Yealands Wine Group (Yealands) has been awarded New Zealand’s only ‘Best in Show’ trophy for its 2019 Yealands Estate Single Block L5 Sauvignon Blanc at the 2020 Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA). Judging took place across the month of August, with a staggering 16,518 wines from 56 countries tasted and evaluated by 116 physically-distanced wine judges.
New Zealand has become synonymous with producing bold and exciting Sauvignon Blanc that is acclaimed as world leading in its excellence, so for Yealands to be awarded a Best in Show for Sauvignon Blanc at such a prestigious awards show makes this accolade truly special.
Chief Winemaker for Yealands, Natalie Christensen, is excited by the company’s success in this year’s competition. “We are thrilled to receive a Best in Show Trophy for our Single Block L5 Sauvignon Blanc,” says Christensen. “This was my favourite Sauvignon Blanc that we made in 2019, and it is exciting to hear that this wine was enjoyed by the judges. The fruit comes from one of our most coastal blocks on the property, and really speaks of our coastal home. Looking forward to celebrating this fantastic win with the team!”
Now in its seventeenth year it was uncertain whether this year’s competition would go ahead due to imposed restrictions relating to Covid-19, but through meticulous planning the DWWA was able to proceed safely and uninterrupted. Every wine entered was tasted blind and in flights against its peers (organised by country, region, colour, grape, style, vintage and price). The wines are first awarded a Bronze, Silver or Gold medal, with the Gold medals then reorganised and tasted again with the best awarded a Platinum trophy. The Platinum winners were then tasted one final time by the three Co-Chairs to be assessed for the top accolade: the ‘Best in Show’. Just 50 Best in Show trophies were awarded.
Yealands is one of the most coastal vineyards in New Zealand and certainly one of the most dramatic with sweeping views across the Cook Strait. The Yealands Estate Single Block collection focuses on the most distinct sites on their Seaview Vineyard to create exciting, utterly contrasting expressions of the same varietal. The L5 Sauvignon Blanc block lies right on the coastline of Seaview Vineyard. Being exposed to the elements the wine expresses its unique terroir through flavours of wild thyme, citrus and plenty of mineral acidity. Yealands Estate Single Block L5 Sauvignon Blanc is predominantly sold in the UK, one of the company’s biggest export markets, finding popularity in the on premise space and specialist online wine retailers. This Best in Show Sauvignon Blanc has now been made available for purchase for a limited time for $27.95 here.
