Best of the best wines of the world results
The eagerly awaited 2011 results were announced for the Great Value Wine and Trophy Awards today for the International Wine Challenge, the world’s most influential and prestigious independent wine competition.
It has been a great year for those that love wine with 15 Great Value Wine Awards as well as 107 wines and 7 Sake awarded Trophies. By tasting each wine as much as six times, the highly acclaimed wines have gone through the Challenge’s rigorous judging process and now are tasted twice more in the final stage by an elite group of judges thereby ensuring that those awarded a Great Value Wine Award or Trophy are the best of the best.
The Awards for Great Value are judged on availability and price and style provide affordable and accessible wines to consumers particularly in supermarkets.
- Tesco continued their winning streak by enjoying a triple award success for its Tesco Finest Dessert Semillon 2007 De Bortoli Wines, £6.49rrp (Great Value Sweet Wine Under £10); Tesco Finest Premier Cru Champagne NV Union Champagne, £19.99rrp (Great Value Champagne Under £22); Tesco Finest Navarra Rosé 2010 Principe De Viana, £6.99rrp (Great Value Rosé)
- Asda celebrated with two awards, taking the Great Value Sparkling under £10 crown from last year’s winner Marks & Spencer with Asda’s Asti NV, Araldica, £4.99rrp
- Waitrose rose to the occasion for a second year in a row gaining a Great Value Award for its Champagne Brut NV P&C Heidsieck, £19.99rrp (Great Value Champagne under £22)
Highlights of this year’s Trophy results:
- The top Trophy-winning nations for 2011 are:
- First: France with an outstanding 34 wines attaining Trophies (a 62% increase year on year)
- Second: Spain with 13 – almost double compared to 2010
- Third: 11 for Italy
- Fourth: Australia with 10 - Former rugby star, Gérard Bertrand celebrated for the second year in a row being awarded the La Clape Trophy, but this time for his Art de Vivre La Clape 2009 France
- Four Trophies were awarded to Champagnes compared to only two last year, including a supermarket own label: Marks & Spencer Herbert Beaufort NV France £30rrp (Non Vintage Champagne Trophy); Charles Heidsieck Champagne Charlie 1981 France (Mature Vintage Champagne Trophy); Charles Heidsieck Millésime Brut 2000 France £39.99rrp (Vintage Champagne Trophy) and Pierre Paillard Grand Cru Brut Rosé NV France, £29.99rrp (Rosé Champagne Trophy)
- Several wines did exceptionally well, winning four Trophies each:
- Penfolds Reserve Bin 09A Chardonnay 2009 Australia, £42rrp: International Chardonnay Trophy, Australian Chardonnay Trophy, Australian White Trophy, Adelaide Hills White Trophy
- Domaine de la Pousse d’Or Chambolle-Musigny 2009 France, £49.99rrp: International Pinot Noir Trophy, Red Burgundy Trophy, Chambolle-Musigny Trophy, French Red Trophy
- Stanley Estates Sauvignon Blanc 2010 New Zealand, £11.25rrp: International Sauvignon Blanc Trophy, New Zealand White Trophy, New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc Trophy, Marlborough Trophy
Tim Atkin MW, Co-Chairman of the IWC, says: “This is the world’s most scrupulously judged wine competition. It is a huge achievement for a wine to win a Gold medal so for a wine to progress on to Trophy status is an exceptional triumph. It is a great accolade for the producer, the wine region or country.
“The standard of wines reaching the Trophy stage in this year’s Challenge has truly impressed the judges, with so many deserving Great Value accolades as well. The IWCrecognises excellence and aims to help consumers identify some of the world’s best wines.”
Wines carrying the IWC logo help consumers to identify top quality wines and exceptional value for money at a glance. With its unique judging format and the expertise of the judges, the IWC is justly described as the Oscars of the wine world.
Details of all the winning wines are available at the IWC’s website www.internationalwinechallenge.com where you can use the search tool to find your perfect wine by grape, style and price at an outlet near you.
