Sacred Hill’s renowned Riflemans Chardonnay 2016 has been awarded a Trophy at this year’s Six Nations Wine Challenge.
In this international wine challenge, influential wine judges from six leading New World wine countries – New Zealand, Australia, Canada, Chile, South Africa and the USA – are invited to list their top 100 local wines for entry, making selections in light of their intimate knowledge of their own nation’s wines. It is the only wine awards where entry is by invitation only.
“It’s extremely rewarding when a wine we all love so much is recognised on an international stage like this – to win best in class is a tremendous honour!” said winemaker Jack Cornes. “The 2016 Riflemans is a very classical Chardonnay with an intense palate and sensational length – the hallmark of our special Riflemans vineyard. The 2016 growing season wasn’t without its challenges, with erratic weather and dire predictions of an extreme weather pattern. Yet in the end, we experienced a cool spring and hot, dry summer, allowing us to harvest totally pristine fruit with excellent ripeness, acid balance, and intensity.”
The 2016 Riflemans is a powerful, elegant vintage with intriguing, lifted aromas of ripe mandarin peel, nectarine, hazelnut and vanilla bean, and nuances of nutmeg and lemon meringue. This single origin Chardonnay is the culmination of over 20 years of winemaking with fruit hand-picked from Riflemans’ 26-year-old own-rooted Mendoza, situated on a beautiful, elevated river terrace.
