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc (Marlborough, NZ)

Riesling: The Growers' 2004 Frankland River Riesling (Margaret River, WA)