THE 2011 RENAULT CONCOURS DES VINS DU VICTORIA

When Victorian taste meets the French palate

The 2011 Renault Concours des Vins du Victoria lived up to expectations with a fabulous line-up of 339 Victorian wines submitted in ten different classes, and an enthusiastic record crowd of over 1,000 winemakers, FACCI members and guests who converged at the Medallion Club at Etihad Stadium for the much anticipated awards presentation and tasting event.

This year’s judging panel was chaired by Bernard Burtschy, wine writer for Le Figaro and La Revue du Vin de France. The other senior judges included Jean-Michel Durivault from CQFDegustation, Gilles Lapalus from Sutton Grange Winery, Loic Le Calvez from Taltarni, Dominique and Ben Portet from Dominique Portet Winery, RACV Sommelier Christian Maier and Ludovic Deloche from French wine importer La Halle aux Vins, who were all thrilled to be part of the 2011 judging panel and have been strong supporters of the Concours des Vins du Victoria in the past.

Whilst it was yet another tough line-up for the judges to taste their way through, Dromana Estate from the Mornington Peninsula went on to win another hat-trick after last year’s trophies for Best Wine, Best White Wine and  Best Chardonnay in the Show. This year, their 2010 Dromana Estate Pinot Noir won the Jean Hameury / Arkema Trophy for Best Pinot Noir, the Renault Trophy for Best Red Wine, and finally the FACCI Trophy for Best Wine in the Show!  

Other wines which were awarded top scores and won trophies included: Mount William Winery 1999 Blanc de Blancs which won the Air Liquide Trophy for Best Sparkling Wine, the Sandhurst Ridge 2009 Reserve Shiraz which won the Floerger Trophy for Best Shiraz in the Show, the Downing Estate 2005 Heathcote Shiraz which won Renault Trophy for Best Open Class Shiraz, the Paramoor 2009 'The Fraser' Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz which won the Deugro Trophy for Best Cabernet, the Clyde Park Vineyard 2005 Chardonnay which won the Alstom Trophy for Best White Wine and the Arc International Trophy for Best Open Class Chardonnay, the Carlei Wines 2011 Carlei Green Vineyards Pinot Gris which won the Korean Air Trophy for Best White Aromatic Wine, the Austins Wines 2010 Chardonnay which collected the Bucher Vaslin Trophy for Best Chardonnay, and the Montalto Vineyards 2010 Montalto 'Estate' Pinot Noir to which Bernard Burtschy awarded the Chairman’s “Coup de Coeur” Trophy.

This event is an ideal opportunity for all wine enthusiasts to taste wines from iconic and boutique labels that are often hard to find, enjoy their favourite drops and discover some new ones to add to their wine cellar list.   

FACCI extends its sincere thanks to the event’s Naming Rights Sponsor: Renault; Major Sponsor: Air Liquide; Corporate Sponsors: Alstom, Deugro, and SNF Floerger; and Supporting Sponsors: Arkema, Bucher Vaslin, Clasquin, Korean Air, Renault Eurodrive, Rail Europe, Worldwide Online Printing Arc International, and Chef & Sommelier who provided the Open-Up tasting glasses which the guests could take home.  

A special thank you goes to our event partners: Calendar Cheese Company for always selecting a fantastic array of French cheeses and for the expert knowledge of their staff, Noisette Boulangerie for the beautiful bread, Piper Street Food Company for supplying delicious selection of terrines. A special thank you to Invest Victoria and the team at the Investment Centre for hosting us during the two days of judging, and of course to all the wineries who have entered their wines.