International Wine Challenge 2023 awards over 6,000 wines from around the world

The International Wine Challenge, the world's most influential, impartial and rigorously judged
global wine competition, has announced the results of its 2023 competition. Thousands of winesfrom over 50 countries were entered into the competition and blind tasted by an international panelof experts last month, with awards going to over 6,000 wines from across the world. Winemaking
heavyweights such as France, Australia and Spain topped the table but there were plenty ofsurprises too, with Netherlands claiming its first Silver medal and countries such as Egypt andDenmark getting their first taste of medal success.
The full list of medal and trophy winners in the 2023 International Wine Challenge can be viewedhere.

France remains on top while the Jura proves it can stand up to Burgundy
France continued its winning streak as the most awarded country in each medal category with 70Gold, 321 Silver and 446 Bronze medals. For the first time in IWC history, the French White Trophy
went to a Vin Jaune from the Jura region: Michel Tissot & Fils’ Château-Chalon Vin Jaune 2015. For
the past five years, this title has gone to a Burgundy producer. The Jura’s Michel Tissot & Fils had
further success with two Silver medals and one Commended. Burgundy put on a stellar
performance, taking home 152 medals for its still wines, 27 of which were Gold, more than any otherFrench region. Burgundy producer Edouard Delaunay claimed the International Pinot Noir Trophy
for its Chambertin Grand Cru Rouge 2020, the 8th year in a row that France has won this accolade.
Of the 174 Champagnes that were awarded medals in this year’s challenge, Rare Champagne heldon to the prestigious Champagne Trophy for its Rare Millésime 2008 – the same wine that took thistitle last year.
Jamie Goode, Co-Chair of the International Wine Challenge commented, “Champagne and Burgundy
are internationally renowned as some of the best wine regions in the world and each year we see thisquality reflected in the results. However, we have never seen such an impressive set of results from aJura producer. Burgundy’s smaller and less well-known neighbour is definitely one to watch.”

Australian fortified wine triumphs as its Cabernet Sauvignon is named as world’sbestAustralia came second only to France in the challenge with an impressive count of 62 Golds, 250
Silvers and 199 Bronzes. For the first time in over a decade, Australia beat 20 other countries toclaim the International Cabernet Sauvignon Trophy which went to Coonawarra’s Paragon Wine
Estates for its Riddoch The Pastoralist Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon 2021. Australia also hadsignificant success with its fortified wines. Despite only accounting for 2% of Australian wine soldglobally, the nation has proven that its fortified wines can stand up on the world stage, racking up atotal of 24 medals including 13 Golds. Victoria’s Morris Wines claimed six of these Gold medals for
its Muscat, Topaque and Tawny fortified wines.
“Australia has a long and distinguished history of making fortified wines, but production declined in
the 60s. It is great to see winemakers responding to the growing global demand for fortified winesand drawing on their winemaking heritage to produce some outstanding wines in this category”
commented IWC Co-Chair, Sam Caporn MW.

Rioja reigns in Spain
Coming in as the third most awarded country in this year's challenge, Spain received a total of 489
medals. Rioja was the country’s top performing region, taking 163 of these as well as reclaiming theSpanish Red Trophy back from Ribera Del Duero, which has won it every year since 2018. This
prestigious title went to Bodegas Campillo for its Gran Reserva 2014. Galicia was recognised for thequality of its white wines with two Gold medal wins for still white wines, more than any otherSpanish region. These went to Agro De Bazán’s Granbazán Limousin 2020 and Bodegas Altos De
Torona for its Albanta Sobre Lias 2022 which also picked up the Spanish White Trophy. Sherry had
another great year, winning 29 of the country’s 40 gold medals, with the Sherry Trophy awarded toBodegas Fernando De Castilla for its Oloroso Singular.
Spain expert and IWC Co-Chair, Tim Atkin MW, commented, "The results from this year's competition
highlight Spain's strong presence in the world of wine. Rioja's dominance in the medal tabledemonstrates its unmatched expertise in producing high quality wines. The continued success ofSherry wines is also a testament to the diversity and versatility of Spain's wine industry."Austria claims two of the six international trophies
Austria’s Weingut Schneeberger regained the International Sauvignon Blanc Trophy this year for its
Sauvignon Blanc Kittenberg Südsteiermark 2021. It is the second time in three years that thisSüdsteiermark winery has produced the top Sauvignon Blanc in the competition. Austria also
regained the International Riesling Trophy which went to acclaimed cooperative Winzer Krems for
its Kremser Kreuzberg Riesling Kremstal Dac Reserve 2021, the wine that also won this year’sAustrian White Trophy.

