September 5, 2015
Brett Heading and Dr Susan Mercer have every reason to smile after the couple’s Clovely Estate winery won two major awards plus gold, silver and four bronze medals at the 32nd Annual Queensland Wine Awards.
The Queensland Wine Awards are run by the Queensland Wine Industry Association, and the winners will be featured in Winestate Magazine’s annual Queensland wine tasting edition.
Brett, Susan and Stefano Radici, one of Clovely’s two winemakers, were presented with the awards and medals at a gala function held at the Queensland Cricketers Club in Woolloongabba on Wednesday night.
Clovely won the Champion Mainstream Variety Red Wine Award and a gold medal for their Clovely Estate 2012 Polyphemus Shiraz, which was made using the age-old Italian technique of “Passito” where the grapes are hand-harvested, then placed on drying racks in a well-aerated cellar room to dehydrate for two weeks prior to processing.
The resulting wine is full and fleshy but holds an intricate depth of flavour rich with ripe plum, vanilla, blueberries, rum and dark chocolate; soft, fine tannins; gentle acidity; and sweet subtle oak.
It had already received a rating of 94 out of 100 in James Halliday’s 2015 edition of the Australian Wine Companion and is one of the company’s two flagship wines, retailing for $90 per bottle.
Clovely also took the Outstanding Wine of Provenance Award for their Left Field Semillon (2010, 2013 and 2014).
As well, the winery received a silver medal for their 2012 Reserve Shiraz; and bronze medals for their 2013 Left Field Semillon; 2012 Reserve Merlot; 2014 Sangiovese; and 2014 Cordon Cut Semillon.
The Queensland Wine Awards wins are just the latest in a string of prestigious medals the Moffatdale-based winery has received in the last few months.
In May, Clovely won two silver medals at the RASQ Wine Show and Mediterranean Challenge in Toowoomba for their 2014 White Label Verdelho and 2010 Left Field Semillon against more than 200 competitors.
The 16-year-old RASQ Wine Show, which focusses on Mediterranean variety wines, is the first wine show on Queensland’s annual calendar and draws competitors from all over Australia.
Mediterranean variety wines are still not well-known or understood by many Australian wine drinkers but the South Burnett Wine Industry Association believes they have a big future in the region and the South Burnett’s climate is ideal for growing many of the varieties.
Clovely followed this up at the Cairns Wine Show in June by taking a silver medal for their 2010 Left Field Semillon, and five bronze medals for their 2009 Sparkling Blanc de Blanc Chardonnay; 2014 White Label Verdelho; 2012 Polyphemus Passito Shiraz; 2014 Left Field Sangiovese; and 2013 II Taglio Mediterranean blend of Shiraz, Nebbiolo, Grenache, Barbera and Sangiovese.
The 23-year-old Cairns Wine Show draws competitors from all over Australia and New Zealand and is a respected fixture on the national wine show calendar.
While little wine is grown in the Cairns region itself, the Show’s thrust is locating and promoting the best Australian wines for tourism operators to provide to their guests.
This year’s judging panel was led by Andrew Spinaze, the chief winemaker from Tyrrell’s, assisted by 12 other judges from around Australia.
In July, Clovely took another silver medal at the 32-year-old Cowra Wine Show – one of the few Australian wine shows held in a provincial centre – for their 2009 Blanc de Blanc Chardonnay, where Russel Cody, the Senior Commercial/Export Winemaker with McWilliams Wines was Chairman of Judges, assisted by 15 other judges from all over Australia and an international judge from New Zealand.
South Burnett Mayor Wayne Kratzmann, who attended the Queensland Wine Awards presentation on Wednesday night , said he was very proud of the results Clovely were achieving and the boost they gave to the profile of the region’s wine industry.
“Brett and Susan genuinely deserve to be congratulated for their tremendous efforts,” he said.
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Clovely Estate were not the only South Burnett winery to take medals at this year’s Queensland Wine Awards.
Moffatdale Ridge Wines took a silver medal for their 2015 Verdelho; Tipperary Estate a bronze medal for their Shiraz/Viogner blend; and Dusty Hill Wines took three bronze medals for their Gra Fion Verdelho, Gra Fion Tempranillo and Liquer Muscat.
South Burnett wineries did not submit any entries in four of the 18 categories up for judging this year: Chardonnays; Dry Red Blends; Fruity, Sweet or Semi-Sweet Whites; and the Museum Class (for reds 2009 or earlier, or whites 2010 or earlier).
The complete 2015 Queensland Wine Awards results can be downloaded in PDF format by clicking here.
Congratulations!! How wonderful for one of our local wineries to take out these awards. Clearly it takes effort, energy, focus and drive to achieve this! Well done and keep up the great work. Jess H.