Spier Wines walked away with the top trophy at the 2021 Veritas Awards for its 2018 Spier Creative Block 5, a Bordeaux-style blend – where a record number of Double Gold medals were also presented to spontaneous applause, reflecting the rejuvenated wine industry mood. Other stars of the event were KWV and Distell that clinched six Double Gold medals each, while Kleine Zalze and Spier were on their heels with four Double Gold each. KWV also took top honours in the brandy category, with the first perfect, 100-point score brandy ever entered, the KWV 15 Year Alambic Blend Potstill Brandy. The highlight in the wine category was the De Grendel Shiraz, in a 1.5L bottle, that achieved the first-ever 98 points for a wine.