Wines of the Year 2022: top-scoring bottles

Buy tickets for a very special tasting of Decanter Wines of the Year on Thursday 26 January at 6.30pm at the Decanter Tasting Suite in West London.

Can every iteration of Decanter’s Wines of the Year be ‘the best ever’? I wasn’t convinced we could top last year’s tasting, which included a perfect 100 score from one judge, but it does seem to be the case with 2022’s crop.

Our Sparkling, White and Red Wines of the Year each earned 99 points from this year’s three experts, and half of the 125 bottles in the stellar line-up scored 95pts or more – up from 40% last year. ‘Hands down the best wine tasting I’ve ever done,’ enthused Amanda Barnes, a sentiment shared by her fellow judges.

To select the wines, Decanter World Wine Awards Regional Chairs, key contributors and staff nominated the three wines that most impressed them in 2022.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for the top-scoring bottles from Decanter’s Wines of the Year 2022 tasting

These had to be under the categories of Classic (a premium, textbook wine style), Offbeat (unusual grape, region, winemaking method, or unearthed gem) and Value (under £25).

While a few, sadly, had sold out or couldn’t be sourced because of low stock or shipping issues, 125 arrived at Decanter’s offices in London’s Paddington, courtesy of generous producers and importers, to be judged blind over two days.

Pure Quality

Neither the category nor price was revealed to the judges, so all the wines were assessed purely on quality. While they appreciated this, Pedro Ballesteros Torres MW and Vincenzo Arnese said it gave the tasting an added challenge. ‘With a blind tasting of 125 wines of the same grape, country or style, you create a mental map of references and it makes it easier to rank your scores from higher to lower. Here the challenge was the diversity, so we had to assess them based on sheer complexity and pleasure.’ ‘

It’s a rare opportunity to be able to compare and contrast a vertical of different regions, styles and grapes, with the common line between them being high quality,’ added Arnese.

The fact that entries are hand selected by Decanter’s experts makes the Wines of the Year tasting unique, said Barnes, who applauded the fact that this wasn’t just a reprinted list or retasting of top wines that featured in Decanter during 2022. ‘This is a personal recommendation by wine lovers who want to share amazing classic wines, great value wines and exciting new discoveries with other wine lovers – Decanter’s readers.’

See tasting notes and scores for all Wines of the Year 2022

Italy was the overwhelming star of the two days of judging, boasting five of the top eight red wines (including Red Wine of the Year) and the runner-up in both the White Wine of the Year and Value Wine of the Year.

Arnese was particularly proud to see his motherland fare so well. ‘Especially some less well-known grapes and regions, like the Nerello Mascalese from Etna or the Aglianico from Irpinia, standing alongside some very reputable, classic regions such as Bordeaux, Bolgheri, Barolo, Brunello and Rioja.’

In the whites, it was Chardonnay that astounded the judges. ‘A truly wonderful flight,’ marvelled Ballesteros Torres. ‘The amazing thing was that there was nothing from Napa or Burgundy. Despite this, our White Wine of the Year was absolutely of an equal quality.’

He also singled out the Champagnes. ‘In trying to decide our Sparkling Wine of the Year there were two we discussed a lot because they were quite different styles, but both completely incredible.’

The eclectic ‘offbeat’ wines always intrigue our Wines of the Year judges, keen to make new discoveries in an ever-expanding wine world.

All three highlighted the ‘unique and surprising’ 94pt Blaufränkisch red from Japan’s Camel Farm Winery, the ‘characterful and exciting’ unfortified Jerez white, and the Pinot Meunier from Australia – ‘a funky, original wine with a postmodern voice, it was a great joy,’ said Ballesteros Torres.

While the lack of dry Riesling, red and white Burgundy and ‘rosé of any real quality’ surprised the panel, the sheer diversity and quality throughout the 125 wines was evident.

‘So many good discoveries, wine after wine,’ said Arnese. ‘I can’t wait to see the results so I can hunt down some of my favourites.’ And now you can, too.

For more in-depth insight from this year’s Wines of the Year judges, see individual reports on the red, sweet and fortifieds, as well as the white, rosé and sparklings – plus the value wines.

Wines of the Year 2022: the top scorers

The following wines all scored 96 points or above

The judges

Vincenzo Arnese is head sommelier at Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester, London. A DWWA judge, he has worked at top hotels in Switzerland, Italy and Australia, as well as The Waterside Inn in Bray and Dinner by Heston Blumenthal.

Pedro Ballesteros Torres MW is a widely published wine journalist and educator and a DWWA Regional Chair. A member of the Gran Orden de Caballeros del Vino, he is also on the governing board of the Spanish Tasters’ Union.

Amanda Barnes is a writer and presenter specialising in South American travel and wine. A DWWA judge, she is author of the award-winning The South America Wine Guide (£35 southamericawineguide.com).

Thank you to the following people who contributed their recommendations: Sarah Ahmed, Pedro Ballesteros Torres MW, Amanda Barnes, Richard Baudains, Laura Bianco, Adriana Bravo, Jim Budd, James Button, Yohan Castaing, Ferran Centelles, Ch’ng Poh Tiong, Gabriela Colotto, Jonathan Cristaldi, Charles Curtis MW, Markus Del Monego MW, Michael Denton, Cameron Douglas MS, Natalie Earl, Sarah Jane Evans MW, Simon Field MW, Aldo Fiordelli, Elizabeth Gabay MW, Michael Garner, Tina Gellie, Caroline Gilby MW, Charlotte Hale, Brooke Herron, Michael Hill Smith MW, Georgina Hindle, Huon Hooke, Susan Hulme MW, Alejandro Iglesias, Andrew Jefford, Darrel Joseph, Justin Knock MW, Malu Lambert, Paz Levinson, Peter Liem, Caro Maurer MW, Richard Mayson, Fiona McDonald, Thierry Meyer, Michaela Morris, Michela Nassiz, Rupert Owen, Barbara Philip MW, Alessandra Piubello, Anthony Rose, Ines Salpico, Ronan Sayburn MS, Julie Sheppard, Stacy Slinkard, David Sly, Rod Smith MW, Cesar Soler, Sonja van Praag, Dominique Vrigneau, Monty Waldin, Matt Walls, Demetri Walters MW, Amy Wislocki, Sylvia Wu

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Wines of the Year 2022: the top reds

Wines of the Year 2022: the top whites

Wines of the Year 2022: the top sparkling, sweet and fortified

Buy tickets for Decanter Wines of the Year Tasting