Wine range celebrates a 1969 "masterstroke"

You have to be impressed by the consistency shown by Adam Eggins and the winemaking team at Clare Valley-based Taylors Wines.

From budget releases to high-end flagships like The Visionary, The Legacy and The Pioneer, Taylors releases deliver bang for your buck.

You’ll probably be familiar with several of the ranges produced by the Taylor family - who are among Australia’s top 20 producers in terms of volume and now source fruit from across South Australia.

The ranges start with budget Promised Land wines and include Taylors Estate, Taylor Made, TWP and Jaraman, heading upwards to the St Andrews range - named after the Taylors’ 1892-established property in the Clare Valley.

In many markets the wines are labelled as Wakefield Estate, given the pesky international presence of a venerable port producer laying claim to the name Taylors.

The 2025 Family Flagship Release features wines from the Masterstroke range - showcase a less publicised trio of reds.

“The Family Flagship Release is always a proud moment for us here in the Taylors winemaking team, and this year is no exception," says Eggins.

"We are showcasing some of the most special vintages we’ve experienced here in the Clare Valley – think 2022 as an absolute standout."

The Masterstoke wines are the 2020 Masterstroke Shiraz, McLaren Vale, the 2021 Masterstroke Cabernet Sauvignon, Coonawarra, and the 2022 Masterstroke Cabernet Shiraz, Clare Valley (all $60 rrp) .

I thought the Coonawarra cabernet was an absolute ripper - composed and delicious- with the others not far behind.

The name Masterstroke celebrates the decision patriarch Bill Taylor Snr. made when he established the family winery in the Clare Valley in 1969. He recognised the potential for the region to produce outstanding table wines.

"This range offers the ultimate expressions of varietal character and champions the regional terroir of three diverse South Australian wine regions where each varietal shines," the Taylor family says.

Award-winning landscape photographer Benjamin Goode has captured each of the three wine regions and his images are featured on each of the wine bottles in the range.

For more info see www.taylorswines.com.au