2021 HILLTOPS WINE OF THE YEAR

Hilltops Wine Awards 2021:  Winners of Peter Robertson Trophy – Jill and Michael Bynon, Corang Estate.

HILLTOPS HERO

2021 WINE OF THE YEAR – CORANG ESTATE HILLTOPS SHIRAZ 2019

The Hilltops wine region is arguably best known for its shiraz grapes and wines, and again this year the variety triumphed at the 2021 Hilltops Wine Show.

The 2021 Hilltops Wine of the Year and Peter Robertson Trophy has been awarded to Corang Estate Hilltops Shiraz 2019, the highest pointed and Gold Medal winning wine in Class 5.

Other high performing shiraz wines were McWilliams 660 Hilltops Reserve Shiraz 2018, Calabria Pierre d’Amour Shiraz 2018, Hungerford Hill Hilltops Shiraz 2019 and McWilliams 1877 Shiraz 2018.

Chair of Judges Gwyn Olsen singled out the shiraz class for its consistency of style and high calibre.

‘The Hilltops traditional hero red varieties are shiraz and cabernet,’ commented Hilltops Wine President, Brian Freeman.  ‘Increasingly, winemakers from other regions are attracted to the quality of Hilltops cool climate grapes and are forging new expressions that impress.’

‘Hilltops grapes will again be in strong demand in 2022 and we look forward to seeing more out-of-region producers featuring Hilltops GI wines in their portfolios.’

Corang Estate in the NSW Southern Tablelands is a relatively young brand established by Jill and Michael Bynon.  Their own sustainable vineyard was planted in 2018 to shiraz and tempranillo and they harvested their first crop in 2021.

‘We are delighted to be able to source grapes from the Hilltops and this award will be a significant boost to our brand development,’ said Jill Bynon.