Julicher has the golden touch

GOLDEN TOUCH: Julicher co-owners Sue Darling and Wim Julicher are thrilled with their latest award, Gold at the Australian Boutique Wine Awards.

A commitment to perfection, a "traditionally Dutch" work ethic and perseverance through some hard frosts have seen Martinborough's Julicher Estate scoop yet another international award.

The boutique Te Muna Rd winery has won a Gold Medal Award in this year's Australian Boutique Winemakers competition for its 2012 Pinot Noir; the latest in a string of overseas accolades.

Held in Sydney last month, the Australia competition featured close to 900 wines from boutique producers -- with only three gold medals awarded for Pinot Noir across the 90 entries in the category.

Julicher's latest medal -- its first Australian gold title -- is "a real thrill" for co-owners and life partners Wim Julicher and Sue Darling -- as it comes almost exactly a year after their 2010 Pinot Noir was awarded Wine of the Year at the prestigious UK Sommelier Wine Awards.

The vineyard also won gold at the Decanter World Wine Awards and the London International Wine Challenge in 2013.

"We already know we can make world class wines," Ms Darling said.

"But when our pinot gets another award, it strengthens that self belief and reminds us we're doing something right.

"To be acknowledged once more is a lovely feeling."

Further sweetening victory for the couple, their wine was only half a point from winning the Best In Show trophy in the Pinot Noir category -- with that honour going to Waipara's Mount Brown Estates.

Also a boost was getting the seal of approval from Huan Hooke, Australia's leading wine critic.

"The judges were top class -- it's given us a real kick," Mr Julicher said.

He and Ms Darling joke they are "not modest" about their awards, which are proudly displayed throughout their lounge -- but each medal has been an achievement hard won.

Ms Darling joined the business after she and Mr Julicher met in 2002, but the couple's dream of running a vineyard turned into "a nightmare" as they battled some atrocious weather forecasts to produce their crop.

In fact, their recent award-winning Pinot came from what they describe as a terrible 2012 vintage.

"That was a hard year for winemakers, as there were really heavy frosts, and absolutely miserable weather around flowering time," Mr Julicher said.

"So the crop we produced was really small."

"Sometimes, when conditions got bad, I've gone to bed and cried," Ms Darling said.

"But, you have to aim for better quality than what the weather dishes up."

She and Mr Julicher attribute their success to the good quality of soil, painstaking maintenance of the vineyard, and their "exceptional" winemaker, Outi Jakovirta.

And setting high standards never hurts.

"Wim is Dutch, and the Dutch have an incredible work ethic -- everything is done to perfection," Ms Darling said.

"He treats every inch of the vineyard as special, as if it's got the potential to win us another gold."

"The phrase 'she'll be right' doesn't exist in our vocabulary," Mr Julicher said.