Medals to Myanmar
Myanmar winery Red Mountain Estate has won two medals at the recently concluded 2024 International Wine & Spirit Challenge, one of the world’s most important and respected wine competitions, held annually in London.
The winery in the Shan Hills above Inle Lake, Shan State, Myanmar collected a silver medal for its 2011 vintage Inle Nectar, an aged, sweet wine made from 100 per cent Sauvignon Blanc, and a bronze medal for its 2020 vintage Moscato.
Following two weeks of judging, the IWSC was delighted to reveal the 2024 results in May.
This year, they received thousands of entries from across the world and had a team of over 120 international judges, including over 20 Masters of Wine and nearly a dozen Master Sommeliers.
Their expert judging panels comprised 57% Off-Trade Buyers from UK’s leading retailers, 26% On-Trade Buyers from well-established bars and restaurants, 6% Wine Journalists and Educators.
The judging panels were overseen by IWSC Wine Judging Committee members: Alex Hunt MW, Alistair Cooper MW, Dirceu Vianna Junior MW, Essi Avellan MW, John Hoskins MW, Mick O’Connell MW, and Sarah Abbott MW.
Judges noted their highlights for IWSC 2024 stating that:
“Sweet and Fortified wines stole the show.”
Their comments on Asian wine entries were as follows:
Wines from across Asia put in an impressive performance at the IWSC 2024 wine judging, with several gold-winning wines from Japan and China.
“The surprise of the day was the stunningly complex 2011 Sauvignon Blanc from Myanmar – very well done to them,” praised the judges, greatly enjoying the balanced palate and depth of flavours.”
Asian sweet wines were another high performer, with one Chinese ice wine winning a gold medal for its complex aromas and shocking the judges with its long finish.
The judges were pleased with the entries from Asia and were optimistic about the future of wines from the area.
“Overall, we felt the quality was very good and encouraging,” shared the judges.
Red Mountain Estate has two vineyard sites in the Shan Hills, the original 2003 plantings at Tuan Chay vineyard, overlooking Inle Lake at an elevation of 1,000 meters. This is a protected biosphere, an agricultural area famous for its produce.
Cool air gently rises off the lake and up the slopes of the vineyards during the day, whilst warmer air crests the ranges and gently roll down the hills at night as it cools.
From the Deck of the restaurant here, evening crowds gather to watch the majestic sunsets across the lake, glass of wine in hand.
The second vineyard in Myay Phyu, ten kilometres from the winery, was planted in 2005, with a slightly higher elevation, the site is considered ideal for the production of premium quality wine grapes.
The vineyards are planted mostly to Sauvignon Blanc, Muscat, Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Tempranillo and Carignan, with small plots of Chardonnay and Malbec.
The well-equipped winery is operated by a passionate, dedicated and talented group of local people, Shan, Pa-O and Intha, overseen by consulting fellow winemaker Darren Gall.
