Australia’s Best Winemakers crowned at the 2024 Melbourne Royal Wine Awards as Four Winds Vineyard takes home four trophies
MELBOURNE – Today, the 2024 trophy winners for Australia’s most prestigious national wine awards, the Melbourne Royal Wine Awards, presented by vintrace, have been announced at a luncheon at Melbourne Showgrounds’ premier venue, Victoria Pavilion.
This year, the Melbourne Royal Wine Awards presented a total of 1,222 medals, including 177 Gold, 316 Silver and 729 Bronze. The awards were judged by 35 accomplished wine specialists, who each sampled 100 wines on average per day over five days of judging.
The Melbourne Royal Wine Awards provides a highly respected platform for wineries to benchmark their wines against industry standards and receive valuable feedback from a highly esteemed and independent panel of industry experts.
Since its inception in 1883 with just 13 entries, the Melbourne Royal Wine Awards have evolved into one of Australia’s oldest and most respected wine shows, now attracting over 2,300 entries from 450 wineries across the nation, ensuring its position as a barometer of excellence and innovation within the wine industry.
The most coveted trophy for all Australian winemakers is the Jimmy Watson Memorial Trophy for Best Young Red. Having considered the smaller yields in more recent years, and with a view to make the awards more inclusive, the most significant change to the program this year was reducing the requirement for held finished commercially packaged stock for “The Jimmy” from 150 dozen to 100 dozen.
Celebrating the 61st awarding of the trophy this year, the Jimmy Watson Memorial Trophy for Best Young Red was awarded to Four Winds Vineyard from NSW for their 2023 Shiraz.
This is the first time Four Winds Vineyard has won this prestigious award, and the first time this trophy has been awarded to a wine produced from a Canberra District vineyard.
Other coveted awards include François De Castella Trophy for Best Young White, the Trevor Mast Trophy for Best Shiraz, and the James Halliday Trophy for Best Pinot Noir.
Four Winds Vineyard 2023 Shiraz also won the Trevor Mast Trophy for Best Shiraz, the Douglas Seabrook Trophy for Best Single Vineyard Wine and the Best NSW/ACT Shiraz.
Home Hill Wines from Tasmania has also been awarded The James Halliday Trophy for Best Pinot Noir, this year with their Kelly’s Reserve Pinot Noir 2023. Home Hill Wines, Kelly’s Reserve Pinot Noir also won the Jimmy Watson Memorial Trophy in 2015.
The François De Castella Trophy for Best Young White went to Tolpuddle Vineyard from Tasmania, for their 2023 Tolpuddle Vineyard Chardonnay. The same wine has also been awarded Best Chardonnay and the Best Tasmanian Chardonnay.
Brown Family Wine Group from Tasmania has been awarded the Dr Tony Jordan Trophy for Best Sparkling with their Pirie Sparkling Vintage, 2020.
Melbourne Royal CEO, Brad Jenkins said, “The Melbourne Royal Wine Awards celebrate excellence in Australian winemaking, and this has proudly been the case for over 140 years.
“Judged by highly respected wine professionals, the Melbourne Royal Wine Awards offer Australian winemakers the annual opportunity to have their wines benchmarked against their peers and receive valuable feedback from judges to improve quality and inspire innovation.
“The trophy that Australian winemakers want to win is the Jimmy Watson Memorial Trophy for Best Young Red Wine and this year we congratulate Four Winds Vineyard being crowned this year’s winner for their 2023 Shiraz.
“Winning a trophy or a medal in the Melbourne Royal Wine Awards can be a game changer for a winemaker and winery, particularly the Jimmy Watson winner and we expect this will be the case for Four Winds Vineyard. The Melbourne Royal seal of excellence has significant cache in the wine industry and with consumers that offers unique marketing value to medal and trophy winners,” said Mr Jenkins.
Chair of Judges Melanie Chester said of this year’s awards: “The 2024 Melbourne Royal Wine Awards results demonstrate the enormous scope and strength of our proud winemaking heritage.”
“Chairing the most prestigious wine awards in Australia is an incredible privilege. Along with my fellow judges, we sampled more than 2,300 wines over five days. The experience cemented that Australian winemaking really is of a world-class standard.”
Melbourne Royal extends its gratitude to our esteemed partners and sponsors:
- Presenting Partner vintrace, Major Partners PLUMM and BevChain.
- Government Partners Agriculture Victoria and Vic Grown.
- Trophy Sponsors SANECTOR, MCC Label, and the Seabrook Family.
To find out more about this year’s Melbourne Royal Wine Awards winners head to https://www.melbourneroyal.com.au/melbourne-royal-wine-awards/.
