Here are the wines that have won the prestigious Best in Show medals at the Decanter World Wine Awards 2018.
Full results for DWWA 2018 will be published on 29 May.
Just 0.3% of wines tasted at the Decanter World Wine Awards 2018 won one of the prestigious Best in Show medals.
A total of 16,903 wines were tasted this year, with 50 wines awarded the Best in Show accolade, having previously made it through to the Platinum level.
Coming soon: Full DWWA 2018 results will be available, with tasting notes, from 29 May
Preview: See the names of Best in Show medal winners below
France scooped up the most Best in Show awards this year with 12 medals, ahead of Spain with nine accolades. Italy and Australia scooped six each, with other Best in Show medals heading to several other countries around the world, from New Zealand, South Africa and the US to Canada and Greece.
Among some of the more surprise winners in the top echelon of DWWA 2018 was an Assyrtiko from Artemis Karamolegos winery on the Greek island of Santorini. Judges credited it as ‘an outstanding summary of this unique terroir’.
Further west, a Cabernet Franc from Thirty Bench Wines added more evidence that wine lovers should be taking note of what is happening in Canada.
Karen MacNeil, Regional Chair for the USA and Central America, said: ‘Wines at the DWWA are given an enormous amount of consideration and thoughtfulness. Among all wine competitions in the world, this is the competition producers would want to be part of.’
About the judging
All wines were judged blind in that judges do not know the name of the wine or producer. But, they know the region, style and price bracket of the wine.
Best in Show winners are all wines that already received Platinum medals and have been re-tasted several times to make it to the top-tier, including by our co-chairs, Sarah Jane Evans MW, Andrew Jefford and Michael Hill Smith MW.
In total, the DWWA 2018 judging team this year comprised 275 international experts, including 59 Masters of Wine and 25 Master Sommeliers from 33 countries.
Read more about DWWA judging here.
The Best in Show winners, ordered by country:
Argentina:
- Bodegas Fabre, Viñalba Gran Reservado Malbec, Uco Valley, Mendoza, Argentina 2015. Stockist: Majestic Wine Warehouses, £16.99 – www.majestic.co.uk
Australia:
- Tapanappa, Tiers Vineyard Chardonnay, Piccadilly Valley (Adelaide Hills), South Australia, Australia 2016. Stockist: Edencroft Fine Wines, £52 – www.edencroft.co.uk
- Brown Hill Estate, Perseverance Cabernet-Merlot, Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia 2014
- McGuigan, Vineyard Select Sémillon, Hunter Valley, New South Wales, Australia 2005
- Mr. Riggs, Shiraz, McLaren Vale, South Australia, Australia 2015
- Calabria Family, Saint Petri Grenache-Shiraz-Mataro, Barossa Valley, South Australia, Australia 2016
- Annie’s Lane, Copper Trail Shiraz, Clare Valley, South Australia, Australia 2016
Austria:
- Gritsch Mauritiushof, Kalkofen Riesling Smaragd, Wachau, Niederösterreich, Austria 2016. Stockist: Savage Selection, £33 – www.savageselection.co.uk
- Wieninger, Ulm-Nussberg, Wiener Gemischter Satz, Wien, Austria 2016. Stockist: Liberty Wines, £29.99 – www.libertywine.co.uk
Canada:
- Thirty Bench, Small Lot Cabernet Franc, Beamsville Bench, Ontario – Niagara Peninsula, Canada 2015
France:
- Château Beauregard, Pomerol, Bordeaux, France 2015. Stockist: Roberson – www.robersonwinemerchant.co.uk
- Piper-Heidsieck, Rare Brut, Champagne, Champagne, France 2002. Stockist: Harrods, £159.99 – www.harrods.com
- Domaine La Suffrene, Bandol, Provence, France 2017. Stockist:Les Caves de Pyrène, £19.49 – www.lescaves.co.uk
- Domaine de La Vougeraie, Charlemagne Grand Cru, Corton-Charlemagne, Burgundy, France 2015
- Domaine de La Vougeraie, Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru, Burgundy, France 2016
- Domaine de La Vougeraie, Les Mazoyères, Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru, Burgundy, France 2016
