Hither & Yon Wear The Crowns

Hither & Yon’s 2021 Aglianico has won McLaren Vale’s Best Wine of Show 2022, seeing brothers Malcolm and Richard Leask crowned McLaren Vale Bushing Monarchs for the second time.

The trophies from the 2022 MGA Insurance McLaren Vale Wine Show, including Best Wine of Show and the prestigious ‘Bushing Monarch’ title, were awarded at the 58th annual McLaren Vale Bushing Lunch, held at Chalk Hill Wines today.

From over 750 entries the 2021 Hither & Yon Aglianico was selected as the Best Wine of Show by a panel of judges from across Australia including Andrew Thomas of Thomas Wines, Andrea Pritzker MW, Tim Dolan of Kaesler Wines, industry legend Ian McKenzie and Liz Silkman of First Creek Wines.

Chair of judges Andrew Thomas highlighted how well the Show showcased the continued evolution of winemaking in the region across both the more traditional varieties such as Shiraz, Grenache and Cabernet Sauvignon, as well as emerging varieties and blends.

“With an overall medal strike rate of 62 percent including just under eight percent of entries being awarded gold medals, it is clear that McLaren Vale winemakers continue to strive for excellence in terms of quality,” Andrew says.

“Shiraz is still the most important variety for the region in both quality and quantity representing just over 30 percent of the total entries, but it is clear that the high quality of Grenache and some of the other emerging varieties entered are adding colour and diversity to the region’s offerings.

“From the outstanding 2021 vintage, the Hither & Yon Aglianico stood up in an extremely high quality and diverse class of new and emerging Mediterranean varietals.

“This wine demonstrated a compelling vibrancy, purity and precision reflecting the more contemporary style of red winemaking we are seeing from the region in recent years.

“Bright perfumed red and blue fruit aromatics, a perfectly ripe and fleshy flavour with a supple tannin structure. There’s plenty to love.”

Andrea Pritzker MW sung the praises of the high quality of entries, and the broad stylistic diversity.

“I was particularly struck by the strength of the 2021 Shiraz and Grenache classes, highlighting what an excellent vintage it was in the region,” Andrea says.

“For me, it was exciting to see a broader diversity of wine styles being produced across all varieties and classes.

“There were some impressive whole bunch styles in both the Shiraz and Grenache classes, alongside a greater overall emphasis on freshness and vibrancy in the wines.

“I was also really excited to see the evolution of climate adaptive varieties such as Montepulciano, Nero d’Avola and Fiano.

“The Fiano class in particular was quite strong and demonstrated how much potential this variety has in McLaren Vale.”

BEST SHIRAZ PREDOMINANT BLEND
Shottesbrooke Vineyards 2021 Engine Room by Hamish Maguire Shiraz Mataro Grenache

BEST GRENACHE PREDOMINANT BLEND
Varney Wines 2021 Grenache Mourvèdre Touriga

BEST OTHER RED & BLENDS
Alpha Crucis 2021 Blewitt Springs Mataro Grenache

BEST MEDITERRANEAN RED VARIETY
Hither & Yon 2021 Aglianico

BEST SHIRAZ THREE YEARS OR OLDER
Shingleback D Block 2018 Reserve Shiraz

BEST TWO-YEAR-OLD OR YOUNGER CABERNET SAUVIGNON
Battle of Bosworth 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon

BEST TWO-YEAR-OLD SHIRAZ
Gemtree Wines 2020 Bloodstone Shiraz

BEST ONE-YEAR-OLD OR YOUNGER SHIRAZ
Cooter & Cooter 2021 Shiraz

BEST ONE-YEAR-OLD GRENACHE
Serafino 2021 Reserve Grenache

BEST ROSÉ
Bondar Wines 2022 Rosé

BEST NEW AND EMERGING WHITE WINE
Chalk Hill 2022 Vermentino

BEST FIANO
d’Arenberg 2022 The Sun Surfer Fiano

TROTT FAMILY AWARD
Jock Harvey

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