2024 Melbourne Royal Wine Awards Trophy Winning Wines:
| Class Name | Recipient |
| The Jimmy Watson Memorial Trophy for Best Young Red | 2023 Shiraz,
Four Winds Vineyard, NSW |
| The James Halliday Trophy for Best Pinot Noir | Kelly’s Reserve Pinot Noir, 2023
Home Hill Wines, TAS |
| The Trevor Mast Trophy for Best Shiraz | 2023 Shiraz,
Four Winds Vineyard, NSW |
| The Francois De Castella Trophy for Best Young White | Tolpuddle Vineyard Chardonnay, 2023
Tolpuddle Vineyard, TAS |
| The Douglas Seabrook Trophy for Best Single Vineyard Wine
Presented by the Seabrook Family |
2023 Shiraz, Four Winds Vineyard, NSW |
| The Bill Chambers Trophy for Best Fortified Wine | McWilliams Wines 20 Year Old Tawny Calabria Family Wines, NSW |
| The Dr Tony Jordan Trophy for Best Sparkling | Pirie Sparkling Vintage, 2020 Brown Family Wine Group, TAS |
| Best Riesling
Presented by MCC Label |
Regional Series Clare, 2023 Kirrihill Wines, Clare Valley, SA |
| Best Chardonnay
Presented by PLUMM |
Tolpuddle Vineyard Chardonnay, 2023 Tolpuddle Vineyard, TAS |
| Best Semillon | Brokenwood ILR Reserve Semillon, 2018 Brokenwood Wines, Hunter, NSW |
| Best Sauvignon Blanc | Petaluma White Label Sauvignon Blanc, 2023 Petaluma, Adelaide Hills, SA |
| Best Pinot Gris/Grigio | Wayward Child Pinot Gris, 2024 Helen & Joey, Yarra Valley, VIC |
| Best Single Varietal White
Presented by vintrace |
Kroos, 2023 Chenin Blanc Tripe.Iscariot, Margaret River, WA |
| Best White Blend | Estate Reserve Marsanne Roussanne, 2023 Glenlofty Estate, Pyrenees, VIC |
| Best Sweet White Wine | R139 Riesling 2022, 2022 Pressing Matters, TAS |
| Best Rosé | ‘Juno’ Rosato, 2024 Longview Vineyard, Adelaide Hills, SA |
| Best Cabernet Sauvignon
Presented by BevChain |
Cabernet Sauvignon, 2023 Xanadu Wines, Margaret River, WA |
| Best Single Varietal Red
Presented by vintrace |
Wilyabrup Cabernet Franc, 2023 Wines of Merritt, Margaret River, WA |
| Best Grenache | Smart Vineyard, Clarendon Grenache, 2023 Willunga 100, McLaren Vale, SA |
| Best Red Blend | Frank Potts, 2023 Bleasdale Vineyards, Langhorne Creek, SA |
| Best Organic or Biodynamic Wine Trophy
Presented by SANECTOR |
Battle Of Bosworth Cabernet Sauvignon, 2023 Battle of Bosworth Wines, McLaren Vale, SA |
| Best Victorian Shiraz
Presented by Agriculture Victoria |
Yarra Yering Underhill, 2022
Yarra Yering, Yarra Valley, VIC |
| Best South Australian Shiraz | Small Victories Shiraz, 2023
Small Victories Wine Co, Eden Valley, SA |
| Best NSW/ACT Shiraz | 2023 Shiraz, 2023
Four Winds Vineyard, NSW – Canberra District |
| Best Western Australian Shiraz | Lifestyle Shiraz, 2023
Forester Winery, Margaret River, WA |
| Best Victorian Chardonnay
Presented by Agriculture Victoria |
Oakridge 864 Henk Aqueduct Chardonnay 2022,
Oakridge Wines, Yarra Valley, VIC |
| Best South Australian Chardonnay | Signature Owen’s Chardonnay, 2022
Sidewood Estate, Adelaide Hills, SA |
| Best NSW/ACT Chardonnay | Kaleidoscope Tumbarumba Chardonnay 2023,
Pinnacle Drinks, Tumbarumba, NSW |
| Best Western Australian Chardonnay | Reserve Chardonnay, 2023
Deep Woods Estate, Margaret River, WA |
| Best Tasmanian Chardonnay | Tolpuddle Vineyard Chardonnay, 2023
Tolpuddle Vineyard, Tasmania |
| Consistency of Excellence Awards | Cabernet Sauvignon, 2022
Stella Bella Wines, Margaret River, WA
Cabernet Sauvignon, 2023 Xanadu Wines, Margaret River, WA
Cellar Reserve Grand Muscat, NV Morris Wines, Rutherglen, VIC
Cellar Reserve Grand Topaque, NV Morris Wines, Rutherglen, VIC
Leopold Riesling, 2023 Leo Buring, Tasmania
Lowestoft La Maison Pinot Noir, 2023 Lowestoft Estate Tasmania, Tasmania
Old Premium Rare Muscat, NV Morris Wines, Rutherglen, VIC
Place in Time Sevenhill Riesling, 2022 Naked Run Wines, Clare Valley, SA
S. C. Pannell Basso Garnacha, 2023 Pannell Enoteca, McLaren Vale, SA
Yarra Yering Underhill, 2022 Yarra Yering, Yarra Valley, VIC |
| Champion Victorian Winery
Presented by Vic Grown |
Oakridge Wines |
About Melbourne Royal:
The Melbourne Royal food and beverage award programs celebrate excellence in agri-food production in Australia and around the world. The awards recognise high quality produce and products across beer, wine, spirits, coffee and food and offer an important opportunity to benchmark against industry standards.
