2013 Oakdene William Shiraz Wins 2 Trophies at Ballarat Wine Show
The Oakdene William Shiraz has triumphed again over the weekend, winning two trophies at the 2014 Ballarat Wine Show. The 2013 Oakdene William Shiraz was awarded Top Gold in its class, Trophy for Best Regional Shiraz and Trophy for Best Regional Red Wine.
The Ballarat Wine Show was the first wine show the 2013 William shiraz has been entered into, and we can't wait to see how it fares at future wine shows.
Accepting entries from wines made from grapes grown in the Ballarat, Geelong, Henty, Grampians, Pyrenees, Bendigo and Sunbury regions, the Ballarat wine show offered a great opportunity to benchmark wines with some of Victoria’s best.
Last year, the previous vintage, the 2012 Oakdene William Shiraz, also won these two trophies, as well as receiving gold medals at the 2014 Macquarie Group Sydney Royal Wine Show and the Geelong Wine Show. With the 2012 William Shiraz recently receiving an impressive 96 point rating in the latest edition (2015) of the Australian Wine Companion, James Hallidays’ definitive guide to Australian Wine, the William Shiraz has arguably become one of the benchmark wines of the Geelong and Bellarine Peninsula region.
Both the 2013 and 2012 growing season produced some fantastic fruit across the board at Oakdene, with the reds benefiting most from a long moderate growing season. The Oakdene Shiraz is sourced from two individual blocks planted to clones PT23 and Best's (Great Western) in 2011 and 2002.
All fruit is hand harvested, and fermented using wild yeast with the addition of 15% whole bunches to enhance perfume and structure, and then matured for 16 months in new and seasoned French oak barriques.
The Oakdene team credit the success to a fantastic site for growing high quality fruit, and dedication to excellence in the vineyard. The vineyard team led by Caroline Suthers, manage an immaculate vineyard ensuring top quality fruit is harvested each year and delivered to the winery. Thanks should also go to Robin Brockett and Marcus Holt for their outstanding wine making skills.