The key wine trends highlighted by the Sydney Royal Wine Show

Results from the 2024 Royal Sydney Wine Show reveal a number of surprises reflective of greater industry trends. According to Chair of Judges Sarah Crowe, the young Pinot Noir category was perhaps the biggest standout of the show: “the young Pinot class was a real highlight for our judges this year, and this standard of quality can be reflected in our 2024 Wine of Show winner, the 2023 Bream Creek Vineyard Pinot Noir,” said Yarra Yering's winemaker.  

Bream Creek's 2023 Pinot Noir is the youngest red to be named the Best Wine of Show in more than 24 years. 

According to Crowe, “for a young red to stand out amongst over 1,700 entries is impressive, and if that wasn’t remarkable enough, it is also the youngest red to win Wine of Show in Sydney in the last two decades, if not longer. It is quite the achievement.” 

Retailing for $50, the 2023 Bream Creek Vineyard Pinot Noir was awarded a score of 97 points by the judges and outperformed the more premium 2023 Bream Creek Vineyard Reserve Pinot Noir, which scored two points lower. Five of the seven Pinot Noirs that scored 95 points and above are Tasmanian, reflecting the ongoing momentum of the wine producing region that was recently highlighted in Wine Australia’s National Vintage Report 2024. 

Following on from Pinot Noir, fellow Burgundian variety Chardonnay was also recognised by the judging panel as a highlight. This saw the 2024 and 2023 Chardonnay class receive the highest medal count out of all 52 classes, receiving 118 medals, nine of which were gold. When including the other vintage brackets of Chardonnay, a total of 16 gold medals were awarded to the varietal, with Evans & Tate’s Redbrook Reserve Chardonnay taking home Best White of Show.

“Chardonnay is at the top of its game and Australian producers are consistently delivering a world-class wine that rivals any international competitor,” said Crowe. 

“From the larger producers like Evans & Tate, who took home Best White and Best Chardonnay with the 2022 Evans & Tate Redbrook Reserve Chardonnay, to smaller producers such as Silkman Wines, who claimed Best Small Producer with the 2023 Silkman Wines Silk Chardonnay, the quality of Chardonnay Australians are getting is exceptional.”

The Best Sparkling Wine of the show was awarded to the 2015 House of Arras Grand Vintage, which was awarded 96 points, shortly ahead of the 95 points awarded to NV House of Arras Blanc de Blancs, 2016 House of Arras Grand Vintage, and 2015 House of Arras Rose.

Reflecting on the result, Chief Winemaker Ed Carr said, “we are thrilled to gain this recognition once again for our Grand Vintage 2015 at such a prestigious and well-respected program such as the Sydney Royal Wine Show… There’s no doubt that the sparkling wine sector in Australia is growing to produce exceptional examples that rival the best-of-the-best, so we are very proud to be a part of that movement.”

Drinks Trade recently took the time to chat with Ed Carr, global Sparkling winemaker of the Year, during his brief stay in Sydney partaking in the Drinks Trade Spring #92 Champagne and Sparkling Wine Tasting Panel. The first half of that interview can be found here.

The trophy for Best Rosé of Show was awarded to the 2024 De Iuliis Rosé. Owner of De Iuliis Wines, Michael De Iuliis, has also been announced as the next Chair of Judges now that Sarah Crowe’s three years have come to an end.

“I feel very proud to have been the Chair of Judges at Sydney Royal,” said Crowe.

“It is a great honour, not only due to importance of the show to our exhibitors but also because of the way in which it brings our community together. Judging allows producers to get a deeper understanding and independent review on what they are producing, which is important for development.”