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Chasing excellence since 1966

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Right through summer at Wolf Blass Cellar Door, we’re offering two for the price of one on our unique 'Black from the Barrel' tasting experience. Try two yet-to-be-released components of the iconic Wolf Blass Black Label straight from the barrel, alongside the current vintage release. A rare tasting treat that pays tribute to the history of the world-famous Jimmy Watson trophy. A history that will be forever intertwined with that of Black Label.

Recognised on the world wine stage as a wine of distinction, heritage and pedigree, Black Label has an unparalleled reputation as a benchmark example of classic Australian wine. First made in 1973, our founder Wolfgang Blass’s aim was to create the finest red blend from the vintage and, 42 vintages later, the sentiment is as true today as it was then.

Black Label enjoys a prestigious history, a multi-award winning wine which is, to this day, the only wine to have won the coveted Royal Melbourne Wine Awards’ Jimmy Watson Memorial Trophy a record four times, for the 1973, 1974, 1975 and 1998 vintages.

The Jimmy Watson trophy is the most highly prized trophy awarded at Australian wine shows, a memorial to the late Jimmy Watson. A wine merchant with passion and enthusiasm for fine young red wines, Jimmy would travel Australia’s wine regions tasting and selecting young wines from barrel, bottling them for sale, and encouraging his clients to cellar them for future consumption.

At his funeral in 1962, Jimmy’s family and friends resolved to honour his contribution to Australian wine by creating the Jimmy Watson Memorial Trophy, awarding the trophy to the best young red wine of the show.

The Royal Melbourne Wine Awards presentation has now evolved into the Australian wine industry equivalent of the Academy Awards, with the Jimmy Watson trophy comparable to the Award for Best Picture. That’s how much Australian winemakers want to win this trophy.

So why is the Jimmy Watson so highly coveted? Perhaps it’s the fierce competition between hundreds of entries each year. Perhaps it’s our love of a great Aussie story. Or perhaps it can be credited to Wolf Blass himself, so proud of his success winning the back-to-back hat-trick of 1973, 1974 and 1975 Black Labels, that he shouted it to the world, helping create the legend that “the Jimmy” has become today.


Wolf Blass Cellar Door is open every day from 10:00 am to 4:30 pm. To book the two-for-one 'Black from the Barrel' tasting experience contact visitorcentre@wolfblass.com.au or +61 8 8568 7311.