SAWOL Round 8: the South Australian Wine Options League, our monthly blind tasting at Bar Septimus.
South Australian Wine Options League
Thirteen competitors, six wines, an average of 22 out of sixty. Stu Bates won the night on 38, and not one person picked the vintage of the Shiraz.
Round 8 ran in four brackets: a sparkling, two whites, two reds and a fortified. Two Italians and a Loire Sauvignon to open, three South Australians to close.
The wines
Santa Margherita Prosecco NV
Sparkling, Valdobbiadene, Veneto, Italy
Glera, from the hills of Valdobbiadene. Six found the grape, while Penedès and the King Valley drew most of the region votes, Cava country and Victoria’s own Prosecco heartland. Alfred Yapp and Alex Hubczenko scored all ten.
Variety: 46%Region: 31%Vintage: 31%
Patient Cottat Pouilly-Fumé 2024
White, Loire Valley, France
Eleven of thirteen named Sauvignon Blanc, the best hit rate of the night. Almost all of them then went to Marlborough or the Adelaide Hills. Andrew Munro was the only competitor to cross the river from Sancerre to Pouilly. Our second Pouilly-Fumé of the season, after de Ladoucette in Round 5.
Variety: 85%Region: 8%Vintage: 38%
Bolla Retro Soave Classico 2025
White, Soave, Veneto, Italy
Garganega is a rare sight on an Adelaide list, and five found it. Six placed it in Soave, the pull elsewhere being Pinot Grigio and the Hunter. William Abbott took all ten.
Variety: 38%Region: 46%Vintage: 23%
Jacob’s Creek Reserve Shiraz 2016
Red, Limestone Coast
A bottle most of the room has seen on a shelf. Six named Shiraz and two placed it on the Limestone Coast. The vintage beat everyone: no one picked 2016, and most went for 2020.
Variety: 46%Region: 15%Vintage: 0%
Teusner Avatar 2018
Red, Barossa Valley
Grenache, Mataro and Shiraz from the Barossa. Six found the blend. Châteauneuf-du-Pape and Gigondas took most of the region votes, a compliment the Barossa will happily accept. Seven had the 2018.
Variety: 46%Region: 23%Vintage: 54%
Wendouree Muscat 2022 (375ml)
Fortified, Clare Valley
Wendouree has made wine in the Clare since the 1890s and sells nearly all of it through its mailing list, so its Muscat rarely sees a bar. Four named Muscat and three placed it in the Clare. Stu Bates and Jamie took eight each.
Variety: 31%Region: 23%Vintage: 15%
Round 8 results
| Competitor | Score | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stu Bates | 38 |
| 2 | William Abbott | 31 |
| 3 | Alfred Yapp | 30 |
| 4 | Jamie | 28 |
| 5 | Mengqi Zhou | 27 |
| 6 | Alex Hubczenko | 25 |
| 7 | Annika Phillips-Hughes | 22 |
| 8 | Roy | 21 |
| 9 | Alex Phillips-Hughes | 20 |
| 10 | Andrew Munro | 18 |
| 11 | Victoria | 16 |
| 12 | Roxanne Kloppers | 10 |
| 13 | Shaye | 3 |
Leaderboard after Round 8
| Competitor | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | R6 | R7 | R8 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alfred Yapp | 34 | 50 | 27 | 41 | 34 | 37 | – | 30 | 253 |
| 2 | Stu Bates | 25 | 29 | – | 17 | 30 | 33 | 31 | 38 | 203 |
| 3 | William Abbott | 27 | 34 | 35 | 42 | – | 19 | – | 31 | 188 |
| 4 | Petra | 43 | 17 | 35 | 19 | 22 | – | 35 | – | 171 |
| 5 | Abraham Halim | 39 | 19 | 28 | 21 | 24 | – | – | – | 131 |
| 6 | Mengqi Zhou | – | – | – | 20 | 18 | 20 | 30 | 27 | 115 |
| 7 | Alex Stone | 43 | 18 | 23 | 21 | – | – | – | – | 105 |
| 8 | Roy | – | – | – | – | 37 | 28 | – | 21 | 86 |
