Taylors Wines was the star of the show at the 21st Great Australian Shiraz Challenge, taking home the top prize for Best Australian Shiraz as well as Best Australian Shiraz under $25.
The Great Australian Shiraz Challenge is one of Australia’s most prestigious single class wine competitions, attracting 376 entries from more than 60 regions, with entry criteria requiring that all wines entered must be commercially available, labelled and on sale in at least one retail, cellar door or mail order outlet.
The 2014 Taylors Estate Shiraz, produced from Clare Valley fruit, was the stand-out among strong competition, earning a 19.5 from the judging panel, making it one of the highest scoring wines in the competition’s history.
It is also the second time in the Challenge’s 21-year history that a single wine has received both trophies on offer at the competition.
Third-generation Managing Director Mitchell Taylor said the family-owned winery is honoured to receive such a prestigious accolade.
“We are thrilled with the result,” he said. “These award wins are a credit to the hard work and dedication of our vineyard and winemaking teams who craft top-quality wines across our entire portfolio.
“We are humbled to be recognised as Best Australian Shiraz and Best Australian Shiraz under $25 as it reaffirms our commitment to producing beautiful wines of great value.”
The 2013 Blue Pyrenees Reserve Shiraz, the 2014 Moppity Vineyards Estate Shiraz, the 2014 The Delinquent Shiraz, and the 2013 Scotchmans Hill Shiraz also performed well, scoring a 19 from the panel, which included Chairmand Gary Baldwin, Simon Osicka, Jeni Port, Victor Nash, Jen Pfeiffer and Darren Rathbone.