The drinks business’ Malbec Masters 2016 has awarded four medals to Australian Wines.
Blaxland Vineyards scored a Silver and Bronze respectively for its 2015 Cuppa Cup Malbec and 2015 Old Mundulla Vineyard Malbec; while Taylors Wines’ 2015 Taylor Made Malbec was awarded Silver and Ferngrove 2014 King Malbec won Bronze.
It’s another feather in the cap for Ferngrove senior winemaker Marelize Russouw, following the label’s Off-Dry Riesling Limited Release 2016 winning Best Wine at the 17th Canberra International Riesling Challenge in October.
The win is also particularly exciting for Taylors, as the Taylor Made range was only released last year.
“This is the first time we’ve released a straight Malbec wine, and the winemaking team has worked hard to make sure it lives up to our standard for red wines,” Managing Director Mitchell Taylor said.
The Malbec Masters was dominated by Argentina, which scored the most Gold medals, but it faced growing competition from its neighbour, Chile.
Two Malbecs from Chile gaining Golds this year – one from Chilensis and another from Millamán.
Among the wines that impressed the judges most were those from Pascual Toso, Trapiche and Doña Paula, with the drinks business noting that South America has taken the French grape and made it it’s own.
French Malbecs only scored 1 Silver and a handful of Bronze, while Argentina took home 12 Golds and 2 Masters.
The drinks business Global Malbec Masters was judged by a group of Masters of Wine in London.
The site notes: “Our reports on the Masters series tend to focus on the Gold medallists and above (we reserve the term Master for the very top wines of the day’s tasting; that is, if there are samples good enough to deserve this honour).
“However, it is important, particularly with the results from this year’s Malbec Masters, to stress how good a wine must be to gain a Bronze or Silver medal. Chosen to judge the samples are Masters of Wine who hold a specialist knowledge of the grape or region being assessed, which means they understand the subject intimately, as well as, thanks to their qualification, its context in the diverse world of wine.”
One of this year’s judges, Jonathan Pedley MW, said: “The tasting confirmed my view that Malbec can make lovely quaffable consumer friendly wines.
“A good Malbec delivers plenty of deep purple colour; attractive blackberry, blueberry and plum fruit; and a palate that is full and rich without being too tannic or acid.”
