Three Gold Awards for AWM

Last week, Singapore's prestigious Tower Club hosted their 15th Wine & Whisky Awards. Located on Raffles Place, the club has welcomed the CBD's elite for over two decades. Couched in the gorgeous surroundings, 62 floors above the bustle in Singapore, it's a perfect retreat to pause and reflect.

We were delighted to hear that the results of the 2019 panellists' deep reflections was to award three of our wines the gold award in their respective categories. Congratulations to our winemakers, and thank you to our loyal customers who make it possible for us to continue importing wines that stand out. 

The Gold Award winners were as follows:

2017 Domaine des Bernardins Muscat de Beaumes de Venise VDN

Domaine des Bernardins is now housed in what used to be a Cistercian monastery. The order had a tradition of pottering around and experimenting with grapes and winemaking. The estate came into the hands of the Castaud family five generations ago, and they still have a bottle in the cellars from the 1847 vintage. The family has been central to the fortunes of the Muscat de Beaumes de Venise appellation, as Louis Castaud was an important lobbyist in the campaign to give the appellation independent recognition in 1945. Today, Louis' great-grandson Romain is at the helm, and keeping tradition alive. 

Made from a blend of 75% Muscat Blanc and 25% Muscat Noir, harvested from 50-year-old vines. Yields are capped at 30 litres per hectare. The wine is aged for 6 months in stainless steel to preserve the beautiful purity and delicacy of flavour.

2016 Domaine du Trapadis Rasteau VdN

Domaine du Trapadis has been in the Durand family's hands since the 19th century, but the winery was established in 1942.

This VDN is a blend of Grenache and Carignan, both picked from Southwest-facing slopes of clay and limestone. Yields are limited to 20 litres per hectare. Vinification is relatively complicated, as 50% of the fruit is destemmed and spends 6 days on the skins. Following fortification, the fruit sees a further fortnight of maceration. 10% of the wine is aged in large barrels, while the remained spends 11 months on the lees in stainless steel vats. 

With such a painstaking process, perhaps it isn't surprising that fewer than 190,000 bottles of this liquorice and blackcurrant sorbet dream are produced every year. 

2016 Broadside Paso Robles Cabernet Sauvignon

Husband and wife winemakers, Brian and Stephanie Terrizzi had very different routes into wine, but they have brought incredible levels of passion and precision to their two Californian pet projects. The winery Giornata channels Brian's Italian heritage, by expressing the biggest and boldest Italian varieties on Californian soils. Broadside, on the other hand, is a channel for subtle, low-intervention expressions of the main international varieties.

The fruit for this Cab Sauv comes from two vineyards: the Santa Margarita Ranch (originally scouted by Mondavi, before the family sold it off) and San Juan Creek. 14 months in a combination of French and American oak are neatly incorporated into a heady and ripe bouquet of fruit, that owes its concentration to the last year of drought when it was harvested. 

Many thanks to the Tower Club for a spectacular celebration, and hearty congratulations to our talented winemakers. As always, it's an honour to represent you!