The great white hope

Shiraz and riesling once again seized the glory at this year's Canberra and Region Wine Show, judged at the showground last month. Judges tweeted and emailed as they worked, revealing the flavour of the event days before official results were announced.

The show - judged by Mike Bennie, Matt Skinner and Nick O'Leary - received 233 entries, up 25 per cent on last year. It accepts entries from Canberra and surrounds, the Southern Highlands, the Shoalhaven Coast, Tumbarumba and southern NSW.

The one questionable aspect of the show this year was a decision to include a local winemaker on the judging panel. In doing so, the new organising committee, led by Andrew Price, reintroduced a potential conflict of interest, perceived or real.

Price managed this, he says, by barring the judge, Nick O'Leary, from entering his own wines in the show. But doesn't that defeat the purpose of the show? The show exists to benchmark and promote local wine. So how could it be beneficial to bar one of its brightest and best winemakers from entering? Surely it would be better for the public, the show and local winemakers to bring in an another outside judge - there are dozens available - and encourage O'Leary to throw his wines in the ring?

The 2012 vintage shirazes and 2013 vintage rieslings, in particular, excited the judges. Skinner, for example, emailed, ''Just judged riesling 13 - possibly the best bracket of riesling I've ever had the pleasure of judging.''

Judges Bennie and O'Leary shared Skinner's thrill. The panel chose Ravensworth's 2013 riesling as champion wine of the show - putting a riesling in the top spot for just the third time in 17 shows.

With the exception of 1999, when no champion's trophy was awarded, shiraz monopolised the top spot from 1998 until 2009, when Helm's 2008 Premium riesling triumphed. Even then, the judges couldn't quite make the break from shiraz, awarding the trophy jointly to Helm's riesling and Eden Road's the Long Road Hilltops shiraz 2008.

Shiraz reclaimed the trophy in 2010 and 2011. But in 2012, Half Moon's Braidwood riesling 2010 won in its own right, paving the way for this year's winner, Ravensworth.

The early dominance of shiraz in the show, and recent strong contention from riesling, parallels the emergence of the two varieties as our district specialties. Shiraz succeeded first in the hands of a few producers, notably Clonakilla, before settling as the standout red variety across Canberra and surrounding regions. Riesling's acknowledgment lagged shiraz's by perhaps a decade.

As a judge at the regional show during those transitional years, I recall the mounting riesling challenge. After several close calls, it could no longer be denied by 2009.

There is now an expectation among judges that our rieslings and shirazes will rise to the top, as they did again this year. And a closer look at the results shows a widening diversity of styles - and, for shiraz in particular, success across a considerable geographic spread within the southern NSW slopes of the Great Dividing Range.

But shiraz and riesling face a future potential champion in chardonnay from Tumbarumba. Though not quite in contention for the top gong yet, chardonnays from this high, cool region to Canberra's south, dominated the variety's awards.

The judges awarded five gold, nine silver and five bronze medals in a field of 24 chardonnays from the 2012 vintage. Tumbarumba won all the medals bar one of the silvers and a bronze. An amazing three-quarters of wines in the class won either gold or silver medals.

While much is made of Canberra shiraz, the biggest grouping of shiraz in the show - 22 wines from the 2012 vintage - demonstrated high quality across a much larger area. The top wine in the class (and ultimate best shiraz of the show) came from Jason Brown's Moppity Vineyards in the Hilltops region, around Young.

Hilltops shirazes took three of the seven gold medals, Canberra won three and the other went to Tumblong Estates, Gundagai. Canberra won two of the silver medals and Hilltops one, while the fourth went to a Gundagai-Canberra blend. Canberra won five of the seven bronze medals, while Hilltops and Gundagai won one each.

A class of 16 shirazes from 2011 and earlier produced 13 medals - three gold, five silver and five bronze. Canberra wines claimed all the golds and bronzes. But the silvers went one each to Canberra and Tumbarumba and three to Hilltops.

Bennie says no other wine show in which he has judged has had such a concentration of high-quality producers. The shiraz classes, he says, revealed an amazing diversity of medium-bodied savoury styles.

Riesling sparked even more excitement than shiraz, albeit with a much tighter focus on Canberra than outlying regions. Skinner described it as the best line-up of riesling he has tasted. Collectively, the judges described the class of 25 rieslings from the 2013 vintage as ''an extraordinary class of glorious rieslings - a true benchmark nationally and beyond''.

Thirty-three dry rieslings won seven gold, seven silver and 14 bronze medals - a medal strike rate of 85 per cent. Wines from the Canberra district took six of the seven golds, four of the seven silver medals and eight (perhaps nine) of the bronzes.

The Southern Highlands earned one gold and one silver. Braidwood and Hilltops took one silver each and bronze medals went also to wines from Lake Bathurst, Braidwood and Hilltops.

Sauvignon blanc disappointed overall, though Pankhurst Wines, Murrumbateman, won gold for its 2013 sauvignon blanc-semillon blend.

Canberra has its cabernet true believers, but yet again in 2013 the variety fared poorly. Judges awarded just one silver medal and seven bronzes to the 26 wines exhibited. However, Mount Majura Dinny's Block 2012, hidden in the ''other varieties and/or blends'' class won a gold medal. This blend of cabernet franc, merlot and cabernet sauvignon may point the way for cabernet-related varieties in the district. Pinot noir also performed poorly. The judges awarded seven medals (six bronze, one silver) to 16 wines - all except one to wines from Tumbarumba. However, the judges see potential in Tumbarumba pinot, commenting: ''The best examples show complexity, savouriness and textural intrigue. A work in progress to find best sites.''

In the white classes for ''other varieties and/or blends'', Coolangatta Estate, Nowra, won gold medals for its 2005 and 2006 vintage semillons - perennial winners at this show. And Clonakilla won gold for its 2012 viognier.

Awarding five medals (four bronze and one silver), judges described a field of eight sparkling wines as ''a curious class''. Bennie wonders why there were not more wines entered from Tumbarumba - an accomplished region for this style.

Chris Shanahan is a wine and beer judge, former liquor retailer and freelance wine writer.

Full results are at rncas.org.au

Toast of the region

Chardonnay gold medal winners

• Echelon Armchair 2012, Tumbarumba
• Hungerford Hill Hh Classic 2012, Tumbarumba
• Moppity Vineyards Lock and Key 2012, Tumbarumba (top chardonnay)
• Moppity Vineyards 2012, Tumbarumba
• Barwang Estate 842 2012 Tumbarumba

Shiraz and shiraz-viognier gold medal winners

• Gallagher 2012, Canberra district
• Ravensworth 2012, Canberra district
• Barwang Estate 2012, Hilltops
• Tumbalong Estates Gundagai Domain Paulownia 2012
• Moppity 2012, Hilltops (top 2012 shiraz)
• Mount Majura 2012, Canberra district
• Grove Estate 2012, Hilltops
• Mount Majura 2011, Canberra district (top Canberra shiraz)
• Pialligo Estate 2007, Canberra district
• Quarry Hill 2009, Canberra district
• Ravensworth 2007, Canberra district (top museum red)

Riesling gold medal winners

• Mount Majura 2013, Canberra district
• Dionysus 2013, Canberra district
• Clonakilla 2013, Canberra district
• Helm Classic Dry 2013, Canberra district
• Ravensworth 2013, Canberra district
• McKellar Ridge 2013, Canberra district
• Tertini Wines 2012, Southern Highlands