Vintage 2024: Gisborne
"I'm walking through the winery at the moment and the smells in there are just bloody amazing," says GisVin Chief Winemaker Mark Thompson early on 12 March.
Chairman of judges, Simon Nunns, said the Corbans 1902 Chardonnay 2013 was the clear overall winner ahead of 115 other wines to take the GisVin Ltd Supreme Wine of Show.
“Corbans has been making good wines in this district for decades, so it is a fitting win,” said Nunns.
Lion, who own the Corbans label, were also the highest awarded wine company.
The award-winning wine is part of a special new label for Corbans, and pays homage to the company’s long-standing place in New Zealand winemaking.
1902 is when Corbans’ founder Assid Corban bought four hectares of land in Henderson . . . and so began a piece of viticultural history.
Lion’s North Island operations winemaker Jane De Witt says she thought the wine was a winner from the start.
“It is just awesome to win this,” she said. “Gisborne does such a great Chardonnay and this one is quite special.”
“We wanted something that was a really punchy Chardonnay with lots of fruit, and that wow factor.”
Matawhero Wines had a successful competition too, winning the overall top red and other blends class with their Pinot Noir 2013. The Matawhero Wines Chardonnay 2014 won the unoaked Chardonnay class. The Matawhero Church House Malbec 2013 won the Malbec and blends class, while the Matawhero Church Road Chenin Blanc 2014 took out the other whites class.
As well as the wines, two indiviudals were honoured. John Clarke for his outstanding contribution to the local wine industry, while Denis Irwin won the Bill Irwin Trophy for his efforts.
