For the second time in a row, the Koolama 2007 Chardonnay has been awarded
“Wine of the Show” in Western Australia.

Last August at the 2009 Sheraton Perth Wine Awards, Pemberton producer Koolama Estate was deemed to be Best Chardonnay entry by the panel of highly experienced judges. The same wine went on to claim the Chairman’s Award as Best Wine of the Show.

The previous time the same wine was shown in Western Australia, at the 2009 Tall Timber Wine Show, it was awarded a Gold medal, prior to being acknowledged as the Best Chardonnay of the Show, prior to going on to be deemed Best Wine of the Show.

Chairman of the 2009 Sheraton Perth Wine Awards was, once again, the highly respected John Hanley. Mr. Hanley commented that the 2009 event was considered to be the best in the competition’s 32 year history. According to fellow judge, Ray Jordan, “This year’s was the best collection I have seen from judging at this show for 15 years”. Mr. Jordan made particular reference to the 2007 Koolama Chardonnay saying that the Show’s “best drop” was a wine “showing the variety’s incredible depth”.

The 34 hectare vineyard was initially planted as a premium grape producer, supplying the majority of the earlier harvests to the Petaluma Wine Group. Since then, the vineyard has continued to remain a grape supplier to various premium labels. In 2005, the small syndicate of wine lovers involved in the ownership of Koolama decided to venture into the competitive world of wine production. The Koolama Estate label was developed for the 2006 vintage.

The 2007 vintage was the first vintage of Chardonnay to be produced under the Koolama Estate label. Previously, the 3 hectare block of Scott Henry trellised, Mendoza clone Chardonnay, had forged a successful trail of show successes for other wine producers.