Australia’s biggest international wine event, the Six Nations Wine Challenge, has announced its deserving winners during a Gala Dinner at the Four Seasons Hotel Grand Ballroom in Sydney.

Xanadu Reserve Chardonnay 2015 from Margaret River, Western Australia took out top honours – beating 600 wines to win Best Wine of the Challenge. Stellenrust 51 Barrel Fermented Chenin Blanc 2015 & Uva Mira OTV Bordeaux Blend 2014 took out top honours in their respective classes, and South Africa’s Sparkling wines took out Class honours. South Africa Finished with 2 Trophies, 8 Double Gold & 25 Gold Medals.

Now in its 15th year, the Six Nations Wine Challenge celebrates the very best of the new world wines currently on offer, with the winners beating the top 100 wines from each of the six participating nations as identified by the leading wine authority in each country. Seen as a unique testing ground for fine wine, each wine is sorted into classes and served blind to the judges, who choose their top 12-15 wines and rank them in order of quality.

The 2017 judging panel compromises five of the most prominent and well-known wine judges in the New World. The judges’ wine rankings are recorded and added to find a winner in each class, a runner-up and the top country by class. Each country’s marks are added to identify the top country overall. Chairman of Judges for the Six Nations Wine Challenge, Huon Hooke from Australia, comments on the high standard of wine entrants this year: “It was another great Challenge this year and there truly is no other competition where this kind of thing is done. Wine classes continually outdo themselves year on year; Shiraz was one of the strongest classes, closely followed by Sparkling and Other Red Varieties. From spice to blends to classic vintage wines; it was a great pleasure to judge.”

The 2017 Six Nations Wine Challenge Trophy Winners

ClassProducerLabelVariety / BlendVintageCountry
1. SparklingPernod RicardDeutz Prestige CuveeChardonnay Pinot Noir2014New Zealand
2. RieslingThirty BenchWinemakers BlendRiesling2015Canada
3. AromaticsJohanneshofGewurztraminer2015New Zealand
4. Sauvignon BlancAstrolabeAwatereSauvignon Blanc2016New Zealand
5. ChardonnayXanaduReserveChardonnay2015Australia
6. White BlendsRotie CellarsSouthern VineyardViognier Roussanne Marsanne2016USA
7. Other WhitesStellenrust51Chenin Blanc2015South Africa
8. Pinot NoirVilla MariaTaylors PassPinot Noir2014New Zealand
9. Merlot & CarmenereVilla MariaSingle Vineyard Braided Gravels OrganicMerlot2013New Zealand
10. ShirazElephant HillReserveSyrah2014New Zealand
11. Cabernet SauvignonCol Solare N/ACabernet Sauvignon2014USA
12. Other Reds (Light – Medium)Savage GraceRattlesnake HillCabernet Franc2015USA
13. Other Reds (Full Bodied)BedrockOld VineZinfandel2015USA
14. Bordeaux BlendsUva Mira Mountain VineyardsOTVCabernet Franc Cabernet Sauvignon2014South Africa
15. Red BlendsBlue PyreneesEstateCabernet Sauvignon Merlot Shiraz Malbec2013Australia
16. DessertPillitteri Estates WineryIcewineRiesling2013Canada

For more information visit www.sixnationswinechallenge.com.au. A link to the electronic results can be found at https://issuu.com/newworldwinechallenge/docs/snwc_2017_results_book_lres.