Lowestoft La Maison awarded The James Halliday Trophy for Best Pinot Noir at the Melbourne Royal Wine Awards for the second consecutive year

Lowestoft La Maison awarded The James Halliday Trophy for Best Pinot Noir at the Melbourne Royal Wine Awards for the second consecutive year

We are very happy to announce that the Lowestoft 2021 La Maison Pinot Noir has been awarded The James Halliday Trophy for Best Pinot Noir at the Melbourne Royal Wine Awards last night, following last year’s win with the Lowestoft 2020 La Maison.

Fogarty Wine Group Executive Chairman Peter Fogarty said, “We are extremely proud to see the Lowestoft 2021 La Maison win the James Halliday Trophy for Best Pinot Noir at the Melbourne Royal Wine Awards. Winning 2 consecutive Best Pinot Noir Trophies at the Melbourne Royal Wine Awards across 2 vintages of the same wine is testament to our amazing Lowestoft vineyard and our winemaking team at Tasmanian Vintners, led by Liam McElhinney.

“Lowestoft La Maison has, in 3 short years since we started producing it, won 3 Trophies for Best Pinot Noir of Show awards and 4 Gold Medals across the major capital city wine shows. It has also been chosen by the Halliday Wine Companion 2023 as Australia’s No. 1 Pinot Noir.”

Not only that, but Lowestoft wines have been awarded an impressive 8 Trophies and 19 Gold Medals since the winery was established. This growing tally of awards confirms the Lowestoft name amongst the greatest in Australian wine.

On the incredible result last night, Chief Winemaker Liam McElhinney said: "My team and I are so excited to receive this accolade for the second year in a row with our La Maison 2021 Pinot Noir. The Lowestoft vineyard continues to deliver phenomenal Pinot Noir fruit under the watchful eye of the legendary Fred Peacock and his amazing vineyard team. As winemakers, we are immensely proud that the consistency of style we are capturing in the La Maison is setting a new benchmark for Australian Pinot Noir."

The Melbourne Royal Wine Awards was established in 1884 and it is one of the oldest and most respected wine shows in the country. This year, over 3000 entries across 500 wineries were tasted, with only the most exceptional Australian wines selected for Trophies and Gold Medals.  

In last night’s results the Lowestoft 2020 Pinot Noir was also in consideration for the Pinot Noir Trophy, attaining the highest score in its class and a Gold Medal.  

    We are extremely proud of Chief Winemaker Liam McElhinney and the Lowestoft winemaking and vineyard teams on these incredible results.

    Following this award, we are offering a very special pre-order of the 2021 La Maison Pinot Noir, shipping from September 2023. Due to limited production, members who have purchased the 2019 and/or 2020 La Maison Pinot Noir will be given first access to this pre-release.

    For members who have already purchased these wines, an email with a pre-release order form will be sent to you shortly.

    Lowestoft 2021 La Maison Pinot Noir

    Awards

    • Trophy – The James Halliday Trophy for Best Pinot Noir – Royal Melbourne Wine Awards 2022
    • Gold Medal – Royal Melbourne Wine Awards 2022

    Lowestoft 2020 La Maison Pinot Noir

    Awards

    • Trophy – The James Halliday Trophy for Best Pinot Noir – Royal Melbourne Wine Awards 2021
    • Trophy – Pinot Noir of Show – National Wine Show of Australia 2021
    • Gold Medal – Royal Melbourne Wine Awards 2021
    • Gold Medal – National Wine Show of Australia 2021
    • Gold Medal – Australian Pinot Noir Challenge 2021

    Reviews

    • 96 points – Tyson Stelzer, Halliday Wine Companion 2023 – The 2020 vintage secures Lowestoft among Tasmania's A-league, but it's going to be a long time before the full magnificence of its flagship is realised. The coiled potential on display here is something to behold, with pristine and precise black and red cherry fruit intricately woven with the perfumed allure of whole bunches and the fine-grained framework of top-class French oak. Brilliant.

    Lowestoft 2019 La Maison Pinot Noir

    Reviews

    • 98 points – Winestate Magazine 2021
    • 97 points – Ray Jordan, The West Australian 2022 – This is the initial release of La Maison from this single vineyard site near Hobart. Combines all the best elements of great pinot – elegance, precision, subtle finesse and a fine acidity. On the nose, plum and raspberry notes with darker cherry notes emerge. The palate is super intense with a deep, concentrated core. Yet it delivers with so much of that pinot finesse. Richly layered dark fruits provide a dense core with earthy undertones, Christmas cake and a tea-like character bring life and length (best drinking: Now to 2035).
    • 95 points – Huon Hooke, The Real Review 2022 – Deep-ish red-purple, a bright youthful colour, the bouquet showing dominant whole-bunch stalky and earthy, dusty, root-vegetable aromas, while the wine is very intense and concentrated on the tongue, with quite a strong contribution from oak and impressive penetration, the finish lingering on and on. There's a touch of bitterness and astringency from the tannins but the wine is young and will reward a little cellar time.

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