BRL Hardy’s Stonehaven winery at Padthaway has performed exceptionally well at one of the world’s leading wine competitions, the San Francisco International Wine Competition. Not only has it won Double Gold Medals to its Premium Shiraz and Merlot, but its manager and senior winemaker Tom Newton has been named as Winemaker of the Year. This is a prestigious accolade indeed, and one that has been collected by a large number of Australian winemakers in recent years. The “Andre Tchelistcheff Winemaker of the Year” award is based on the greatest number of medals for a single winery. Out of 2,783 wines entered in the competition, 34 were rated Double Gold, while 86 gold, 326 silver and 825 bronze medals were awarded. While these awards will doubtless boost the reputation of the Stonehaven wines, a range of consistently above-average quality and some real stars, I feel the most signficant thing about them is a matter of style. For years the Australian red wines which have been most widely feted by the American media have been those which more resemble dry vintage port than true expressions of variety or region. Caricatures of the traditional Australian red made from excessively ripened fruit and pumped up with outrageously high levels of oak and tannin (much of which is added) are those to have most impressed the most influential sections of the US wine media. Tom Newton’s background is in white wine making and his reds reflect a sensitivity of balance and style lacking in so many Australian wines made today. Congratulations to all involved, and all power to Stonehaven for sticking to its style guns, and for the judges of this American show for making such a positive statement.
