Tasted: Taylors 2024 Family Flagship collection

Yesterday evening, Drinks Trade staff had the chance to sample eight of Taylors’ 2024 Family Flagship Release collection ahead of its public launch on Sunday 21 July. Making its debut to the collection, which includes 11 wines and six vintages, is the Taylors St Andrews Riesling 2020 museum release.

“The spread of vintages and the selection of varieties showcased in this release is a capsule collection of what Taylors has been known and celebrated for more than 50 years,” said Adam Eggins, Chief Winemaker.

“Each vintage in our 2024 Family Flagship Release tells its own unique story and continues to push the boundaries for what our winery can achieve in crafting fine wine.”

The first four wines tasted on the night fall into Taylors’ St Andrews range, priced at $45 for the whites and $75 for the reds.

The first wine tasted, the 2024 St Andrews Clare Valley Riesling, incorporates a small percentage of Gewurztraminer to bolster its aromatic notes. The Drinks Trade team described it as “really aromatic and floral - fresh lime zest, roses, candied orange and ginger. Classic acid line.”

The second wine in the tasting was the St Andrews Clare Valley Chardonnay 2022, which showed layers of “smokey toasted nuts, peach and apple, with hints of oak and citrus. Med bodied. Decent length. Just enough acidity to keep the freshness.”

Next, the 2021 vintage of St Andrews Clare Valley Shiraz, one of Taylors’ most awarded wines, displayed “perfumed blue and black berries, cherry, ripe, fresh and poignant and with an electric energy. Reasonable acidity and slight oak and pepper-spice backbone. Chalky tannins.”

The final expression of St Andrews tasted on the evening, the Clare Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2020, showed “cassis with a cedar wood element on the nose. Savoury but with a softness. Tannins that build and set in.” 

The next wine in the tasting was the Masterstroke Cabernet Shiraz 2018. Established as a way of shining a light on the diversity of different South Australian wine regions, Taylors’ Masterstroke series also includes a McLaren Vale Shiraz and Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon. The wine tasted by Drinks Trade, the Masterstroke Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon 2021, boasted “pretty and elegant cassis, black and blue berry fruit, with a savoury side.”

The final three wines tasted by Drinks Trade form part of Taylors’ Pinnacle collection. 

The Pioneer Clare Valley Shiraz 2018 retails for $220, and is shaped by its vibrant ripe fruit profile: “Ripe, fragrant, and aromatic fruit profile - black cherry, blueberry, plum - supported by a strong but balanced oak backbone, cocoa, and subtle floral earthiness.”

Also retailing for $220, The Visionary Clare Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2018 has a “deep and meandering aroma - spicy savoury fruit- tomato leaf , cassis, plum, real mix of liqueur dried and ripe. Real brooding, and with an earthiness underpinning the fruit.”

Drinks Trade also had the chance to trial Taylors’ The Legacy, the most premium commercially available expression of Taylors Wines. Priced at $1000, the latest 2017 vintage release is defined by its “great purity, length and energy. Spice and a touch of green leaf herbaceousness dusted over perfumed ripe plum, blueberry and blackberry. Deep and inky with chalky tannins. A wine built for the long haul.” 

The Taylors Family Flagship 2024 collection will be made available from the winery’s founding day on Sunday 21 July, coinciding with the business’ 55th anniversary. 

“As a family business, it’s important we protect my grandfather and father’s visions but also set new standards for the next generation to strive towards,” said third-generation Winemaker and Managing Director Mitchell Taylor.

“The Family Flagship release not only demonstrates our ability to craft wines of the highest quality but also symbolises our commitment to setting new benchmarks for our winery for generations to come. 

“These wines are the embodiment of that philosophy.”