The St Agnes Distillery has been awarded a Gold Medal and the trophy for Champion Brandy at the Distilled Spirit Awards held in Perth as part of the Perth Royal Food Awards.
St Agnes XO Grand Reserve 40 Year Old then went on to win the overall Champion Spirit Trophy. These same two awards were won in 2019 by the St Agnes XO Imperial 20 Year Old.
Richard Angove from the St Agnes Distillery, said the company was excited to continue to raise and reposition Australian brandy not only in the Australian market, but the spirit market globally.
“We were so excited to achieve this prestigious award for the second year in a row, firmly placing St Agnes as a leader of Australian craft spirits,” he said.
“We are extremely lucky to have such amazing aged XO resources to put these blends together and all credit to our master distiller Ben Horley and his predecessor, the late John Norman, for their care and attention in crafting such age worthy and unique spirit.
“The St Agnes Distillery has a clear purpose, to do one thing brilliantly and show the world another face of Australian produce excellence by crafting iconic Australian spirit of world-class standard” Angove said.
St Agnes Distillery is located on the banks of the River Murray in Renmark, South Australia. Originally established in 1910, it was Carl Angove in 1925 who first decided to create a new style of Australian brandy, lighter and more delicate than anything previously produced. Every year since 1925, the distillery has been carefully handcrafting and ageing brandy in the historic Barrel Halls.
Distilled Spirits Awards Champion Trophy Winners
CHAMPION DISTILLERY – Old Young’s
CHAMPION SPIRIT – St Agnes XO Grand Reserve
CHAMPION VODKA Old Young’s Pure No 1 Vodka
CHAMPION GIN – Red Hen Gin
CHAMPION WHISKEY – Whipper Snapper Distillery – Cask Strength Upshot
CHAMPION BRANDY – St Agnes XO Grand Reserve
Cognac makes a COVID comeback
Cognac sales by US retailers were up 67.3% last month compared to the same time last year, according to Nielsen, making the spirit even hotter, growth-wise, than tequila (64.3%) and whiskey (27.6%) during COVID-19.
Data from the Fédération des Exportateurs de Vins & Spiritueux de France shows Cognac exports grew by 6.6% to 17.8m cases in 2019, and increased by 11.4% in value to US$3.6billion.
Hennessy is the world’s leading cognac brand by value, after crossing the threshold of eight million cases last year.