Up-and-coming challengers make their markThis year’s challenge produced some revelatory results across Europe, Asia, South America andAfrica. New winners this year included Egypt and Denmark which earnt their place on the table withtwo Bronze medals each. Romania also had its first taste of Gold Medal success, with a sweet wine
Jidvei Eiswein from Transylvania producer Sc Jidvei. In addition, the nation won a further five Bronze
medals and 17 Commended.
The Netherlands received its first Silver medal this year which was awarded to a sparkling Riesling
produced by Domein Aldenborg: the Eyra Riesling Millésime Brut Nature 2015. This was abreakthrough for the country which has never received a medal for its sparkling wines before. Othercountries emerging on the world stage include India, Ukraine and Peru which doubled its medal
count compared to last year.
Peter McCombie MW, IWC Co-Chair explained, “An International Wine Challenge medal gives
consumers the confidence to be adventurous and try wines from countries that they may not havepreviously associated with top quality wine. It takes the risk out of buying wine from up-and-coming
wine-producing nations such as India, Demark and the Netherlands, which have all been recognisedwith medals in this year’s challenge.”
The full list of 2023 International Wine Challenge award winners released on 18th May can be seen
here. The IWC Champion Wines for 2023 which are selected following a re-tasting by the IWC CoChairs of all the trophy-winning wines, will be revealed at the IWC 2023 Awards announcement on
Tuesday 4th July.
ENDS-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------NOTES TO EDITORS:The International Wine Challenge
In its 39th year, the International Wine Challenge is widely acknowledged as the world’s most rigorous,
impartial, influential and global wine competition. The International Wine Challenge assesses everywine ‘blind’ and judges each for its faithfulness to style, region and vintage. Awards include medals(Gold, Silver, Bronze) and Commended awards. Trophies are awarded to the very best wines in eachcategory. The International Wine Challenge is committed to helping consumers discover great wine,
and the medals displayed on winning bottles offer a trusted guarantee of quality.
For more information on the IWC, please contact the IWC team at Phipps
iwc@thisisphipps.com : +44 (0) 20 3968 2455
International Wine Challenge Results 2023: Medal Summary Table, ranked by Gold medals
CountryFrance
Australia
PortugalSpain
New ZealandArgentina
South Africa
Austria
Italy
EnglandChile
Croatia
Hungary
Germany
Georgia
Canada

Gold
70
62
49
40
38
19
15
14
13
13
7554
33

Silver
321
250
174
200
107
110
90
44
118
45
49
25
9
17
16
16

Bronze
446
199
176
249
110
110
123
32
219
58
88
26
7
19
34
29

Commended
350
129
206
304
68
107
103
20275
33
91
39
11
1025
18

TurkeyJapan
Moldova
LebanonRomania
GreeceUSA
China
BrazilUruguay
MexicoNorth Macedonia
Switzerland
SwedenPeru
UkraineNetherlandsIndia
Belgium
Egypt
Denmark
Kazakhstan
Wales
China - Taiwan
Bulgaria
Cyprus21111000000000000000000000

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128
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10
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0
0
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31
37
19
95
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8
2
1300222211000306125
5
17103030422
37
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