Tamburlaine’s Marlowe wins gold at the Adelaide Wine Show

We are thrilled to share that our Marlowe - Act One 2018 has been awarded a gold medal at the Royal Adelaide Wine Show in early October. The four-day event presented tough competition, with 396 exhibitors entering 2,834 wines, the highest number of entries since 2012.

Our Shiraz Cabernet blend secured a 95-point score from the judging panel, narrowly missing out on the title of Best Traditional Australian Red Blend and the Dr Ray Beckwith OAM Memorial Trophy by one point.

For Chief Winemaker, Mark Davidson though, it is not a one-point defeat but 95 points reinforcing his vision for cool climate organic Orange wines.

“It’s exciting that vineyards in a relatively young region like Orange that were grazing sheep just two decades ago are now capable of producing wines of this stature,” said Mark.

Marlowe was one of the two wines neck and neck for the Dr Ray Beckwith Trophy this year, with St Hugo 2018 Cabernet Shiraz ultimately claiming the title.

“Unfortunately for us, no one ever remembers who came second,” Mark quipped.

“For us, Marlowe is the start of a winery tradition to put together a flagship blended red from our top fruit when the vintage allows.” 

Christopher Marlowe was the English playwright who wrote Tamburlaine the Great, after which the winery was named back in 1966.

“Marlowe has won more than gold in Adelaide. This win recognises that Orange wine grown in contemporary organic fashion can compete with the best Australia has to offer”, Mark said.

A blend of Shiraz and Cabernet from Tamburlaine’s two Orange vineyards, Marlowe is a true ‘winemakers’ selection’, with the best single 500L barrel of each vineyard and variety making the blend. An exclusive French oak blend of one and two-year-old barrels coupled with 12 months of barrel aging results in dark berry, briar fruits and slight baking spice on the nose with ripe plums and dark forest fruit on the palate. Subtle tannins and freshness give length and drive.

The gold medal in Adelaide follows a series of wins for Marlowe, including gold at the 2019 NSW Wine Awards, gold at the 2020 London Wine Competition and best Shiraz/Cabernet Blend at the 2019 Royal Melbourne Wine Awards.

Marlowe will be released exclusively to Tamburlaine Reserve Members on allocation after March 2021.