Decanter World Wine Awards 2024 Platinum winners: 97-point wines

Newly released results for the Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA) 2024 include 117 coveted Platinum medals, representing just 0.64% of all wines tasted in this year’s competition.

With more than 18,000 entries blind-tasted by nearly 250 world-leading experts in a rigorous, multi-stage judging process at DWWA 2024, consumers can be confident that Platinum award winners demonstrate truly exceptional quality.

To attain the 97-point Platinum grade, wines must first attain a Gold medal, before being retasted and evaluated by expert judging panels.

Scroll down to see the Platinum medal winners at Decanter World Wine Awards 2024

‘At this stage the quality is great,’ said Michelle Cherutti-Kowal MW, Regional Chair for Tuscany at DWWA 2024. ‘It’s a matter of really assessing which are the top, top wines.’

Stefan Neumann MS, Regional Chair for Switzerland, said of Platinum judging, ‘The overall quality of these wines is just outstanding. It was such a joy to judge; we were running out of superlatives.’

This year’s Platinum list follows the release of full DWWA 2024 results on 19 June, and it lives up to DWWA’s reputation for showcasing the very best expressions of ‘classics’ alongside premium, under-the-radar wines that underline the wine world’s rich diversity.

Decanter World Wine Awards 2024 Platinum medals: Top of the leaderboard

France topped the Platinum leaderboard this year with 28 medals for a whole host of styles.

Burgundy’s highly rated 2022 vintage shone particularly brightly. While a Côte Maconnais wine followed in the footsteps of strong performances for white Burgundy in the Best in Show category, several Platinums went to premier cru reds, and one grand cru. Albert Bichot’s ‘Les Sorbets’ Morey-St-Denis 1er Cru 2022 was ‘oozing inviting red cherry and earthy forest fruit’, said judges.

Only a little way further south, cru Beaujolais showed once again that it deserves a seat at the wine world’s top table.

Champagne enjoyed a strong competition, scooping seven Platinums across both vintage and non-vintage styles that included a Telmont, Blanc de Noirs Brut 2015, combining Pinot Meunier and Pinot Noir.

There were plenty of great examples of French classics among the other Platinum medals, from Bandol rosé and Loire Chenin Blanc to a ‘sensuous and velvety’ Château La Dominique 2018 from St-Emilion in Bordeaux.

Other Platinum French white wines featured grand cru Chablis and white Châteauneuf-du-Pape, but also Muscadet Sèvre et Maine and a Rolle-Roussanne-Grenache Blanc blend from Les Baux-de-Provence.

Italy secured second place in this year’s Platinum medal table, with 18 accolades, just ahead of Spain on 17. A strong year for northern Italian white wines saw top medals for Soave Classico and Lugana Superiore.

There were two medals for Collio DOC wines in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region, one of which contributed to notable performance for Italian Pinot Blanc at DWWA 2024. This grape variety was also a driving force behind two Platinum medals for Trentino-Alto Adige wines.

This year’s Platinum list highlighted fantastic, classic Italian reds from recent vintages, too, with Brunello di Montalcino, Barolo, Barbera d’Asti Superiore and Barbaresco all starring.

They were joined by a 100% Cabernet Franc under the Bolgheri Superiore denomination on the Tuscan coast, produced by Tenuta Meraviglia.

Spain’s 17 Platinum medals encompassed stunning examples of the country’s most famous wine names. Rioja and Ribera del Duero reds were strong performers, although there was also a Platinum accolade for a Ribera del Duero white wine produced from Albillo Mayor, as well as for a 2012-vintage Rioja Gran Reserva rosé.

A Ribeiro white wine, a Catalunya DO Cabernet Franc blend and a 100% Carignan from Priorat showed Spain’s strength in depth, not to mention success with several sweet and fortified styles (see below).

Finest Fortified

Neighbouring Portugal was among the star performers at DWWA 2024, with 13 Platinum medals. While Touriga Nacional red wines from Douro and Alentejano flew the flag for superb still wines, Portugal’s Platinum winners represented a treasure chest of its fortified wines through the ages.

These included Madeira and Moscatel de Setúbal, but also two 50 Year Old white Ports, as well as 50- and 20 Year Old Tawny Ports, and Vintage Ports from the vaunted years of 1970 and 1977.

Fortified wines shone brightly overall at DWWA 2024, securing 17 Platinum medals. Other highlights included 30-year-old Amontillado Sherry and a fortified Grenache from Priorat, as well as Rutherglen Muscat from Australia.

Around the world in Pinot Noir

Pinot Noir fans have plenty to explore in this year’s Platinum results. While Burgundy has been mentioned, there were Platinum awards for Pinot Noir red wines from Yarra Valley in Victoria, Australia, and Oregon’s famous Willamette Valley in the US.

These were joined by delicious iterations from lesser-known regions – Baden in Germany, where the variety is known as Spätburgunder, and the Valais canton in Switzerland.

Sparkling success

Sparkling wine is no stranger to success at DWWA, and accounted for 13 Platinums in 2024 overall. Alongside top Champagnes, producers in several countries demonstrated their skill.