- Château Auzias, Gloria Mundi, Cabardès, Languedoc-Roussillon, France 2015. Stockist: Le Bon Vin, £25 – www.lebonvin.co.uk
- Fournier Longchamps, Le Parc, Savennières, Loire, France 2015. Stockist: Uncorked, £28 – www.uncorked.co.uk
- LePlan-Vermeersch, RS, Côtes du Rhône Villages Suze-la-Rousse, Rhône, France 2017. Stockist: Carringtons, £12.75
- Cave de Cairanne, Camille Cayran La Réserve, Cairanne, Rhône, France 2017
- Dopff au Moulin, Gewurztraminer, Grand Cru Brand, Alsace, France 2015. Stockist: Hallgarten Druitt Wines, £30.99 – www.hdnwines.co.uk
- Laurent Habrard, Cuvée Valérie, Crozes-Hermitage, Rhône, France 2016. Stockist: La Cave de Bruno, £25.5 – www.lacavedebruno.com
Germany:
- Prinz von Hessen, Johannisberger Klaus Riesling, Grosses Gewächs, Rheingau, Germany 2016
Greece:
- Artemis Karamolegos, Assyrtiko, Santorini, Aegean Islands, Greece 2016. Stockist: Noel Young, £23 – www.nywines.co.uk
Italy:
- Cantina Valle Isarco, Aristos Pinot Grigio, Alto Adige Valle Isarco, Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, Italy 2016. Stockist: Carson & Carnevale Wines, £22 – www.carsoncarnevalewines.com
- Mamete Prevostini, La Cruus, Valtellina Superiore Inferno, Lombardy, Italy 2015
- Cadis, Amarone della Valpolicella, Veneto, Italy 2015. Stockist: Continental Wines, £29.9 – www.continental-wine.co.uk
- Roberto Sarotto, Barbaresco Riserva, Piedmont, Italy 2013
- Donnafugata, Ben Ryé, Passito di Pantelleria, Sicily, Italy 2015. Stockist: Liberty Wines, £74.99 – www.libertywine.co.uk
- Poggio al Tesoro, Il Seggio, Bolgheri, Tuscany, Italy 2014. Stockist: Liberty Wines, £20 – www.libertywine.co.uk
New Zealand:
- Ceres Wines, Composition Pinot Noir, Bannockburn, Central Otago, New Zealand 2015. Stockist: Matthew Clark, £20.99 – www.matthewclark.co.uk
- Elephant Hill, Reserve Chardonnay, Te Awanga, Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand 2015. Stockist: Corney & Barrow, £30.95 – www.corneyandbarrow.com
- Vavasour, Sauvignon Blanc, Awatere Valley, Marlborough, New Zealand 2017. Stockist: Majestic Wine Warehouses, £11.99 – www.majestic.co.uk
Portugal:
- Blandy’s, Sercial, Madeira, Portugal 1968. Stockist: Vintage Wine and Ports, £270 – www.vintagewineandport.co.uk
- Sandeman, 40 Year Old Tawny, Port, Portugal NV. Stockist: Hedonism Wines, £127.99 – www.hedonism.co.uk
- Ferreira, Quinta do Porto, Single Quinta Vintage, Port, Portugal 2015. Stockist: Oakham Wines, £59.95 – www.oakhamwines.co.uk
- Vista Alegre, 40 Years Old, White, Port, Portugal NV. Stockist: Lanchester Wines, £120 – www.lanchesterwines.co.uk
- Quinta Nova, Unoaked Touriga Nacional-Touriga Franca-Tinta Roriz-Tinto Cão, Douro, Portugal 2016
- Justino’s, 50 Years Old, Madeira, Portugal NV. Stockist: Liberty Wines, £464.99 – www.libertywine.co.uk
South Africa:
- Klein Constantia, Vin de Constance, Constantia, Cape Town, South Africa 2014. Stockist: Philglas & Swiggot, £55 – www.philglas-swiggot.com
Spain:
- Viñedos de Alfaro, Rodiles Blanco de Viura, Reserva, Rioja, Spain 2013
- Notas Frutales, Finca Garabelos Albariño, Rías Baixas, Spain 2016
- Viña Olabarri, Bikandi, Reserva, Rioja, Spain 2005. Stockist: Oliver’s Beer & Wine, £29 – www.oliversbeerandwine.co.uk
- Ysios, Grano a Grano, Rioja, Spain 2016
- Emilio Lustau, Almacenista Cayetano del Pino y Cia, Palo Cortado, Sherry, Spain NV. Stockist: Berry Bros & Rudd, £26.55 – www.bbr.com
- Ferrer Bobet, Vinyes Velles, Priorat, Spain 2015. Stockist: H2Vin, £41.25 – www.h2vin.co.uk
- Llopart, Ex·Vite Gran Reserva Brut, Cava, Spain 2008
- Lustau, 30 Years Old V.O.R.S, Oloroso, Sherry, Spain NV. Stockist: Hedonism Wines, £80.95 – www.hedonism.co.uk
- Hidalgo, Napoleón 30 Years Old V.O.R.S, Amontillado, Sherry, Spain NV. Stockist: Virgin wines, £56 –www.virginwines.co.uk
USA:
- Newton Vineyard, Cabernet Sauvignon, Yountville, California, USA 2015. Stockist: Clos19, £140 – www.clos19.com
Editing by Chris Mercer.
