MEDIA RELEASE September 4, 2023

Bimbadgen wins the Len Evans Trophy for Best Single Vineyard White Wine at 2023 PKF Hunter Valley Wine Show

Hunter Valley winery, Bimbadgen, is celebrating the start of spring by winning the Len Evans Trophy for Best Single Vineyard White Wine for their 2014 Signature Palmers Lane Semillon at the 2023 PKF Hunter Valley Wine Show, last Friday.

Judging at the 51st Hunter Valley Wine Show, sponsored by PKF, concluded on Wednesday 30 August and saw 12 exhibitors awarded trophies, reflecting the extent of quality wines on show.

Picked from the original Bimbadgen vineyard located on Palmers Lane, the vines were planted in 1968 and feature old fig trees framing a spectacular view of the Brokenback mountain range, which remains one of the Hunter Valley’s best kept secrets.

Mulpha’s General Manager of Hospitality, Belinda Stapleton said:
“It is an honour to receive this award and recognition among other great Hunter Valley wineries. I am so proud of our winemaking team and their commitment to quality. This Trophy win is testament to the care taken as custodians of these prized vineyards.”

This win follows a 96 Point Gold rating in the 2024 Halliday Wine Companion awards. With James Halliday describing the wine as “An exceptionally youthful wine, with acidity and unsweetened lemon fused so tightly together it may live for decades to come.”

This success come at a very exciting time for the Bimbadgen winemaking team who have also released their very first Spirits – a Vodka and a Gin, under the newly-launched Night Merchant label.
The new distillery is in essence Bimbadgen after hours, allowing the winemakers to drop tools in the winery and transfer their talents to a distillery ensuring they can experiment and create their own interpretation of modern spirits all under one roof.

Winemaker Richard Done believes the Night Merchant project is the beginning of something exciting for locally produced artisanal spirits as well as developing new products that can be sold in cellar door.
“We are thrilled to launch of Night Merchant’, says Done. ‘The opportunity for us to be able to experiment with an amazing still on site means we can start mixing up what we do in the winery, Gins in Shiraz barrels or even making our own brandy and Rhums – the potential is endless to create all sorts of spirits that could help leverage the Night Merchant moniker.”

Bimbadgen’s Palmers Lane property will also soon be home to The Lane Retreat. Opening in late October, The Lane Retreat will be the Hunter Valley’s newest accommodation destination, comprising 60 premium studio retreats, each designed for guests to experience the natural beauty their surroundings.

A limited release of 2014 Signature Palmers Lane Semillon is available online and at the Bimbadgen Cellar Door. RRP $65 per bottle. View Online.

Discover Night Merchant Distillery Here.

For all images and any media enquiries or to organise an interview with Belinda Stapleton (General Manager of Hospitality, Mulpha Australia), please contact Sarah Peattie on 0412 239 633.
ENDS