Margaret River’s McHenry Hohnen and Cherubino Wines among WA Wine Show winners

Margaret River has played an understandably central role in the 45th Wine Show of WA, with local vintners McHenry Hohnen the “superstars” of the show. The winery which recently opened a cellar door on the main drag in Witchcliffe came home with multiple wins at the annual festival of all things fine, held this year in the Great Southern. McHenry Hohnen scored awards for best wine of show, best red wine of show, and best shiraz. In a win lauded by Margaret River Wine Association chief Amanda Whiteland, the winery also stood out in the best other red varietal category for their McHenry Hohnen 2021 Tempranillo. “It’s very exciting to see a Margaret River tempranillo do so well,” she told the Times. As well as multiple Margaret River winemakers featuring in the judging panel, other local vignerons including Cherubino Wines, Fermoy Estate, Evans and Tate, Thompson Estate and Wills Domain all picked up gongs. Winemaker Larry Cherubino had a strong day in the field with his vineyards spanning the South West and Great Southern recognised for an “outstanding performance” with the most successful exhibitor overall trophy. Cherubino also scored the JS Gladstones Trophy for best and most distinctive regional character, best riesling, best white wine of the Great Southern, best aged riesling, and best sweet wine. McHenry Hohnen head winemaker Jacopo Dalli Cani said the secret to the winery’s success was in its “great team”. “We are so proud of these two tiny parcels of vines that we consider special and unique, receiving four major awards at the 2022 Wine Show of WA last week,” he said. “Making good, exciting wines is certainly about growing quality fruit, but also teamwork. “We are very lucky to have a team that share the same passion and commitment to sustainability and quality here at McHenry Hohnen.” Wine show chair Ian Osborne said of the 805 entries, 551 wines were awarded medals and 83 snatched gold. “This year we introduced two new museum classes to the schedule, dry white wine 2014 and older, and dry red wine 2014 and older, which has been well received by our entrants,” he said. Head of judges Courtney Treacher said the chardonnay class was one of the standouts in this year’s show, while Rieslings were also a “highlight”. “A couple of the interstate judges commented on the quality of the rieslings and that they were easily comparable with the best in Australia,” she said. Other notable awards went to Evans & Tate’s 2018 Redbrook Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot in the best older red wine category, Wills Domain’s 2022 Mystic Spring Semillon Sauvignon Blanc as the best white blend, Thompson Estate winning the Ian Tyrer trophy for best cabernet, Wills Domain with the best sauvignon blanc award, and Fermoy’s Reserve 2020 Chardonnay named best chardonnay.