The Hunter gatherer

IF YOU CANVASSED THE WORLD'S most knowledgable wine experts as to who is the greatest winemaker, I doubt anyone would nominate Australia's McGuigan Wines. Yet McGuigan has bragging rights to the title of international winemaker of the year. Not just this year, but three times in four years - which is a record. The title is bestowed by the International Wine and Spirit Competition, which is one of the world's biggest wine shows, judged in England. It has been awarding this title for 43 years.

At the risk of being labelled a party-pooper or spoilsport, I'd like to congratulate McGuigan and its winemakers, headed by Neil McGuigan and Peter Hall. They make some lovely wines, as well as a few pretty ordinary cheapies.

The international winemaker of the year is determined by summing all the scores achieved by that company's medal-winning wines. There is no limit to the number of wines or vintages a company can enter. However, ''bombing'' the show is discouraged by the fact that non-medal wines detract from that company's aggregate.

Aged vintages of dry whites are relatively rare in any show: the latest vintage is usually the only entry. Older wines often do well.

McGuigan achieved gold medals with no fewer than six semillons, five under the same label, Bin 9000 - the 1997, 2003, '04, '05 and '11 vintages, and the '07 Shortlist Semillon. All these are Hunter Valley wines made by Peter Hall. A Barossa shiraz also won a gold medal.

The '04 won the international semillon trophy (for the best semillon in the show). Few countries make pure semillon dry whites, so it's normally an Australian shoo-in. The fact there are few competitors globally in dry white semillon makes this award less significant than, say, the international shiraz trophy (which was won this year by Australian winery Fox Creek with its '09 Reserve Shiraz).

Many of the headline trophies awarded by international wine competitions are questionable. Australian wineries regularly win them. For example, Peter Lehmann Wines has won the international winemaker of the year title more than once and, while the quality of the wines it exhibits isn't in doubt, the fact New World wineries often produce a multitude of varietals and wine styles under the same brand name gives them a distinct advantage over, say, a Bordeaux chateau, which may produce only two or three wines.

In France, for example, wineries tend to specialise in the handful of grapes that do best in their region. In Australia, one winery can produce sparkling, dessert, fortified and dry whites and reds of many grape varieties. That's our good luck for being adaptable.

Semillon is a specialty of the Hunter Valley, just as pinot noir is in Burgundy and chenin blanc in the Loire Valley. We don't see producers in those regions entering multiple vintages and winning winemaker of the year, but there seems to be nothing stopping them.

Perhaps they aren't that intense about competing. Perhaps they just don't care about these awards. Or maybe they've drunk all the older vintages themselves. Good for them!

McGuigan Bin 9000 Semillon is regularly one of the great bargains in Australian wine. The current release 2012 vintage is $13. Neil McGuigan says the company has a process of holding back vintages for ageing and the trophy-winning '04 is available at the winery for $50.