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.

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