Africa, copyright BKWine PhotographyBKWine Images

Just a few days in the past I wrote about my choice of favourite wines from the Choice Sauvignon competitors and I promised to come back again with particulars of the general medal winners. So, right here you’ll be able to examine a few of the absolute best wines out of the 1210 that participated within the competitors.

However first a couple of phrases about how the competitors works. Basically, the Concours Mondial du Sauvignon / Sauvignon Blanc Choice (or World Sauvignon Blanc competitors) is a completely “blind” tasting; you recognize nothing in regards to the wines you style. You style the wines in collection of round a dozen wines and they’re indirectly “related”, for instance, a collection may be from a selected area, however you as a taster have no idea which area. The one factor that you recognize is the classic, however personally I discover that to be primarily irrelevant. Typically you may get some further data if it will probably have a selected impression on the analysis of the wine, e.g. “that is oak-aged”.

So that you mainly style all of the wines fully blind and consider them merely primarily based on the impression you get while you style them – their intrinsic high quality in your individual opinion.

Sauvignon, with me within the center, The Sauvignon Choice, copyright BKWine PhotographyBKWine Images

Another competitions are “half blind”. They group the wines into what they take into account to be logical classes, for instance “Loire Valley sauvignon blanc in a worth vary between 5 and 15 euro”. That tends to result in that the tasters choose the wines extra on “typicity”, i.e. if they’re typical for the class they’re in, relatively than primarily based on their intrinsic high quality. Personally, I want to evaluate the wine on their style relatively than on how they match some imaginary perfect style profile. This will generally give good surprises when you find yourself tasting and judging the wines with out preconceived concepts.

All wine tasting is actually subjective. There isn’t a technique to choose wines “neutrally” or “objectively” on some common high quality scale. (What’s the objectively “excellent” quantity of acidity or “excellent” quantity of oak ageing? Properly, it depends upon your preferences). This being stated, usually the 5-7 judges in every tasting panel tends to have related opinions. However there are generally disagreements.

However let’s dive into the wines that stood out within the Concours Mondial du Sauvignon, or the CMB Sauvignon Choice.

Eight wines have been awarded particular trophies, so known as “revelations”:

Greatest Sauvignon of the Competitors – Dubourdieu Trophy

• Sauvignon Blanc Sieme Eichberg 2021 Weingut Adam-Lieleg, Südsteiermark, Austria

Revelation Austria

• Sauvignon Blanc Neusetzberg 2020 Weingut Krispel, Vulkanland Steiermark, Austria

Revelation Mix

• Sauvignon Chardonnay 2022 Domaine Saint-Lannes (SARL Nicolas Duffour), Côtes de Gascogne IGP, France

Revelation France

• La Grande Chatelaine 2019 Vignobles Joseph Mellot, Sancerre, France

Revelation Italy

• Raif Sauvignon 2021, Azienda Vinicola d. Giovanett G. C. sas, Vigneti delle Dolomiti IGT (Trentino Alto Adige), Italy

Revelation New-Zeland

• Saint Clair Pioneer Block 1 Basis Block Sauvignon Blanc 2022, Saint Clair Household Property, Marlborough

Revelation South Africa

• Gustus Sauvignon Blanc 2020, Darling Cellars, Darling, South Africa

Revelation Oaked Sauvignon – Tonnellerie Sylvain Trophy

• Villiera Bush Vine Sauvignon Blanc 2022, Villiera Wines, Stellenbosch, South Africa

All in all a bit lower than a 3rd of the wines have been awarded some form of medal. You could find all of the medals on the Concours Mondial du Sauvignon right here.

The nation that introduced residence the most important variety of medals was France which isn’t stunning since it is usually the nation with probably the most sauvignon blanc vineyards. The Steiermark area in Austria was the wine area that received probably the most medals, with 85 medals. Encouraging, for the reason that competitors shall be held in Austria subsequent yr. South Africa, that hosted the competitors this yr, was awarded a formidable 56 medals, a transparent illustration of that this can be a profitable grape selection within the nation. That isn’t stunning. It’s a grape selection that will get numerous consideration in South Africa and so they even have an organisation to put it on the market: Sauvignon Blanc South Africa.

