Oakridge Wines competed against other Victorian wineries for the prestigious Premier’s Trophy but fell short of the award.
The Victorian Parliament House was crowded with representatives of 12 wineries invited to represent each region as regional wine show winners.
Oakridge Wines was one of them as it won the James Halliday Champion Wine of Show, the highest award at the 2024 Yarra Valley Wine Show, with its 2023 Hazeldene Pinot Noir.
Oakridge Wines senior winemaker Tim Dexter said it’s always an honour to represent the Yarra Valley.
“We think the Yarra Valley is producing some of the best wines in the country. So we’re thrilled to represent the Valley in that forum,” he said.
Mr Dexter shared the secret of Oakridge’s Hazeldene Pinot Noir, pointing out the location of the vineyard.
“That’s from a very special sub-region of the Yarra Valley in Gladysdale, and that’s a vineyard that we own and farm ourselves, and it’s a really special part of Gladysdale, where you’ve got lovely red soils and the temperate rainforest, and it creates these beautifully ethereal and red fruited wines that the public and wine show judges love,” the senior winemaker said.
“It’s a really special location for a pinot vineyard, and it’s farmed really diligently and with respect to the site by our vineyard team led by Steve Faulkner. And that delivers us grapes in perfect condition that really tell the story of the site and the season. It’s the right grape grown in the right place that does all the work.
“It’s a very elegant and pretty wine, lots of lifted floral aromas, red fruits, and then, on the palate, it’s all about bright red and dark blue fruits, even on a pretty soft entry and really nice silky tannins with great length and depth on the finish. I guess the overall message is really complexity, elegance and fruit, it’s kind of the whole package in one wine.”
The 2023 A. Rodda Baxendale Chardonnay from the King Valley has been awarded the Premier’s Trophy.
