CHÂTEAU TANUNDA WINS BEST SHIRAZ AT GLOBAL MASTERS
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CHIEF WINEMAKER, NEVILLE ROWE, NAMED IN DRINKS BUSINESS MASTER WINEMAKER 100 IN LONDON
Fifteen Australian winemakers have landed a coveted spot on Drinks Business’ 2023 Master Winemaker 100 list, and Barossa Valley icon Château Tanunda’s Chief Winemaker Neville Rowe i celebrating his second nomination on the list. In addition to being ranked among the world’s best winemakers, Château Tanunda also received the Best Shiraz recognition in the Master Winemaker Awards.
The Drinks Business Master Winemaker 100 is the guide celebrating the world’s top 100 winemakers and their wines. First published in 2020, the names on this list are selected from wines that have achieved the Drinks Business’s highest accolade – a Masters medal in the Global Masters tasting series.
First launched in 2013, the Global Masters tasting series is the Drinks Business’s series of wine
competitions focusing on individual varieties and judging solely on style and price. The calibre of judges for each contest is incredibly high and is comprised exclusively of Masters of Wine, Master Sommeliers and senior buyers from across the wine category.
Château Tanunda’s 100-Year-Old Vines Shiraz 2019 was the awarded wine that achieved Masters status at the 2022 Global Syrah Masters announced in December 2022; a wine Rowe says proudly represents the family winery’s philosophy.
“I’m honoured to be recognised again in the Drinks Business’s Master Winemaker 100. It was a career highlight to be recognised in 2020 for the inaugural guide, so seeing my name amongst this list of wine luminaries is a proud achievement,” Rowe said.
“The 100-Year-Old Vines Shiraz represents the Geber family’s dedication to preserving some of the Barossa Valley’s oldest vines. These Centenarian Vines produce incredible fruit that we, as winemakers, are fortunate to work with. I must share my success – particularly with Senior Winemaker, Jeremy Ottawa, who was integral in the assemblage of the 2019 100-Year-Old Vines Shiraz.”
The 100-Year-Old Vines Shiraz 2019 (RRP $160) is crafted from some of the oldest ungrafted Shiraz vines in the world, all of at least 100 years of age. The hand-picked grapes were destemmed but not crushed and spent seven days on their skins in open fermenters with hand-plunging four times daily to gently extract colour, flavours and tannins. This was followed by careful basket pressing and 24 months maturation in our cellars in the finest quality French oak (20% New).
The wine is neither fined nor filtered in keeping with the team’s non-interventionist winemaking style. Patrick Schmitt MW, editor-in-chief of the Drinks Business, said of the wine: “A delicious chance to taste the concentration and elegance that results from Syrah that’s been made from centenarian vines in the Barossa – and handled with expertise by Château Tanunda. As one might expect from such old vines, this is a powerful and rich red wine, but, surprisingly, also one with a mouth-watering edge, helped by the finely textured, dense, dry tannins that dominate the finish. A wine that’s wonderful right now, but certainly one with the structure to age for many years to come.”
This wine is due for release in July 2023, with the winery accepting interest in pre-release allocations via its website. Other Australian winemakers that landed on the Master Winemaker 100 are Jamie Saint (Tempus Two), Matthew Santos (Berton Vineyards), David Norman (Gatt Family Wines), Paul Lindner (Langmeil Winery), Peter Gago (Penfolds), Peter Munro (St Hugo), Scott Hazeldine (Shild Estate), Brian Croser (Tapanappa), Turon White (The Lane Vineyard), Mark Richardson (Tyrrell’s), Virginia Willcock (Vasse Felix), Tim Shand (Voyager Estate), Adam Eggins (Taylors Wines), and Peter Fraser (Yangarra Estate Vineyard).
The Master Winemaker 100 2023 guide is available online at
For further information, imagery or interview requests, please contact Blend Public Relations:
Brian Olson | e: brian@blendpr.com.au | m. 0435 403 608