Victorian ultrafine wool growers Rob and Pamela Sandlant, centre, receive their 6th Record Bale award from Loro Piana vice-president Pier Luigi Loro Piana, at left.

AUSTRALIAN ultrafine Merino wool producer Pyrenees Park has won Italian processor Loro Piana’s Record Bale award for the sixth consecutive year with a 10.6 micron entry.

A 140 kilogram bale of Merino wool from wool producers Robert and Pamela Sandlant at Lexton in Victoria won the award in the face of competition from other Australian and New Zealand entrants.

The top New Zealand entry was an 11.6 micron bale from Barrie and Yvonne Payne’s Visuela Farm.

The Pyrenees Park wool had a yield of 73pc, staple length of 77mm and tensile strength of 35 Newtons/kilotex.

The Sandlants also hold the record for the world’s finest bale in the competition with their 10.3 micron in 2014.

Mr Sandlant said the operation worked hard to do everything right to ensure it continued to grow the world’s finest wool.

“We appreciate the acknowledgment and accolades that Loro Piana give to us.

“Their products are exceptional, unique and are exquisite,” he said.

“Their customers love the luxury garments and we feel proud that we make that possible.”

Loro Piana the annual event, in its 23^rd year, celebrates its more than decade-long relationship with the best Merino wool sheep farmers in Australia and New Zealand.

The Italian specialty fibre textile company said it Record Bale fabrics were timeless and precious, and represent the excellence in the production of fine wools: “embellished with exclusive designs, the fabrics are identified by a special label certifying traceability, from the year the shearing process took place, to the origin and fineness of the fibre.”

“The approximately 150 meters of Record Bale produce no more than 40 made-to-measure suits – crafted at the Loro Piana boutiques and in selected tailoring houses around the world,” the company said.

The award ceremony took place on 24 November at the Poldi Pezzoli Museum, in Milan, in collaboration with Cabana, a design magazine founded by Martina Mondadori.

The award ceremony was attended by Loro Piana chief executive officer Damien Bertrand and vice-president Pier Luigi Loro Piana, the pioneer of the initiative and a long-time huge supporter of the continuous research of excellence while not compromising quality.