South Australia's Success at Decanter World Wine Awards

Australian wineries are celebrating a record medal haul in this year’s prestigious Decanter World Wine Awards. Decanter Magazine’s expert judges tasted a staggering 9,219 wines from around the world during a mammoth week of tasting in London. Australian wines scooped more trophies and medals than any other New World country with only France claiming more medals overall. Just 1.1% of the thousands of wines entered won a Regional Trophy and Australia’s 15 trophy winners will now go on to compete against trophy winners from around the world for the ‘champion of champions’ International Trophies, announced at a glamorous awards ceremony in London in early September.

Australian wines stormed to victory in the ‘Under £10’ (AU$20.50) category winning more Gold medals in this category than any other country. However, Australia’s growing prominence in top price wines was clear with 77% of Australian medal winners in the ‘over £10’ category.

As for Australia’s best wine region, naturally it was South Australia which scored a convincing victory taking home 359 medals including eight trophies and 13 gold medals with Barossa the stand-out region; including a boost for their whites with the Australian White Single Varietals Over £10 Trophy going to Peter Lehmann’s Margaret Semillon 2002 - an absolute stunner.

Rich & Lingering's private tours regularly include some of the winners, such as Shaw & Smith (Gold Medal - 2006 Shiraz), Wirra Wirra (Gold Medal - Dead Ringer Cabernet Sauvignon 2006), Penfolds (Gold Medal - Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon 2005), Murray Street Vineyards (Trophy - Greenock Shiraz 2006), Peter Lehmann (Trophy - Reserve Riesling 2002).