The Jimmy Watson Trophy keeps its cool and goes to S.C. Pannell Adelaide Hills syrah — that’s shiraz by any other name

CELEBRATED South Australian winemaker Stephen Pannell has won Australia’s best known wine award for his cracking Adelaide Hills syrah — known widely as shiraz.

Winemaker Stephen Pannell (supplied)

CELEBRATED South Australian winemaker Stephen Pannell has taken out the country’s best known wine award, the Jimmy Watson Trophy — and at the same time thrown a red-wine gauntlet down to our traditional shiraz producing regions like the Barossa and McLaren Vale.

The prestigious prize announced annually at the Royal Melbourne Wine Awards for the best young red wine of the previous two vintages, 2012 and 2013, was awarded last night to the S.C. Pannell Adelaide Hills 2013 Syrah.

The “Jimmy” headed an impressive list of major trophy winners from the Melbourne Show favouring cooler climate wines ranging from the SA’s Adelaide Hills, Victoria’s Yarra Valley and Macedon Ranges, as well as Tasmania.

The syrah, an alternative name for shiraz and often used to differentiate a cool-climate style of red to more traditional warmer climate and fuller bodied styles, was awarded the show’s best shiraz trophy with a phenomenal score of 98/100 points and went on to beat seven other red wine trophy winners in the final Jimmy Watson shootout.

It’s the third year in a row an S.C. Pannell red wine, all different varieties or blends, has won a trophy in Melbourne and gone into the final tasting for the major award. It’s also Mr Pannell’s second Jimmy Watson Trophy after he won in 1996 for the Eileen Hardy 1995 Shiraz which he made while chief red winemaker at Hardy’s based at Reynella, south of Adelaide.

The McLaren Vale based winemaker who also selects Adelaide Hills fruit for several of his whites and reds, has chosen to give the winning wine the lesser known name of syrah after sourcing its shiraz grapes from a vineyard in Echunga in the southern districts of the sprawling region.

“I call this wine syrah instead of the traditional shiraz to stop confusion and pay homage to the style of wine it makes in the northern Rhone Valley of France where it originates from,” Mr Pannell said.

“I love making and drinking cool-climate syrah and believe it has an enormous future in the Adelaide Hills,” he said.

“I’ve been champing at the bit to release this wine and am very excited about its quality.”

Its Jimmy Watson Trophy win continues a run of cool-climate reds to take out the award in the past six years while it’s been seven years since SA’s traditional shiraz regions have scored the major prize when McLaren Vale won three in a row from 2005-2007. The last time a Barossa Valley wine won was in 2003.

Of the 23 trophies awarded by the Royal Melbourne Wine Award show judges, seven went to SA, six to Victoria, four to NSW, and three each to WA and Tasmania.

SA’s trophy winners included Taylors Wines St Andrews 2014 Riesling, d’Arenberg 2011 The Noble Wrinkled Riesling, Echelon Wine partners Partisan Black Label 2012 Grenache, The Barry Brothers 2013 Shiraz cabernet Sauvignon, and St Hallett Gamekeepers 2013 Grenahe/Shiraz/Touriga.

Major winners interstate winners included Coldstream Hills 2013 Deer Farm Pinot Noir (best pinot noir) and the 2012 Oakridge 864 Chardonnay (best single vineyard wine), both from Victoria’s Yarra Valley. The best young white wine award went to Bay of Fires 2013 Chardonnay from Tasmania.