The Geoff Merrill McLaren Vale Reserve Shiraz 2004 won Australia’s most prestigious wine prize, the Jimmy Watson Trophy, at the Royal Melbourne Wine Show Awards dinner last night.

Geoff Merrill’s current reserve shiraz – selling for $40 – is the 1999 vintage, so we are unlikely to see the 2004 bottling on the shelves until 2009/2010.

The Jimmy Watson Trophy is awarded to the best 2004 vintage red from show classes 19 to 23, that is, cabernet sauvignon, shiraz, pinot noir, merlot, and other blends.

Of the nearly 4,400 wines judged, a staggering 1020 wines were in the running for this one main prize, one wag at the awards dinner suggesting that the trophy is so important to winemakers and the prestige of the Royal Melbourne Wine Show that the event will eventually be renamed the Royal Jimmy Watson Wine Show.