Taylors Wines has claimed the Sylvain Trophy for Oaked Wine at the prestigious Concours Mondial de Bruxelles in Belgium for its Masterstroke Cabernet Shiraz 2016.

The competition, described as the ‘United Nations of Fine Wines’, brought together 300 expert judges from across Europe to judge more than 10,000 wines from 46 different wine-producing nations.

Taylors was the only Australian winery to claim the highest honour of a Grand Gold medal at the show, with only 100 of the medals awarded. 

In what’s been a challenging year for the wine industry, compounded by bushfires, drought, COVID-19 and an ongoing international trade dispute, winemaker Mitchell Taylor (above) believes international awards such as these show Australia is still ranked among the world’s best premium wine-producing countries. 

“The wine industry has been hit on all sides by many difficult obstacles, but one constant remains – that despite the odds Australian winemakers continue to impress judges around the globe with premium quality wines,” Taylor said. 

“Our Masterstroke Cabernet Shiraz not only showcases the incredible work from our team to capture the powerful elegance of these two varieties, but also the soils and climate of our home in the Clare Valley in the finished wine. It’s a terrific wine and we are honoured the judges of this esteemed competition agree.” 

The award win comes as Australian winemakers rebound from two consecutively challenging vintages, with vintage 2021 marked by near-perfect growing and ripening conditions, resulting in wines of exceptional quality and good crop size. This combination of events accelerates a continued effort from the family winery to explore new, and grow existing, international markets to promote and sell their premium wines to overseas customers. 

“We’re very optimistic about our ongoing growth in overseas markets like the UK, Canada and the US and know awards like the Concours Mondial de Bruxelles give us an opportunity to demonstrate to our customers the world-class quality of Australian wine,” Taylor added. 

The Sylvain Trophy for Oaked Wine was a new award introduced last year by the international awards show, recognising a wine that demonstrates world-class integration of oak in winemaking. The winner of the award in 2020 was the 2008 Don Jacobo Gran Reserva by Bodegas Corral in Rioja. 

Taylors Masterstroke Clare Valley Cabernet Shiraz 2016 (RRP $60) is a new release wine from Taylors, unveiled in June this year. It is a classic blend of cabernet sauvignon and shiraz fruit from the family’s Clare Valley estate and is a full-bodied wine showcasing flavours of rich dark plum, blackcurrant, dark chocolate, and mint. 

Drinks Digest attended a tasting of the new collection in May. Click here to read more

For full results of the competition, visit https://resultats.concoursmondial.com/en/results/2021 

‘Unicorn vintage’ for Australian wine in 2021