Out of 16,518 wines judged from 56 countries, just 178 from 24 countries were awarded a Platinum medal at the 2020 Decanter World Wine Awards.
First deemed ‘Gold’ in the first weeks of judging, these wines were re-tasted by panels made up of Regional and Co-Chairs, awarding Platinum medals to the best wines.
About the judges:
The 17th edition of the Decanter World Wine Awards included 116 expert wine judges, including 37 Masters of Wine and nine Master Sommeliers.
See who judged in 2020:
The Co-Chairs
The Regional Chairs
The Judges
Scroll down to search Platinum medals by country
Requiring a minimum of 97 points, this year’s Platinum medals make up just 1.08% of all wines tasted, with Italy securing the most awards in this category. Seven more than last year, Italy received an impressive 37 Platinum medals from across the country including Piedmont, Lombardy, Trentino-Alto Adige and Veneto in the north to Tuscany, Lazio, Abruzzo, Campania, Sicily, and Sardinia moving south.
Piedmont was awarded 30% of Italy’s Platinum medals, with 10 wines from Barolo and one each from Langhe and Ghemme recieving 97 points. The exceptional 2016 vintage in Piedmont was evident at DWWA 2020 with ten wines from 2016 being awarded this esteemed accolade.
With the most Best in Show medals, France performed equally well in the Platinum category with 34 wines awarded. Burgundy performed particularly well with eight Platinum medals, all from the outstanding 2018 vintage – the hottest vintage in Burgundy since 2003, as well as one of the driest ever. Champagne followed with six Platinum medals, Languedoc-Roussillon closely behind with five.
Spain received 20 Platinum medals, the third most in the 2020 competition, with fortified wines making up more than a third of these. Of note, González Byass received four of the seven Platinum medals for Sherry styles with their Del Duque V.O.R.S., Noe V.O.R.S., and Tio Pepe Tres and Cuatro Palmas.
Following Spain, Australia received 17 Platinum medals, Portugal 11 and Argentina 10 – nine of these from Mendoza and 80% Malbec or Malbec-dominant blends.
Best in Show: The top 50 wines of DWWA 2020
Search all DWWA 2020 results
Platinum medals: Noteworthy highlights
Only seven wines in the entire competition (a mere 0.04% of wines tasted) received 98 points, including two Platinum medal winners, one from Chile and the other from Greece:
- VIK, La Piu Belle, Cachapoal, Chile 2015
- Estate Argyos, Vinsanto 12 Years Barrel Aged, Santorini, Aegean Islands, Greece 2004
Both countries received a total of five Platinum medals each, as well as Hungary for its famous Tokaji wines:
- Dobogó, Aszú 6 Puttonyos, Tokaj, Hungary 2013
- Barta, Öreg Király Dűlő Aszú 6 Puttonyos, Tokaj, Hungary 2016
- Kern Bor és Pezsgőház, Aszú 5 Puttonyos, Tokaj, Hungary 2014
- Sauska, Aszú 5 Puttonyos, Tokaj, Hungary 2017
- Harsányi, Aszú 6 Puttonyos, Tokaj, Hungary 2016
Germany received its most Platinum medals ever with eight wines being awarded 97 points, three of these varietal red wines from Syrah, Lemberger and Spätburgunder:
- Fritz Waßmer, Sommerhalde Bombach Spätburgunder, Baden, Germany 2016
- Martin Waßmer, Dottinger Castellberg Syrah, Baden, Germany 2016
- Weingut Aldinger, Fellbach Lämmler Lemberger, Grosses Gewächs, Württemberg, Germany 2017
Canada and China received one Platinum medal each for Icewine made from 100% Vidal. Austria also made the Platinum list for a sweet white wine made with Welschriesling and Chardonnay:
- Kracher, Cuvée Beerenauslese, Burgenland, Austria 2017
- Ji’an City Baite, Manor Icewine, Tonghua, Jilin, China 2016
- Peller Estates, Andrew Peller Signature Series, Oak Aged Icewine Vidal Blanc, Ontario – Niagara Peninsula, Canada 2018
Slovenia and South Africa were awarded four Platinum medals each, all white wines except Journey’s End, Cape Doctor, The Red 2015 from Stellenbosch.
Croatia with three Platinum medals, as well as Serbia, Moldova, Switzerland, and the USA, with one Platinum medal each, made the list with dry white wines only, including:
- Kozlović, Selekcija Malvazija, Hrvatska Istra, Coastal, Croatia 2017
- Kutjevo, Graševina de Gotho, Slavonija, Continental, Croatia 2018
- Cattunar, Nono 4 Terre, Hrvatska Istra, Coastal, Croatia 2015
- Purcari, Since 1827 Traminer, Moldova 2019
- Erdevik, Omnibus Lector Chardonnay, Fruška Gora, Srem, Serbia 2015
- Georg Schlegel, Barrique Chardonnay, Graubünden, Eastern Cantons, Switzerland 2018
- Trefethen Family Vineyards, Chardonnay, Oak Knoll District of Napa Valley, California, USA 2018
Read more: DWWA 2020 results announced
See all DWWA 2020 Platinum medal winners
DWWA 2020 Platinum medals
(Select the country of interest to view all Platinum winners)
Italy
France
Spain
Australia
Portugal
Argentina
Germany
Chile
Greece
Hungary
Slovenia
South Africa
Croatia
United Kingdom
Czech Republic
Georgia
One Platinum medal each:
- Austria
- Canada
- China
- Moldova
- Serbia
- Switzerland
- Uruguay
- USA
