Tuesday, August 26, 2008

New Halliday reviews and ratings

Every July, those of us who have submitted wines to James Halliday for inclusion (or exclusion if your wines are not up to a very high standard) into his Wine Companion book are able to finally see how our wines have fared. It's always a bit of a gamble as the personal preferences of writers, such as Halliday and Parker in particular, can either make or break your business.

2008 (for the 2009 edition) was the first year that an assistant was chosen to help sort through the enormous amount of samples received. Halliday chose Ben Edwards who is the head of the Australian Sommeliers Association. The 2009 edition of the Australian Wine Companion has tasting notes for 5778 wines, features 169 new wineries and overall, profiles 1661 wineries. Indeed, a large and comprehensive collection of too many wines to even attempt to try.

Considering we only submitted three wines this year, we are very happy with the results. This year Karra Yerta Wines received a general 4 star rating which means we are deemed "a very good producer of wines with class and character".

Our 2007 Eden Valley Riesling rated "highly recommended" at 90 points.
"..... a light-bodied palate with apple and lime fruit, with a touch of minerality on the finish. A success for '07".

The 2005 Barossa Shiraz and 2005 Bullfrog Flat Eden Valley Shiraz also both rated 90 points.

For full reviews, purchase the book or join online here: www.winecompanion.com.au


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