Last month, the World Brandy Masters, hosted by The Spirits Business, officially ended with a taste master, three master awards and 16 gold awards.
The 10 most award-winning brandy wines are briefly introduced as follows:
—Divin Bardar 25 YO
40% ABV from divin Bardar Factory in Moldova. The wine not only won the Master award in the Other Region – Europe category, but also the brandy's only supreme award, the Taste Master. The wine is known as "three-level notes, leather, balsam, dried fruit – a lot of fruit".
Van Ryn's Single Pot Still Brandy Aged 10 Years
The 38% ABV, priced at 319.99R (US$23), came from the Van Ryn's distillery in South Africa and won the Master Award in the South African – Pot Still Aged 10-12 Years category. Known as "delicious brandy", it has the smell of "vanilla ice cream", "slightly dry taste", as well as its "floral, spicy intensity" and excellent balance. Van Ryn's dates back to 1845, but the distillery was built in 1905.
- Divin Aurvin 7
Priced at £10 ($14), Divin Bardar Factory from Moldova won the Master award in the Other Region –Europe category. Hailed as "well-made, complex and delicate", its taste of "caramel, tannins" and "good resin-like quality" impressed the judges, who called the 7-year brandy "great sipping brandy".
——Nanao XO (Seven Tails XO)
It is priced at $39.99. Received a gold medal in the Other French Brandies category. Known as "rich fruity" and "raisin" and "caramel" taste. The wine is a mixture of 7 types of brandy, including cognac, Avonc and other eaux-de-vie, and matured in Port barrels.
Klipdrift Export Brandy
40% ABV, priced at £27.99 ($40), from the South African Distell Group, won a gold medal in the South African – Vintage category. Aged in French oak barrels for 3 years, the wine is known as "quite complex", with a "delicious cookie sweetness" on the palate and a slight "nutty taste". The Klipdrift brand was founded in 1938.
—Richelieu Vintage Brandy 10 Years Old
The 38% ABV, priced at 299.99R (US$21), also from the Distell Group in the Western Cape, South Africa, won the Gold Medal in the South African – Vintage brandies category. It is known as having a strong smell of "raisins" and "dried fruits", and the taste has a "nutty taste and a hint of dryness".
——Signare
42% ABV, priced at 750,000 COP$ (US$200), from Colombia's Casa Pedro Domecq distillery, which won a gold medal in the Other Region – South America brandies category. It is known to have a "hint of mocha" on the palate, as well as some "cinnamon, chili peppers and spices". Signare began bottling in 2014 to celebrate the winery's 60th anniversary.
Château Vartely VSOP
The 40% ABV, 500 ml, priced at £8.50 ($10.40), comes from another well-known production plant in Moldova, Château Touali, and won a gold medal in the Other Region – Europe category. It has been hailed as "the perfect balance of sweetness, spices and woody dryness".
Tokara XO Pot Still Brandy
Priced at 950R ($69), it won the Gold Award in the South African – Pot Still Aged Over 13 Years group category. Hailed as having an "all-round cute aroma", the judges were particularly fascinated by its "caramel" and "cereal" scents. Based on Chenin Blanc from Tokara's Stellenbosch wine, the wine is secondarily distilled in a copper pot still and aged for 16 years in Limousin oak barrels in France.
- Ararat Ani 7
40% ABV, 500ml, priced at £21.90 ($27), The Yerevan Brandy Company from Armenia, which won the Gold Medal in the Other Region – Europe category, was hailed as having a sweet spice flavor and a taste of "sweetened nuts, cinnamon and a little woody spice".
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