González Byass is perhaps the ultimate expression of the en rama craze which has gripped Sherry fans in recent years – the bottling of ‘raw’ Sherries straight from the barrel, without clarifying or filtration.
This archetypal example from Blandys was a hugely popular choice among the panel, with one judge describing it enthusiastically as ‘the grandest wine on the table'.
Since 2011, Sherry bodega Williams & Humbert has been making this Trophy winner for the premium Taste the Difference range stocked by UK retailer Sainsbury’s.
But if you belong to that generation, hold the thought and take a look at the list of wines that Ptujska Klet beat to win this year’s International Trophy.
Brothers Mark and Peter Saturno, founders and owners of Longview, planted Riesling vines in 1997 on the estate’s ‘most unforgiving’ soils, composed mostly of ironstone over a compacted clay layer.
McWilliam’s 1877 is both a ‘new’ Australian wine and a traditional blend which wowed the judges in a three-way taste-off with Portugal’s Douro Valley and the Apalta sub-region in Chile’s Colchagua region.
Château Bouissel believes those grapes are one of its major assets – particularly the Negrette, a variety native to Fronton, with its rich, aromatic character and silky tannins.
An impressive double triumph for Argentina’s Bodegas Fabre, owner of Viñalba, Fabre Montmayou and Phebus, and a regular Trophy winner at the DWWA.
Hervé Joyaux Fabre is both winemaker and proprietor of Bodegas Fabre, which owns three wineries in Argentina: Fabre Montmayou, Viñalba and Phebus.
Enrico Rivetto, a fourth-generation Langhe winemaker whose great-grandfather set up shop in the centre of Alba in 1902, has strong views on modern technology.
Fattoria Dianella has an initial hit of plush, vanilla oak, but the violet-tinged, black cherry, cranberry, raspberry and red berry fruit comes forward and proves more than a match.
An ALL-SPANISH FINAL pitted two classic Riojas against contenders from Ribera del Duero and Bierzo, but this Rioja Reserva from Lan won the judges’ hearts in the end, praised for showing ‘modern Spain at its absolute best’.
Family-owned since its foundation in 1973, Olarra has expanded over the years, establishing a second Rioja winery, Bodegas Ondarre, and an operation in Castilla called Casa del Valle.
Key to Sidewood’s success is diversity in its vineyards, which have three soil types, differing orientations and five clones of Shiraz.
Lomond is part of the Cape Legends portfolio, the fine wine division of South Africa’s largest wine and spirits company,
A WINE CREATED to mark the visit of King Juan Carlos to the Torres winery during its 125th anniversary in 1995, Reserva Real also celebrates a unique vineyard in Penedès.
Since 2005, this wine has been made from a single-vineyard lot in the coastal area of Chile’s Maipó Valley, in what the Indomita team describes as a ‘heavenly spot with rolling hills’.
Praised as ‘Burgundian’, Elgin Vintners took this International Trophy over another greatvalue New World rival.
Although Château La Tour de l’Evêque wine is a classic Provence rosé, it does have a touch of Bordeaux in its DNA. It was created by Régine Sumeire after she visited her friend (and then estate manager) Jean-Bernard Delmas at Château Haut-Brion in 1985
One of the most venerable estates in Provence’s Bandol appellation, Château Salettes produces a benchmark rosé, given extra depth and character by the estate’s sun-kissed Mourvèdre vines.
For winemaker Michel Ginglinger, it’s also an ‘archetypal ambassador of the style of wines we want to express at Domaine Paul Ginglinger: a perfect balance of finesse, purity and elegance’.
