Wines of the Year 2024: South America

Decanter’s expert writers and contributors awarded 95-points or more to almost 3,000 wines in the 12 months to October 2024.

While they have all appeared in the pages of Decanter magazine and online on Decanter Premium and in our decanter.com database, there were too many to reproduce here for a seasonal wrap-up.

So, in a somewhat unfair and very challenging task, we asked each of our Regional Editors to select just five wines from each of their key areas of expertise to highlight the bounty and diversity on offer across the world wine map.

Scroll down for notes and scores of the South American Wines of the Year 2024

The many wines tasted and producers met throughout 2024 confirmed that South America is – and will surely remain – the source of some of the world’s most exciting wines across various styles and prices.

Unique – in some cases extreme – terroirs and a growing pool of talented winemakers explain the phenomenon.

One of this year’s most exciting discoveries, Otronia’s Block I Pinot Noir, produced by Juan Pablo Murgia in Sarmiento, Patagonia, is a perfect example of this fortunate combination.

Another key factor is the productive synergy between generations.

Younger faces, armed with technical knowledge, instinct, personality and worldly awareness, alongside established names whose nothing-left-to-prove status allows them the freedom to take risks and question assumptions – not least about themselves – with confidence.

This cross-generational energy is reflected in producers Catena Zapata and Zuccardi’s enduring ability to deliver true modern classics that once again stood out among the September releases on the La Place de Bordeaux marketplace.

Likewise at PerSe, where Santi del Popolo has joined his father, the renowned viticulturist Edy del Popolo, and winemaker David Bonomi to produce some of the most elegant wines coming out of Mendoza at the moment.

The latter also reflects another important trend: smaller, low-intervention, personal projects (such as the eponymous venture of Francisco Beattig, of Viñedos Chadwick and Seña fame) where a group of talented winemakers are exploring micro-terroirs and reinterpreting tradition.

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See further analysis and top-scoring wines of the following areas:

Bordeaux & Burgundy | Champagne, Rhône and regional France | Italy | Spain & Portugal | The US | Australia, New Zealand & South Africa | Rest of the World

Wines of the Year 2024: South America

Wines are listed white then red, in score order

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