At the 2003 Royal Melbourne Wine Show last night a relative newcomer to the Australian wine scene, Gapsted Wines, took out the Transtherm Australia Trophy for Best Cabernet Sauvignon for its 2000 Gapsted Ballerina Canopy Cabernet Sauvignon, now a three-time trophy and four time gold medal winning wine.

This is the second consecutive trophy for this wine at the Royal Melbourne Wine Show having won the Wine Press Club Trophy for Best Victorian Dry Red last year.

Last week the same wine won Best Cabernet Sauvignon of the Show at the 2003 Cowra Wine Show.

Gapsted Winemaker Michael Cope Williams said, “To win three trophies for the same wine is an outstanding achievement. It highlights the advantages of handpicking the best parcels of fruit from our growers which ensures that only the best wine is produced for the Gapsted label.”

The 2002 Gapsted Ballerina Canopy Merlot also impressed judges last night, with the wine selected in the final line-up to win the coveted Jimmy Watson Memorial Trophy. The 2002 Gapsted Ballerina Canopy Merlot was awarded a gold medal in the Dry Red Merlot class.The 2000 Gapsted Cabernet Sauvignon has been released and will be available at restaurants and fine wine stores in Victoria, New South Wales and the ACT. The wine is a blend of King Valley and Strathbogie Ranges fruit that was barrel fermented and matured in new and seasoned American oak barriques for 24 months prior to blending, bottling and cellaring.

“We were in no hurry to release the wine, instead preferring to wait and allow the tannins to integrate and mellow,” explained Cope-Williams.

“This is a sensational multi layered red wine that oozes blackcurrant, cassis fruit and obvious complexity, supported by well integrated oak character. The tannin structure and palate weight should see the wine age gracefully over the next five - 10 years.”

Gapsted wines are distributed by:

• Cellarhand in Victoria - 03 9418 7800
• The Nelson Wine Company in New South Wales - 0402 796 622
• Oak Barrel Wines in ACT - 02 6280 6371.

2000 Gapsted Ballerina Canopy Cabernet Sauvignon recommended retail price is $22-24.