The accolade, awarded Laborie Alambic Brandy at the 2010 International Wine & Spirits Competition (IWSC) just held in London, brings the number of times a local brandy has triumphed at this leading judging event to an astonishing nine times in the past 12 years. It's also the fourth consecutive year one of the country's brandies has ruled the roost. 'Shocked, but absolutely delighted,' is how KWV brandy master distiller Kobus Gelderblom described his reaction to the news. 'Shocked, because we were expecting our other traditionally top-performing brandies such as the KWV 15 Year Old or the KWV 20 Year Old, both of which have been gold medalists at leading competitions this year and previously voted 'Best Brandy in the World', to get the nod. But delighted because it's an estate brandy made in extremely limited quantities from grapes grown on Laborie, our Paarl wine estate.' Gelderblom was also particularly pleased with the result because it vindicates his passion for and belief in pinotage as a variety from which to distill fine brandy. This particular Laborie Alambic, a five-year-old pure potstill, is an unusual blend of mainly chardonnay with a touch of pinotage matured in old red wine oak barrels. 'The chardonnay gives structure, the pinotage adds wonderful peach and apricot aromas and flavours, and the whole was touched up with a bit of 10-year-old brandy to add complexity to the final blend,' explains KWV's experienced master blender. The IWSC is generally regarded as an international benchmark test of technical excellence and stylistic quality of the world's finest wines and spirits. It's the most venerable, dating back to 1968 and running in its current format since 1978. Tasting is blind and conducted by panels of experts with world-class knowledge of the particular category and style they're called upon to judge. Says Riaan Marais, chairman of the South African Brandy Foundation: 'KWV, already an icon among South African brandies - this is the sixth time KWV has won this award - is part and parcel of the shining future of our local brandies. And it's especially heartwarming to see this particular brandy, probably one of the KWV's less well-known products, be thus honoured.' South African brandies overall put in a remarkable performance at this year's IWSC. All of the 31 products entered achieved either a gold (12) or a silver (19) medal. Notes veteran international wine and spirits judge, former distiller and one of the expert tasters at the IWSC, South Africa's Dave Hughes: 'From among nearly 100 brandy entries, only 13 won gold medals. The only other country to win gold, with just one brandy deemed worthy of gold, was Spain.' Among the 12 South African gold medallists, six were voted best in their class and of the 19 silver medallists, three were tops in their category. Besides the Laborie Alambic, the other South African brandies to win gold (and be voted best in their class) were Flight of the Fish Eagle, Oude Meester Souverein 18 Year Old, Oude Meester VSOB, Van Ryn's 12 Year Old Distillers Reserve, Van Ryn's 15 Year Old Fine Cask Reserve, Oude Molen Solera Grand Reserve and Uitkyk Grand Reserve 10 Year Old Estate Brandy. The other gold medallists included the KWV 15 Year Old, KWV Imoya VSOP, Oude Meester Reserve 12 Year Old and Klipdrift Export. South Africa's haul of 19 silvers was from a total of 50 awarded. Other silvers went to brandies from Australia, Bulgaria, Spain, France (not including Cognac which is judged in its own regional category), Mexico, USA, Canada and Greece. Other countries entering included Italy, Israel, Moldovia and Portugal. The Laborie Alambic's accolade, and the exceptional showing in general of South Africa's brandies at the 2010 IWSC, crowns a year of spectacular show results for South Africa's most popular spirit (about 45-million litres of brandy is made here each vintage, comprising nearly half of the total local spirits market). Of extraordinary significance at this year's specialist International Spirits Challenge (ISC) in the UK, for example, was that only South African products - four of our brandies - managed to earn gold medals in their respective categories. South Africa also received by far the most silver medals: five of only six awarded. At Europe's prestigious annual Concours Mondial de Bruxelles, also held recently, two South African brandies won gold: the KWV 15 Year Old and the Joseph Barry Cape Pot Still Brandy 10 Year (both are former IWSC 'Best Brandy in the World' winners, in 2007 and 2009 respectively). Six local brandies won silver medals. Although recent growth in the brandy market shows a welcome trend in the taste for premium brandies among consumers, what the local industry is particularly proud of is that South African brandies across the style spectrum (including every-day blended, premium pot-stilled and venerable vintage matured brandies) are being acknowledged internationally for their superior quality. Adds Marais: 'And it's not only the big distilleries with their well-known brands that are producing these winners; it's the smaller distilleries and wine cellars as well, which shows the modern-day spread of quality and depth of passion for and skill in brandy-making in this country with its 350 years of tradition.' Marais also points out that South African brandies will be competing nationally at the Veritas Awards for the first time in the competition's 20 - year history. This new class at Veritas provides the South African brandy industry with a major local platform to show its mettle and advocate the consistent world-class quality of South African brandy to local consumers. Laborie Alambic brandy is produced in limited quantities and is available from the Laborie Cellar tasting room and KWV Wines' Wine Emporium in Paarl at R126 for a 500ml bottle. Visit The South African Brandy Foundation for detailed awards lists.