Trophy Winners Revealed at the National Wine Awards of Aotearoa New Zealand
BROUGHT TO YOU BY NWAANZ
Now celebrating its fourth year, the National Wine Awards of Aotearoa New Zealand announced this year’s trophy winners at the Awards of Excellence lunch in Auckland today.
As the country’s only national wine awards, NWAANZ recognises and celebrates the skill, dedication and diversity of local winemakers across every region.
“What a fabulous few days judging we have had! The wines were of a very high standard, with the best really showing their sense of place and the care and attention given to them by the vineyard and winery teams,” says Chair of Judges Jane Cooper. “I'm so excited to share the results with everyone on behalf of the wonderful judging team. Congratulations to all.”
Below, explore each of this year’s Trophy Winners and their tasting notes...
MCC Label Trophy for Champion Sparkling
VILAURA Hawke's Bay Blanc de Blanc 2021
Notes: Oyster shell, lemon rind, hazelnut with complex autolysis notes. Super refined and taut palate with beautiful weight and drive. Sublime.
Laffort New Zealand Trophy for Champion Gewürztraminer
Wairau River Reserve Gewürztraminer 2025
Notes: Elevated aromatics - intense florals with lifted Jasmine and Daphne. So pungent - fresh floral palate, lovely length. A pleasure.
Antipodes Trophy for Champion Riesling
Saint Clair Pioneer Block 9 Big John Riesling 2025
Notes: Zesty, bright and focussed. Pretty nose - crunchy apple & floral notes, candied & peachy. Persistent length, nice mouthfeel with saline acidity & great intensity in a lime ice block spectrum. Divine.
Dish Magazine Trophy for Champion Pinot Gris
Framingham Pinot Gris 2024
Notes: Leesy and yeasty with a savoury edge - spiced and complex. Moves beyond primary to dried fruits and slight smoky autolysis. The palate has a generosity combined with spice and depth. Refreshing yet layered and with a drier and textural finish that continues into saline elegance.
Guala Closures New Zealand Trophy for Champion Sauvignon Blanc
Vavasour Sauvignon Blanc 2025
Notes: Crunchy sweaty greens with tomato leaf complexity - lively and fresh. Lovely intensity on the palate, saline and pure. Fine and long.
New World Trophy for Champion Chardonnay
Brancott Estate Letter Series O Chardonnay 2024
Notes: Flinty and smoky, lemon citrus nose with vanillin. Palate is rich with nice stone fruit character, oatmealy texture and chalky fresh finish. Lingering on toasty lemon curd. Delicious.
NZ Winegrowers Trophy for Champion Other White Varieties
Beach House La Plage Arneis 2025
Notes: White florals, stone fruits, lemon oil and savoury herbs. Sweet fruit notes & lemon barley work well with the almond in a medium-bodied style, and a salty texture is well balanced by a lick of sugar. Full, ripe and yummy. A very cool wine.
winejobsonline.com Trophy for Champion Sweet Wine
Seifried Winemakers Collection Nelson 'Sweet Agnes' Riesling 2024
Notes: Honey & rock melon. Well fleshed-out mid palate. Some lovely nuances and great precision on the finish. Zippy acid, fine and taut. Custard apple fruit, with spice and focus. Late harvest feel with nice grapey acid. All in all, a very tasty wine!
Wineworks Trophy for Champion Rosé
Triplebank Rosé 2025
Notes: Blossom aromatics with a red fruit core, slightly spicy on the palate with good fruit concentration and palate weight. Nicely balanced with a fresh, full-flavoured finish.
Classic Oak Products NZ Trophy for Champion Pinot Noir
Te Kairanga Estate Pinot Noir 2024
Notes: Restrained but well-defined fruits, plump cherry & raspberry. Good quality fruit that's well handled. Good tension on the palate, white button mushroom / animal character and beetroot. Great oak integration and a mineral finish. Tannins are beautifully chalky.
Trophy for Champion Cabernet & Blends
Church Road Grand Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot Malbec 2021
Notes: Big juicy dark berry aromatics with rose petal - inviting and expressive. The palate has supple tannins and great structure balanced by a sweet core of fruit. Good concentration, silky texture and generous.
New Zealand Couriers Trophy for Champion Merlot & Blends
Mills Reef Elspeth Gimblett Gravels Merlot 2020
Notes: Dense with complex red fruits, fine tannin structure, good acid and palate weight - nice fruit intensity - potential to develop even further with a chalky dense finish.
Fruitfed Supplies Trophy for Champion Syrah
Mount Riley Marlborough Syrah 2024
Notes: Plums, cassis and spicy notes. Crisp and chalky palate with some white pepper and dense red fruits. A very stylish wine.
Kumeu A&H Society Trophy for Champion Other Red Varieties
Mudbrick Reserve Petit Verdot Malbec Merlot 2024
Notes: Dark cassis, chalky and ripe, perfumed. Dense and fine. Colour is brilliantly purple! Ripe and dried fruit character, plenty of spice and cedar. Persistent length. Gorgeous wine.
Trophy for Champion Organic Wine
Zephyr Riesling 2024
Notes: Nice kaffir lime leaf, with grapefruit and lemon. Tension and focus, good textural saline acidity drives this wine. Impressive, intentional wine with great chalky pick up on the finish.
Mainfreight Trophy for Champion Export Wine
Wairau River Pinot Noir 2024
Notes: Big fruit, rich and round. A glossy wine with lots of dark fruit layered with some fine oak creeping in on the palate. Nice wine with plenty of depth. Puzzle pieces well put together resulting in a complete, well-made wine.
Auckland A&P Association Champion Wine of the Show
VILAURA Hawke's Bay Blanc de Blanc 2021
Notes: An incredibly special wine. No celebration should be without it.
Auckland A&P Association Heritage Rosebowl
Church Road Grand Reserve Syrah 2013 / 2016 / 2021
This collection of wines showed great consistency across the years. They were all excellent varietal expressions showing the classic hallmarks with confidence and volume. The tannins were dense yet elegant, the fruit ripe and bold, and there was a lovely tension and tautness that set these three wines apart. A testament to winemaking and viticultural excellence.
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