THE Broke-Fordwich-based Margan Family Wines has topped the PKF 2023 Hunter Valley Wine Show prize list with four trophies - all for the one shiraz red.
The Margan 2019 Fordwich Hill Shiraz won the Seabrook Trophy for the best red wine of the show, the Hector Tulloch Trophy for the best shiraz, the James Busby Trophy for best mature and three-year-old and older shiraz and the Len Evans Trophy for the best single-vineyard red.
Margan Family Wines was established in 1996 by former Tyrrell's winemaker Andrew Margan and his wife Lisa and now involves their daughter Alessa and son Oliver.
The show attracted 581 entries from 68 producers and was judged at Singleton Army Camp by an expert panel headed by Tasmanian winemaker and ace wine judge Samantha Connew and the trophies were presented before a crowd of 350 at a Friday Hunter Valley Wine and Tourism Association luncheon at Pokolbin Oaks Cyress Lakes Resort.
The Silkman family were also multiple trophy winners with the McDonalds Road, Pokolbin, First Creek operation headed by Greg Silkman winning the Marshall-Flannery Trophy for best current-vintage semillon with the 2023 Classic Semillon, the 2023 Classic Verdelho scoring the Jay Tulloch Trophy for best verdelho and the 2014,2017 and 2023 Winemaker's Reserve Semillon wines winning the Iaian Riggs Wine of Provenance Trophy.
The Riggs prize was introduced in 2012 to showcase a group of wines showing consistent style and quality over time. Entrants have to submit three different vintages of the same label wine, covering a vintage spread of at least 10 years.
The Silkman 2022 Reserve Semillion from the eponymous boutique wine brand of husband and wife Liz and Shaun Silkman, who are respectively First Creek's chief winemaker and chief of production and bottling, won the Ed Jouault Trophy for the best one-year-old dry semillon.
Tyrrell's collected four trophies - the 2013 Vat1 Semillon winning the Petrie-Drinan award for the show's best white wine, the McGuigan Family Trophy for the best two-year-old and older semillon and the Drayton Family Trophy for the best semillon. The fourth success was the Tyrrell Family best museum white wine prize to the Tyrrell's 2013 Belford Semillon.
Other trophy winners included the:
De Iuliis 2014 Limited Release Shiraz - John Lewis/Newcastle Herald Trophy for best museum red and De Iuliis 2023 Merlot-Shiraz Rosé - best rosé trophy
Charteris 2022 Pokolbin Selection Chardonnay - Murray Tyrrell Trophy for best chardonnay
Scarborough 2021 Keepers of the Flame Chardonnay - H J Lindeman Trophy for best two-year-old and older chardonnay
Sweetwater Estate 2022 Shiraz - Alexander Munro Trophy for best current-vintage and one-year-old shiraz
Andrew Thomas 2021 Sweetwater Shiraz - Elliott Family Trophy for best two-year-old shiraz
Tinklers Wines 2019 Reserve Semillon - Kaloudah Trophy for best small producer's wine
Bimbadgen 2014 Signature Palmers Lane Semillon - Len Evans Trophy for best single-vineyard white wine.