There were accolades for the UK, Slovenia, Italy’s Franciacorta and also Spain’s Cava DO, as well as a 2021-vintage Extra Dry Riesling style from Tawse Winery in Canada’s Ontario – Niagara Peninsula region.

In Tasmania, meanwhile, House of Arras won two Platinums for vintage sparkling, including its 2014-vintage Blanc de Blancs (100% Chardonnay).

Superb summer white wines

A wealth of sublime white wines joined those already highlighted from France, northern Italy and other areas in the Platinum list.

Greece is a resurgent force on the world wine stage and two Assyrtiko white wines from the island of Santorini made the Platinum grade at DWWA 2024.

Three Platinum wines came from Austria’s Kamptal region, representing signature grape Grüner Veltliner, plus biodynamic Riesling – the latter also joined by a dry Riesling from Weingut Korrell in Germany’s Nahe region.

Fascinating white wines from the southern hemisphere secured top medals, too, including two New Zealand Chardonnays, from Marlborough and Hawke’s Bay regions, as well as Oak Valley Estate’s ‘Groenlandberg Chardonnay’ 2022 from mountain vines in South Africa’s Elgin region.

More highlights beyond Europe

Australian winemakers’ prowess with many different styles was on full display at DWWA 2024. The country secured 10 Platinum medals, including ‘long and memorable’ Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay from Adelaide Hills, and a Shiraz-Carignan blend from Barossa, plus two 100% Shiraz wines.

One of those, Yarra Yering’s ‘Underhill’ Shiraz 2022, was described by judges as showing ‘inviting red plums, berries, rhubarb and herbs [which] are shrouded flawlessly in a mystifying collective of smoky meat, earthy spice and toast’.

Argentina secured four Platinums, including a Chardonnay ‘exhibiting striking Gualtallary character with luminous pear, apple and lime fruit’, according to judges. Reds included a ‘softly evolved and remarkable’ Cabernet Sauvignon from the Salta region.

Two Malbecs from different parts of Mendoza won Platinums, and judges praised Vinorum’s ‘Victorio Altieri Gran Reserva’ 2021 from Luján de Cuyo combination of crunchy black and blueberry fruit, chocolate and sweet vanilla, alongside silky tannins.

Malbec also starred in a Platinum victory for Trefethen Vineyards’ ‘Dragon’s Tooth’ 2021 from Napa Valley – which includes Petit Verdot and Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend.

Sweet tooth

Sweet wines again enjoyed plenty of Platinum accolades this year, and made up three of Hungary’s four Platinum medals – including Tokaji Eszencia, Tokaji Aszú and Szamorodni styles.

Another notable winner was a 1964-vintage sweet wine produced from the Monastrell grape variety by Bodega Brotons under the Levante DO in Alicante, Spain.

One of three Italian wines winning Platinum was a Passito di Pantelleria, from the tiny namesake island off the coast of Sicily where the traditional vine-growing methods are recognised by world heritage body UNESCO.

Elsewhere, there were platinums for The Wine Society retailer’s Exhibition Sauternes from the 2020 vintage, as well as for two Loire Valley Chenin Blanc wines in the Bonnezeaux appellation. Canadian Icewine produced with Vidal grapes also scooped a Platinum medal.

Off the beaten path

Platinum accolades for wines of Turkey, Japan, Slovenia, Georgia and Israel provided more under-the-radar wines for consumers to explore at DWWA 2024.

Turkey secured three Platinum medals for red wines, largely showcasing indigenous grape varieties. Two of those medals went to Urla Sarapcilik winery in the Aegean Coast Region, including for a Boğazkere varietal wine, while the third went to the Kayra’s 2021-vintage Öküzgözü from the Mid-Eastern Anatolia region.

They were joined at Platinum level by a Petit Verdot-led wine from Ramat Negev Winery in Israel, as well as 2010-vintage Saperavi red wine from Georgia.

For Japan, meanwhile, Camel Farm Winery’s 2022-vintage ‘Private Reserve Blaufränkisch’ from Yoichi in Hokkaido was ‘full of charm and magnetism with sleek, supple tannins and a long lasting finish’, said judges.

Click on the wines that interest you below to view the full review, complete with tasting notes and stockist information.

DWWA 2024 Platinum winners

Argentina

Australia

Austria

Canada

France

Georgia

Badagoni, Reserve Saperavi, Kakheti 2010

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Israel

Ramat Negev Winery, Exodus Grand Reserve, Northern Negev, Negev 2018

Italy

Japan

Camel Farm Winery, Private Reserve Blaufränkisch, Yoichi, Hokkaido 2022

New Zealand

Portugal

Slovenia

Bjana, Cuvée Prestige Extra Brut, Goriška Brda, Primorska 2019

South Africa

Oak Valley, Groenlandberg Chardonnay, Elgin 2022

Spain

Switzerland

Domaine Histoire D’Enfer, L’enfer Du Calcaire Pinot Noir, Salquenen, Valais 2019

Turkey

United Kingdom

Hambledon, Première Cuvée Brut, Hampshire NV