Taylors Wines, Peter Lehmann, Tread Softly and Fourth Waves Wines have been awarded at this year’s London Wine Competition.
Held in London in March, the competition focuses on what consumers would want to buy from a retail outlet or restaurant.
Taylors Wines won Shiraz of the Year for its 2023 Jaraman vintage with Managing Director Mitchell Taylor telling The Shout that global recognition of Australian shiraz is great for the industry.
“These international award programs provide a chance for us to benchmark our wines with examples from across the globe and to come out on top like this is truly wonderful and humbling,” Taylor said.
“The judges have recognised our wine as an exceptional example of shiraz and awarded it a 96-point score which we are really proud of.
“The tasting notes provided from the judges highlighted the Jaraman Shiraz’s lively acidity, generous flavour and great structure.”
He said the Jaraman Shiraz is an innovative product for Taylors as it blends fruit from two of South Australia’s wine regions.
“Clare Valley Shiraz has a beautiful mid-palate of ripe berry flavours while McLaren Vale fruit adds lovely liquorice characters as a result of the maritime, cool climate influence,” he said.
Peter Lehmann took out Wine of the Year for Australia with its Masters Wigan Riesling, bottled in 2019.
Peter Lehmann winemaker, Brett Schutz, told The Shout awards and strong ratings validate the team’s passion and love for winemaking.
“We take great pride in the remarkable story behind our brand, which resonates with people on an emotional level,” Schutz said.
“Vintage 2019 shaped up to be a challenging one, with below-average yields and dry conditions prevailing throughout the growing season.
“Temperatures through December and January were 2-3C above average but fortunately the night time temperatures were 1.7C lower than average.”
He said it was great that the riesling stood out among global peers in one of the most demanding tasting rooms in the industry.
“I’m fortunate to work as part of a quality-focused winemaking team dedicated to our brand’s rich heritage, who strive to continue the successes experienced over the years by our forbearers,” Schutz said.
Tread Softly won Non-Alcoholic of the Year for its Everything Except Pinot Noir 2024 and Fourth Waves Wines’ Little Giant The Remarkables 105Yo was also crowned Best Wine of the Year by Package at the show.
Coles also won Best Own Label by Quality for its Beyond the Wilderness Riesling.