Australia and France Declared 'A Tie' in World Shiraz Challenge

ADELAIDE, Australia, Sept. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Honours are drawn level after a grand blind taste-off between more than 700 wines that pitted Australia's best shiraz wines against iconic syrah brands from France and other world producers.

For the first time, judges in the 'World's Greatest Shiraz Challenge' hosted by Australia's Winestate Magazine were unable to split the top two  – Hardys HRB D637 2006 Shiraz from South Australia and the 2006 Domaine Auguste Clape Rhone Cornas (syrah).

"It was an exhaustive contest involving different styles and price points and estate-grown versus regional vineyard blends – and in the end our judges found it impossible to decide a clear winner," said Winestate publisher Peter Simic.

The Hardy's HRB D637 2006 Shiraz is a blend of Clare Valley and Adelaide Hills grapes and retails at $39AUD, while the Auguste Clape is the benchmark flag carrier for the small appellation of Cornas with a price tag of $210AUD.

"A striking feature of the tasting is the emergence of more elegant and vibrant shiraz styles in Australia in a shift away from the high alcohol blockbusters of the past," Mr. Simic said. "The finesse of the HRB D637 makes it more food friendly and closer to traditional international syrah styles."

It was the 5th challenge organised by Winestate with an 18-strong panel of winemakers and masters of wine sampling 780 shiraz & syrah wines from Australia, New Zealand, France and South Africa.

South Australia dominated the taste-off involving the highest ranked wines with seven in the top 10. The 2005 Penfolds Bin95 Grange was squeezed into fourth place by France's E.Guigal Chateau d'Ampuis Cote-Rotie.

Wines tasted ranged from low budget to the highest priced wines. Panel chair Louisa Rose said the challenge highlighted that good drinking shiraz wines were available at great-value prices.

Results are featured in the September/October edition of Winestate magazine or by subscription to www.winestate.com.au .

The contest is managed by Winestate Publishing, the Southern Hemisphere's oldest and most respected magazine authority on Australian & NZ wines and the industry. Each year it evaluates over 10,000 wines from regions in Australia and New Zealand, plus international offerings.

Publisher and wine doyen Peter Simic says this latest tied score between Australia and Europe showed the relevance of extending publication of Winestate in the UK as a bastion for Australian wine information.

Winestate Magazine was established in 1978. Readership in Australia, NZ and Asia is over 80,000 and as the UK is the largest export destination for Australian wines, the publisher sees a demand in the UK for information on these wines.

SOURCE Winestate Publishing