A double first for Larry Cherubino – James Halliday’s & Matt Skinner’s Winery of the Year

Larry Cherubino Wines from Western Australia has been named James Halliday’s Winery of the Year in the recently published 2011 Australian Wine Companion and, this week, awarded Producer of the Year in the 2011 edition of Matt Skinner’s Wine Guide.  A tremendous coup for the man and the region. 

I met with Cherubino (pictured), who makes wines from the Frankland River, Margaret River and Pemberton, in 2008.  Then, the focus was on Riesling, a variety which Cherubino treats differently from most of his peers.  Though I’m a fan of the classic Aussie driz-a-bone style, it does polarise.  Cherubino told me he’s dead set against its austerity and keen to broaden its appeal.  To that end, he builds in texture and balance with judicious use of wild yeast, residual sugar, pressings and oxygenation  – to good effect at that.  Anyone who seeks to broaden the appeal of Riesling gets a high five from me and the T word (texture) combined with Western Australia’s elegance made for seductive Cabernet and Shiraz too.  Here’s what James Halliday had to say:

“No other winery had such a percentage success rate. Is there a reason? Yes, for whether the wines are Riesling, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon Sauvignon Blanc, Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon or Cabernet Merlot, all have balance, line, length and, above all else, elegance. If this were not enough, every one of those varietal styles has at least one wine at 94 points or above.”

Next month will reveal whether fellow Western Australia wine whizz, Vasse Felix’s Virginia Willcox, gets the top gong at the Gourmet Traveller 2010 Winemaker of the Year.  Go Western Australia!