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The Canberra Times

National

Karen Hardy

Canberra's best wines from one of our worst years

Tim Kirk at Clonakilla maintained his five-star rating. Picture: David Reist

In a year marked by drought, fires, rain and the pandemic, Canberra District wineries have soared in the annual rankings in the much-lauded Halliday Wine Companion.

Helm Wines, Mt Majura Vineyard and Nick O'Leary Wines joined Clonakilla to secure the coveted red name/five red stars rating - Halliday's highest accolade which recognises a long track record of excellence.

Ravensworth, Collector Wines and Gundog Estate were among the district's other high-ranking wineries.

For close to 25 years, respected wine critic and vigneron James Halliday has published the definitive list of Australian wines and this 2022 edition comes on the back of a tumultuous year.

Halliday said the world of Australian wine was a dynamic and rapidly changing place at the best of times.

"And there has perhaps never been a period that more dramatically exemplified its far-flung extremes in all directions than 2020-21," he said.

"From the opening days of the growing season all the way through to the sales dynamics in domestic and export markets, this has been one rollercoaster year of white-knuckle turns and loops like nobody could ever have anticipated.

Ken Helm's vineyard scored well for its wines. Picture: Fran Marshall

"Yet the finest wines to be unleashed this year rank among the greatest this country has ever witnessed - testimony that, against all odds, Australian wine has never been in a stronger place."

More than 9100 wines were tasted for this edition and chief editor Tyson Stelzer was impressed by the local wines.

"Given the challenging 2020 vintage in Canberra and NSW, there were understandably fewer award nominations across the board from this state," he said.

"But of the wines and wineries put forward for this year's awards, the quality was, inevitably, high."

Shiraz fared best, with two (Clonakilla Murrumbateman syrah 2019 and Nick O'Leary Bolaro shiraz 2019) shortlisted by the judges for the best shiraz category. Clonakilla's 2019 syrah (97 points and Mt Majura Vineyard's Little Dam tempranillo 2019 (96 points) were our highest-scoring wines. Gundog Estate, which is based in the Hunter but has vines in the Canberra District and a cellar door at Gundaroo, scored 96 points for its Indomitus Rutilus Canberra District shiraz 2018. Collector Wines also scored 96 for its Tiger Tiger chardonnay 2018.

Stelzer said it would be difficult to conceive a year in the Canberra District more dramatic than this one.

"It seems to have played out every far-flung extreme in every direction," he said.

"After relentless years of drought, bushfires and smoke taint, 2021 unleashed a harvest deluge, not to mention all the disruption of Coronavirus and Chinese tariffs.

"And yet in the midst of all this, the optimism, adaptability and resilience for which Canberra winemakers are famous has flourished yet again."

He said he was buoyed by reports of the 2021 harvest, particularly for white wines.

Approximately 90 wines from Canberra District were submitted to the companion this year; scores ranged from 79 to 97, with 95 the most-applied score. Across the board, the average score for the region was 90 points.

The wine of the year was the Yarra Yerring Dry Red No 1 and Yarra Yerring, in the Yarra Valley won winery of the year.

Wine maker of the year was Michael Dhillon, from Bindi Wines, Macedon; best value winery was Lake Breeze Wines, Langhorne Creek; and best new winery was Place of Changing Winds, Macedon.