The winning wines were announced last week in Cape Town, by a group of local and international wine experts who made their selection from a field of 148 entries. “This is a very satisfying result and demonstrates why the Jean Taillefert is our flagship wine,” says Laborie winemaker Kobus van der Merwe. “It has come a long way since its launch and the proud result we have today is testimony to the hard work of our growers and entire winemaking team. Furthermore, the Shiraz SA Wine Challenge is a competition dedicated to promote South African Shiraz and acknowledges that the Jean Taillefert is at the forefront of Shiraz quality and stylistic evolution. “This award recognizes our focus on making wines of a Most recently the Jean Taillefert repeated past performances by winning a Gold medal at the renowned Concours Mondial de Bruxelles. It has been responsible for winning the Paarl Shiraz Challenge twice and ranked among WINE magazine’s Top 10. The Jean Taillefert 2011 in particular has received an impressive list of accolades, among them top honours at Veritas, the Mundus Vini Wine Awards, the International Wine & Spirits Competition in London and the Lexus Shiraz Challenge. The grapes used for the making of the Jean Taillefert 2011 came from regions across the Western Cape known for producing excellent quality Shiraz. Meticulous handling and maturation led to a wine that is delicately structured, with balance and finesse. Commenting on the Shiraz SA Wine Challenge, chairperson Christine Rudman said the large scale of participation in this new competition boded well for its future. “It is clearly seen as something serious and meaningful,” she said. For more information, visit www.laboriewines.co.za.