| 9 | Andrew Munro | – | – | – | – | 35 | – | 32 | 18 | 85 |
| 10 | Amy Leask | 20 | 30 | 15 | 15 | – | – | – | – | 80 |
| 11 | Dom Vu | 21 | – | – | 6 | 13 | 25 | – | – | 65 |
| 12 | Alex Hubczenko | – | – | – | – | – | 16 | 16 | 25 | 57 |
| 13 | Will Schmidt | 45 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 45 |
| 14 | Malcolm Short | – | 11 | – | – | – | 26 | – | – | 37 |
| 15 | Mahara Esplugues Silva | – | – | – | – | – | – | 31 | – | 31 |
| 16 | Kat | – | – | – | – | – | – | 30 | – | 30 |
| 17 | Jamie | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 28 | 28 |
| 18 | Dee Tran | – | – | – | 27 | – | – | – | – | 27 |
| 19 | Sam Watkins | – | – | – | – | 25 | – | – | – | 25 |
| 20 | Annika Phillips-Hughes | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 22 | 22 |
| 20 | Greg Wilkie | – | 22 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 22 |
| 20 | Nat | – | – | – | – | – | – | 22 | – | 22 |
| 20 | Sophie Liao | – | – | – | 22 | – | – | – | – | 22 |
| 24 | Alex Phillips-Hughes | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 20 | 20 |
| 25 | Dylan Smith | – | – | – | – | – | – | 19 | – | 19 |
| 26 | Jeremy Reep | – | – | – | – | – | 18 | – | – | 18 |
| 27 | Anita Wilkie | – | 17 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 17 |
| 27 | Avi Weiss | – | – | – | – | 17 | – | – | – | 17 |
| 29 | Victoria | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 16 | 16 |
| 30 | Cynthia Koch | – | – | – | – | – | 15 | – | – | 15 |
| 30 | Inyeong Jeong | – | – | – | – | – | 15 | – | – | 15 |
| 32 | Bernie | – | – | – | – | – | 14 | – | – | 14 |
| 32 | Jae Hyun Park | – | – | – | – | – | – | 14 | – | 14 |
| 32 | Michel Neale | – | 14 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 14 |
| 35 | Emily Schweiger | – | – | – | – | – | – | 13 | – | 13 |
| 35 | Sam Kurtz | – | – | – | – | – | 13 | – | – | 13 |
| 37 | Kris Saw | – | – | – | – | – | 11 | – | – | 11 |
| 38 | Roxanne Kloppers | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 10 | 10 |
| 39 | Karlie Reichelt | – | – | – | – | – | – | 4 | – | 4 |
| 40 | Shaye | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 3 | 3 |
| 41 | Kate Gelsthorpe | – | – | – | – | – | – | 2 | – | 2 |
Only a competitor’s best eight rounds count towards the championship.
The verdict
Stu Bates’ 38 was his best round of the season and lifts him to second on 203, fifteen points clear of William Abbott. Alfred Yapp added 30 and leads on 253.
The hardest glass on the night was the most familiar one. Eleven people found the Sauvignon Blanc and one found Pouilly; nobody found the year of the Jacob’s Creek.
Three rounds remain: Monday 5 October, Monday 2 November and the final on Monday 7 December, where the SAWOL Perpetual Trophy is presented. New competitors can join at any round. Book the next round.
The South Australian Wine Options League
SAWOL is our monthly blind tasting championship at Septimus. Six wines poured blind, points for guessing grape, region and vintage, and prizes on the night.
Catch up on the season
Come and taste it
SAWOL meets monthly at Bar Septimus, 220 Grenfell Street, Adelaide East End.
After SAWOL Round 8
The league runs on the first Monday of the month: six glasses poured blind, 24 seats, points for variety, region and vintage. See the upcoming rounds and the rules.