Bilancia’s la collina Attains “Global Top Ten Syrah" Status

Bilancia’s la collina

Attains “Global Top Ten Syrah” Status

October 9th, 2011: For Immediate Release

A recent varietal-specific tasting panel of 16 experienced judges compared more than 650 wines from all over the world, and Hawke’s Bay minnow Bilancia la collina Syrah 2009 was judged number seven.

In fact, we’re extremely proud to announce that Bilancia la collina Syrah 2009 was the only New Zealand wine to attain top ten status at the tasting.

Dubbed “The World’s Greatest Syrah & Shiraz Challenge” by Australia’s highly respected WineState magazine, the tasting was held in the Shiraz fortress that is South Australia. The star-studded list of entries brought together the best of Syrah/Shiraz wines with a price list that extended up to $700 a bottle.

Amongst those tasted and judged were prestigious French labels including Guigal d’Ampuis Cote-Rotie, Chapoutier l’Ermite Hermitage, and Jaboulet la Chapelle, from the Rhone Valley, alongside Australian icons including Penfolds Grange, Henschke Hill of Grace, and Wolf Blass Platinum Label.

Moreover, the event was a double success for Bilancia, as our 2009 vintage and 2008 sister vintage were declared first and second place respectively within the New Zealand entries at the tasting. Both vintages rated 5 stars in the NZ$100-$200 category. We’re thrilled with this clean sweep that we believe underlines the strength and balance of wine-growing and wine-making efforts and dedication.

Bilancia, Italian for ‘balance’, is our private family wine label, a collaboration of husband and wife, business and pleasure, terroir and craftsmanship. We produce a very select range of wine varietals perfectly suited to the wondrous Hawke’s Bay region and our preferred style of wine-making.

As stalwarts of Hawkes Bay wines we believe la collina’s positioning and recognition is a major boost for this extraordinary region’s growing Syrah production. A tasting like this shows that Hawkes Bay Syrah is able to shine brightly on the world stage.

Our prized la collina vineyard is a steep, terrace-and-incline-planted hillside vineyard nestled on the north-northwest facing slopes of Roy’s Hill, overlooking the Gimblett Gravels sub-region of Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand.

We limit production of single-vineyard la collina Syrah to a mere 200 cases in those vintages we believe deserve a pinnacle syrah. We made our first Vintage in 2002. The 2008 la collina Syrah is the current release and the fabulous 2009 vintage’s la collina Syrah will be released on March 1, 2012.

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