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Ballandean Estate’s winemaker Boxi Zhen has continued his winning streak at the Royal Agricultural Society of Queensland 2024 Australian Mediterranean Varieties Wine Show, held in Toowoomba. Queensland’s oldest family-owned and run winery was awarded Best in Queensland White for its 2023 Wild Ferment Viognier, and Best in Queensland Red for its 2023 Nebbiolo.

A word from our winemaker Boxi Zhen

“These wines reflect the efforts we are undertaking in the  vineyard and cellar. To me, the medals are good signs that we are on the right path.  I feel honoured and  excited that our wines are being recognised by the show judges. It says a lot about how great our Granite Belt wines can be, and just how much potential we can explore from the terroir here.”

Young Asian man holding two bottles of wine in front of a vineyard in crouching position

Judges praise texture and finish for a gold medal score of 95 points

Estate manager Robyn-Puglisi Henderson says,

“Judges praised the Wild Ferment Viognier for its beautiful texture and finish, awarding it 95 points out of 100, a gold medal score.  It’s a real testament to the fresh perspective and minimal intervention approach Boxi is bringing to the Granite Belt. Boxi was recently awarded the Emerging Queensland Winemaker of the Year, it’s so exciting to see him further develop his reputation for winemaking excellence and judging capability.  

“Ballandean Estate’s Nebbiolo has an excellent pedigree as our first Italian Strange Bird™ planting and has received ongoing critical acclaim, awarded 92 points at this show. In 2022 it took out the trophy for Best Italian Red Varietal at the Queensland International Emerging Wine Variety Challenge.  We call it the Italian version of Pinot Noir at the cellar door. Lighter in body, big tannins, cherry, tar and roses on the nose, ruby and orange hues synonymous with aged Nebbiolo — it’s a real food wine.

“Three of our wines have just  been announced as 95-point wines by James Halliday: 2023 Nebbiolo, 2023 Small Batch Reserve Chardonnay, and Angelo’s Vintage Tawny 1987, another ringing endorsement for Boxi’s second vintage as a Granite Belt winemaker.  These 95-point wines qualify us to be a five-star-rated winery in the next release of the Halliday Wine Companion.”

Experimental approach in both the vineyard and cellar

According to Boxi,

“Nebbiolo is a hard variety to grow and make. It’s always the first variety to bud burst in the vineyard and last variety to pick at the end of the vintage. Extremely high acid, heavy tannins and light colour while the maturity level, in most of the years, are not enough to climb up to it should be. We are actually undergoing  heaps of trials in the vineyard and cellar year by year, trying to boost the quality and quantity of the Nebbiolo, finding the best way to best express its varietal characters while building up its perfect texture during the maturation.

“The 2023 Viognier was  part our minimal handling scheme in the vintage of 2023. The harvest was of meticulous design, harvested in batches. Winemaking saw 20% percentage of pre-ferment skin contact, wild ferment, lees stirring during the aging period and  barrel maturation. The trophy and gold medal awarded to this wine expressed the winemaking efforts that we committed to the wine. ”

Boxi Zhen moved to Adelaide from China at the age of 24 to complete his prestigious Master of Viticulture & Oenology at the University of Adelaide.  He also has a degree in Food Science, which places him in excellent stead to continue the R&D science-based approach employed by Ballandean Estate’s previous winemaker of 22 vintages, Dylan Rhymer.

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