Awatere Valley, Marlborough, New Zealand, copyright BKWine PhotographyBKWine Images

The entire record of medal winners is lengthy so I received’t topic you to that. However along with the above, I want to give some particular recognition to a few of the wines that confirmed effectively however that have been from much less well-known locations in terms of Sauvignon blanc:

One medal winner from Argentina:

• Sauvignon Blanc Extremo 2021 Bodega Altupalka, Salta

Three from Bulgaria:

• DiVes vineyard Sauvignon Blanc Aged in oak barrels 2020, PGI Thracian Valley
• Quantum Sauvignon Blanc 2022, Domaine Boyar
• Pearl White Sauvignon Blanc Semillon 2022, Domaine Boyar

One from Chile:

• Casillero del Diablo Reserva Especial Sauvignon Blanc 2022, Valle de Colchagua

Three from Croatia:

• Sauvignon 2022 Vinarija Kopjar, Zagorje-Međimurje
• Sauvignon 2022 Vinarija Puhelek Purek, Prigorje-Bilogora ZOI
• Sauvignon 2022 Bolfan Vinski, Zagorje-Međimurje ZOI

One from the United States:

• Property Sauvignon Blanc 2022 St. Supéry Property Vineyards Vineyard, Napa Valley

Three from Greece

• Droumo Sauvignon Blanc 2021 Kir Yianni S.a, Macedonia, Regional Wine of Florina
• Samaropetra 2022 Kir Yianni S.a, Macedonia, Regional Wine of Florina
• Sauvignon Blanc 2022 Ktima Gerovassiliou, Macedonia

Two from Hungary:

• Bujdoso Sauvignon Blanc Choice 2021 Bujdosó Szolobirtok és Pincészet, Lake Balaton
• Haraszthy Clone Sauvignon 2021 Haraszthy Pincészet Ltd , , The Nice Plain, Etyek-Buda

One from Northern Macedonia

• Sauvignon Blanc Barovo 2022 Tikves AD Kavadarci Vineyard

Two from Mexico

• Vinaltura Sauvignon Blanc 2020 Vinaltura SA de Cv, Querétaro
• GG By Gina Sommelier Sauvignon Blanc 2018 Hoteles y Viñedos del Valle de Guadalupe SA de CV, Baja California

One from Portugal:

• Lagoalva Sauvignon Blanc-Verdelho 2022, Quinta da Lagoalva Vinhos SA, Tejo

Three from Romania:

• Castel Sauvignon Blanc 2017 Jidvei Srl, Transylvanie, Târnave
• Sauvignon Blanc Coltul Pietrei 2021 Vitis Metamorfosis, Muntenia, Dealu Mare
• Domeniul Ciumbrud Sauvignon Blanc 2022 Sc Domeniile Boieru Srl, Transylvanie, Aiud

One from Slovenia:

• EK Vinarstvo Šmarje Unoaked 2021 EK Vinarstvo Šmarje d.o.o., Primorska

And at last, two from Switzerland:

• Sauvignon Blanc La Mine 2022 Jean-Louis Mathieu, Valais AOC
• Château du Crest Sauvignon 2022 Domaine Château du Crest, Genève AOC

The total outcomes of the World Sauvignon Blanc competitors can be found right here.

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We acquired into wine, gastronomy and journey for ardour. We love what we do and wish to share it with you. “We” means Per and Britt, husband and spouse group, Swedish nationals however primarily based in Paris since lengthy, very lengthy. We now have contributed to quite a few wine publications and now publish our personal on-line wine ezine, BKWine Journal. Our 5 wine books have received nationwide and worldwide awards, e.g. Greatest Wine Guide within the World for Professionals. We additionally run a wine journey enterprise, BKWine Excursions (listed as “world’s finest wine excursions”), that takes us travelling all over the world’s wine areas a 3rd of the yr. We each go to some 200 wineries every year. Britt has been listed on Wine Enterprise Worldwide’s Wine Media Energy Checklist and Per was in a earlier life Vice President of a world tech firm and an INSEAD alumni. Oh sure, we even have one of many world’s greatest wine images collections at BKWine Images. You’ll be able to join with us by way of certainly one of our BKWine websites, or on Fb, or on twitter @bkwineper.

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