The results of the 2010 Critics Challenge International Wine Competition have been posted, along with the Judges' Comments.   Click the Results button to see all awards given.

Chateau Ste. Michelle’s $9 Triumph

By Robert Whitley
Creators Syndicate

Wine aficionados of the Americas are witnessing the awakening of a slumbering giant, the winery Chateau Ste. Michelle.

Based in Woodinville, Washington, near Seattle, and with vast vineyards throughout eastern Washington, Chateau Ste. Michelle has long been a dominant player in the Pacific Northwest. Recent vintages, though, have seen the winery’s influence nationally grow in spectacular fashion.

Such was the case on a sunny Sunday afternoon in San Diego over the Memorial Day weekend when Ste. Michelle’s 2009 Dry Riesling ($9) ran away with the vote for Wine of the Year at the seventh annual Critics Challenge International Wine Competition. Between them, Chateau Ste. Michelle and Domaine Ste. Michelle (producer of the Ste. Michelle sparkling wines) racked up nine medals, including three platinums and the coveted Wine of the Year.

“You could argue there might have been a better wins in the competition, but this was certainly the greatest winemaking achievement of all of the wines entered,” said judge Michael Franz, Editor of the online wine publication Wine Review Online and former wine columnist of the Washington Post. “To produce 500,000 cases of wine that delicious and sell it for $9 is a towering accomplishment. It’s almost an incomprehensible feat.”

The Critics Challenge, which employs renowned wine journalists as judges, is one of three international wine challenges staged annually in San Diego. The other two are the Winemaker Challenge (all judges are winemakers) and Sommelier Challenge (all judges are sommeliers). Chateau Ste. Michelle’s Dry Riesling from the previous vintage, 2008, captured the Best of Show white wine title at the Winemaker Challenge earlier this year.

Other important winners from this year’s Critics Challenge:

Girard Winery of the Napa Valley claimed the Best of Show red wine trophy with its 2007 Petite Sirah ($28). The team at Girard is led by owner Pat Roney and winemaker Marco DiGiulio, who is one of California’s most prolific winemaking consultants.

The Epernay, France-based Champagne house of Perrier-Jouet sent its 2002 Fleur de Champagne ($140) to the winner’s circle as Best of Show sparkling wine.

Uptick Vineyards of Sonoma’s Russian River Valley took Best of Show rose wine with its 2009 Hilda’s Rose ($19). And perennial winner V. Sattui (19 medals won this year) grabbed Best of Show dessert wine with the non-vintage “Angelica” ($30).

Special awards also were given for Best Pinot Noir (2006 Stoller Estate Vineyard Pinot Noir, Dundee Hills, Oregon, $40) Best Cabernet Sauvignon (2006 Sawyer Cabernet Sauvignon, Rutherford, Napa Valley, $48), Best Bordeaux Blend (2006 Dry Creek Vineyard “The Mariner”, Dry Creek Valley, $40) and Best Chardonnay (2008 Jordan Chardonnay, Russian River Valley, $29).

As Director of the Critics Challenge and co-Chief Judge along with Master of Wine Mary Ewing-Mulligan, I have a number of personal observations that I will share.

I was most impressed with the performance of the Australian winery d’Arenberg of McLaren Vale in South Australia. D’Arenberg entered six wines and medaled with all six, including four golds and a platinum. As the results came in over the weekend, I was pleased to see this paragon of Aussie Shiraz smack home run after home run.

Domaine Carneros is another winery, like Chateau Ste. Michelle, that produces sparkling wines and table wines under the same roof – and does both with admirable results. It racked up six medals, four of them gold, including the beautiful bubblies 2004 Le Reve Blanc de Blancs ($85) and 2006 Brut ($26).

Few wineries had a better weekend at the Critics Challenge than Eberle of Paso Robles. Eberle won nine medals, including two platinums and four golds. In an interesting twist, Eberle’s highly regarded 2007 Estate Cabernet ($34) won a gold medal that was surpassed by its less expensive 2008 Vineyard Selection Cabernet ($19) on the basis of value. The judges gave the Vineyard Selection the bump to platinum when they discovered it was an under-$20 gem.

Chile’s Emiliana Natura scored two gold medals with $11 wines, a 2008 Carmenere and a 2009 Chardonnay. Talk about value!

Dry Creek Vineyard not only took Best Red with its “The Mariner” Bordeaux-style blend, but also scored an impressive platinum award with its 2006 Dry Creek Valley Cabernet Sauvignon ($25). I was far from surprised because Dry Creek Vineyard has been among California’s most consistent quality benchmarks over the past 30 years.

Ditto Flora Springs of the Napa Valley. It entered four wines and took two platinums and two golds. The 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon ($36) and 2008 Barrel Fermented Chardonnay ($30) won platinum while the 2007 Trilogy ($65) and 2008 Soliloquy ($20) won gold. For an established Napa Valley winery with numerous accolades to its credit, Flora Springs has kept its prices remarkably modest.

Other Aussie wineries that fared well were Jacob’s Creek (10 medals won) and Penley Estate (four medals, all gold or better).

The Oregon winery Stoller, besides its Best Pinot award, also won gold with another Pinot and a Chardonnay. Makes you wonder what’s in the water in the Dundee Hills.

Judges at the 2010 Critics Challenge evaluated the wines in two-person panels. In addition to myself, Ewing-Mulligan (co-author Wine for Dummies) and Franz, the panels included: Jon Bonne, Editor San Francisco Chronicle wine section; Leslie Sbrocco, author Wine for Women; Paul Lukacs, Saveur and author of numerous wine books; Nick Passmore, wine columnist Business Week; Stephen Brook, Decanter and author of multiple wine books; Linda Murphy, Decanter; Michael Apstein, columnist Wine Review Online; Rebecca Murphy, Dallas Morning News; Elin McCoy, wine columnist Bloomberg News Service; Patrick Comiskey, Los Angeles Times contributor; Gerald Boyd, columnist Wine Review Online; Ed McCarthy, co-author Wine for Dummies; W. Blake Gray, columnist Wine Review Online; and Marguerite Thomas, The Wine News.

To find out more about Robert Whitley and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.