Featured image for Taylors The Visionary Cabernet Sauvignon

Taylors The Visionary Cabernet Sauvignon

by Diane Lindquist on 03/04/2014 | 6 Minute Read

South Australia’s family owned Taylors Wines has matched the release of its finest cabernet sauvignon yet with its most ambitious label and packaging designed by Design The Collective.

Taylors 2009 The Visionary Cabernet Sauvignon is the inaugural release of this super-premium wine, which will only be released in exceptional vintages. 

Each bottle of The Visionary is individually hand labelled, hand numbered and hand packaged in a bespoke design luxury gift box and outer sleeve. The substantial outer sleeve of the gift box is resplendent in a metallised silver paper stock, featuring a large laser die-cut Taylors seahorse crest with a de-bossed foil block at the base. The inner gift box has been hand wrapped in black linen book cloth revelling in its sophisticated use of negative design space.

Named in honor of third generation Managing Director Mitchell Taylor’s grandfather, Bill Taylor Senior, The Visionary is the family’s pinnacle release. This initial release is a bold step forward in Taylors continued journey across generations, crafting refined and distinctive cabernet sauvignon wines. Mitchell said the story of The Visionary did not just stop with what was inside the bottle.

“The gift packaging really was pivotal. With respect to the wine, we knew that we had the makings of our finest cabernet sauvignon, so it was fitting we match the same benchmark for quality and luxury with what we reflected in the final presentation of this wine.”
— Mitchell Taylor
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The label stock for each individually torn label and the dust jacket on the accompanying vintage booklet are presented on stock specially sourced from an Italian mill founded in 1717. Both the front label and the dust jacket feature a large blind sculptured emboss of the Taylors seahorse crest.

“This is a wine that people will keep for many years to come and so we wanted to ensure that the design was at once timeless, classical and elegant yet ultimately very sophisticated.”
— Mitchell Taylor
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The hand sewn vintage booklet that accompanies each bottle of The Visionary details the history, vintage conditions, vinification and maturation of this exceptional wine. While The Visionary is a new release, the recipient has the opportunity to immerse themselves in the story of Taylors.The unique Taylors story is something that Sydney-based design consultants, The Collective, have understood since beginning work with the winery in 2008. Both share an innovative spirit, which has led to wide recognition and acclaim in the design industry. Their collaborations on the 2010 Taylors Winemaker’s Project Grenache Shiraz Mataro, Crooked Horse Semillon Sauvignon Blanc and Promised Land Moscato were awarded for their unique elements in the Australia’s Wine Industry Design Competition 2012 and 2013, respectively.

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The story of The Visionary does not stop here. The Taylor family also bottled a very limited number of six-litre imperials of the 2009 vintage of which just ten will be released for sale. Befitting the pinnacle nature of this release the family commissioned Adelaide-based master craftsman Andrew Bartlett to create a bespoke cabinet for each imperial. Each cabinet has been crafted out of a single piece of hand selected Tasmanian blackwood. The fixtures and fittings, including the individual Spanish crafted locking mechanism, have been finished in rhodium to ensure that they, like the cabinet and the wine housed within, will safely see in the second half of this century.

“My task was to create an experience that was both intriguing and subtle from start to finish. The design, construction and presentation of the cabinet enhances the recipients encounter with the wine without overpowering it.”
— Andrew Bartlett
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When the wine and cabinet are purchased (RRP AU$5,000) the buyer will be presented with an individual Tasmanian blackwood presentation box whose design echoes the full size cabinet. Inside the presentation box will be an individual rhodium plated key to unlock the cabinet, a letter of authenticity personally signed by Mitchell Taylor and a series of limited edition photographic prints featuring a selection of specially commissioned images of The Visionary and its cabinet shot by world-renowned photographer Keith Saunders.This rare occasion, where the packaging is as complex and layered as the wine itself, is one of the elements that make this a genuinely special wine to own.

“There is not another table wine packaged to this level of sophistication and luxury anywhere in the world.”
— Mitchell Taylor
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The inaugural 2009 vintage release (RRP AU$150) will be available domestically via luxury duty free stores and selected independent fine wine retailers.


Designed by Design The Collective 

Country: Australia

City: Sydney