The 2023 Oakridge Wines 864 Funder & Diamond Drive Block 2023 Yarra Valley Chardonnay has been awarded the prestigious Victorian Premier’s Trophy.
An initiative of the Victorian Wine Show and held with the support of the Department of Premier and Global Victoria, the award is based on a taste-off between the winning wines from each of Victoria’s regional wine shows in 2025.
The Premier’s Trophy involves a judging to select the champion wine from the best wines in each show.
This year’s winning wine was selected by a panel of wine industry experts including Joshua Cooper from the Macedon Ranges, Matt Harrop from the Strathbogie Ranges, Steve Flamstead from the Yarra Valley and Jen Pfeiffer from Rutherglen.
Mr Cooper, chair of judges at the Victorian Wine Show said, “The judging represents the best of the best of the Victorian wine industry, from diverse regions and varieties that represent the depth and breadth of this great state for winegrowing and making.
“The 2023 Oakridge Wines 864 Funder & Diamond Drive Block Chardonnay won in a taste-off from the winners of the 11 regional wine shows and the Victorian Wine Show.
“It was a stand-out wine from a great vintage which showed varietal typicity combined with intense and sustained depth.”
Finalists were in attendance at the awards reception at Parliament House and their wines presented at a tasting which was attended by members from both houses and industry representatives.
All the finalists’ wines will be served at functions at Parliament House over the next year further promoting the quality of the local wine industry.
Victorian Wine Show chair Narelle King said, “The Premier’s Trophy tasting and awards presentation is a celebration of our state’s amazing diversity of wines, vineyards and the people behind them.”
Selected Parliamentarians including the Minister for Agriculture, Michaela Settle, conducted their own separate tasting under wine show conditions with guidance from wine show judges to select the Premier’s Choice Award.
Following spirited discussion, the winning wine was awarded to 2024 King River Estate Flying Duck Shiraz from the King Valley.
All panellists agreed that the wine displayed vibrancy with lifted berry characters combined with an approachable silky tannin structure.
Minister Settle said, “It was the diversity of our state from coastal and cooler climate regions producing Chardonnay with varietal character combined with finesse and elegance to inland regions producing fuller-bodied Shiraz with complexity that set Victoria apart as a prominent wine growing state.”
Other finalists
2019 Granite Hills Winery TOR Riesling – Ballarat Wine Show
2018 Parkside Estate Fils de Choisir Chardonnay Pinot Noir – Daylesford Wine Show
2024 Jack Rabbit Vineyard Chardonnay – Geelong Wine Show
2024 Dirty 3 Wines “Magic Dirt” Pinot Noir – Gippsland Wine Show
2023 Heathcote Estate Shiraz – Heathcote Wine Show
2024 Shadowfax Wines Pinot Noir – Macedon Wine Show
2024 Yabby Lake Single Vineyard Pinot Noir – Mornington Peninsula Wine Show
2024 King River Estate Flying Duck Shiraz – North East Victoria Wine Challenge
2022 Warrabilla Reserve Durif – Rutherglen Wine Show
2025 B Seppelt & Sons Drumborg Riesling – Western Victoria Wine Challenge
2023 Glenlofty Estate Decameron Station Shiraz – Victorian Wine Show
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