Wines awarded across the globe by the International Wine Challenge 2021

The International Wine Challenge, the world’s most influential, impartial and rigorously judged winecompetition, has announced the winners of its 2021 competition, with medals being awarded to wineproducing countries across the globe from Spain and South Africa to Russia and Kazakhstan. Thousands ofwines from over 50 countries were judged by a panel of international wine experts in a rigorous two-weekblind tasting, run under Covid safe measures, in London, this April.
The full list of medal and trophy winners in the 2021 International Wine Challenge can be viewed here.
France’s world-class wines
France was the most awarded country across each of the medal categories, notching up 77 Gold, 419 Silverand 681 Bronze medals. Burgundy produced almost half of the Gold medal-winners, taking home 33 Golds aswell as trophies for the best Chardonnay and Pinot Noir of the competition which both went to Maison Albert
Bichot for its Corton Charlemagne Grand Cru Domaine du Pavillon 2019 and Clos de la Roche Grand CruCuvée Cyrot Chaudron Hospices de Beaune 2019. Of the 282 medal-winning wines from Champagne, the2008 Vintage Champagne from Piper-Heidsieck received the coveted Champagne Trophy for 2021.
Co-chair, Jamie Goode, explains ‘There is a reason why Burgundy and Champagne are internationallyrenowned as some of the best wine regions in the world: each year we see this quality shine through in theentries.’
Shiraz shines for Australia whilst Tasmania reveals its sparkle
After a five-year reign held by Syrah from New Zealand, Australia has won the crown of International Shiraz
Trophy this year, for Wolf Blass Grey Label McLaren Vale Shiraz 2019 from Wolf Blass Wines. This year’s
result represents the first time in almost a decade that Australia has won this trophy. Australia’s top
performing red this year came from Kilikanoon Wines which received the Australian Red Trophy for its GSM,
Baudinet 2019.
Whilst only representing 1% of Australia’s vineyard area, Tasmania is becoming internationally renowned as a
producer of premium wines and in this year’s competition a Tasmanian sparkling wine, Arras E.J Carr Late
Disgorged Vintage 2005 from House of Arras has been awarded the Australian Sparkling Trophy. This latest
win reinforces Tasmania’s reputation as one of Australia’s leading producers of sparkling wine, with every
Australian Sparkling Trophy awarded by the International Wine Challenge in the last 10 years having been won
by a Tasmanian producer.

‘While Syrah and Shiraz share the same DNA, there is a distinction in the styles produced from this noble
varietal. It’s great to see Australia, who arguably put Shiraz on the world stage, taking the trophy this year’
explained Sam Caporn MW, Co-Chair.

Indigenous grapes triumph in Spain
Spain is the second most awarded country in this year’s competition, with 956 medals in total and the thirdlargest haul of Gold medals after France and Australia. An exciting win came for Bodegas Baigorri which wasawarded the Maturana Trophy for its Baigorri Maturana 2018. This is the first time in the history of theInternational Wine Challenge that a Maturana Trophy has been awarded, celebrating the quality of a lesserknown variety indigenous to Rioja. There were big wins across Spain’s winemaking regions with Montecastro
Reserva 2016, a Tempranillo from Bodegas Montecastro in Castilla Y Leon receiving the Spanish Red Trophyand Granbazán Etiqueta Ámbar 2019, an Albariño from Galicia’s Agro de Bazán receiving the Spanish White
Trophy. Acclaimed Sherry producer, Emilio Lustau, scooped the Sherry Trophy for Lustau Palo Cortado
V.O.R.S 30 Years and the Pedro Ximenez Trophy for Pedro Ximenez San Emilio.
Spanish expert and co-chair Tim Atkin MW commented that ‘Spain has an incredibly diverse viticulturallandscape, reflected in the variety of winning styles in this year’s competition. It also benefits from a wealth ofindigenous varietals and it’s encouraging to see the single variety Maturana emerge triumphant this year.’Europe’s rising stars
Austria has beaten 15 other countries, including Sauvignon Blanc producing heavyweights, New Zealand andFrance, to the title of International Sauvignon Blanc Trophy for its Sauvignon Blanc Kitzeck-Sausal
Südsteiermark 2019 from Südsteiermark producer, Weingut Schneeberger. Austria was one of the top ten
best performing countries in this year’s competition, achieving 79 medals overall including 11 Gold medals.
Other notable achievements came from Switzerland, with Les Celliers de Vétroz being awarded the Swiss
White Trophy for Petite Arvine 2019 and Greece, which saw Domaine Sigalas awarded the Greek White
Trophy for Sigalas Santorini Barrel 2020, made from the increasingly popular variety, Assyrtiko.
Oz Clarke, Co-Chair of the International Wine Challenge commented, ‘The results this year really highlight thebreadth of quality wines being produced across the world, with medal-winners from established regions as wellas lesser-known wine producing countries such as Georgia, Turkey, Moldova and North Macedonia. AnInternational Wine Challenge medal sticker helps consumers navigate this ever-changing vinous landscape andgive them confidence to make great wine choices, even if, from a wine perspective, the country is totally new tothem.’
The full list of award-winners in the 2021 International Wine Challenge released on 17th May can be seen here.
The IWC 2021 Champions, which are selected following a re-tasting of all trophy-winning wines by the IWC CoChairs, will be revealed at the IWC 2021 Awards announcement on Wednesday 30th June.
ENDS--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------NOTES TO EDITORS:The International Wine Challenge
In its 38th year, the International Wine Challenge is accepted as the world’s most rigorous, impartial and influential winecompetition. The International Wine Challenge assesses every wine ‘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 bestwines in each category. The International Wine Challenge is committed to helping consumers discover great wine, and themedals 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 7759 7400

International Wine Challenge Results 2021: Medal Summary Table
Country
FranceAustralia
Spain
Portugal
Italy
Argentina
South Africa
England
Austria
New Zealand
Chile
CanadaHungary
Germany
Uruguay
Switzerland
Georgia
TurkeyJapan
GreeceNorth Macedonia
China
Moldova
Croatia
USA
RussiaLebanonMexicoBrazilRomania
Wales
Peru
Kazakhstan
SwedenBelgium
Israel
UkraineSerbiaColombia
Malta
MoroccoSlovenia

Gold
77
49
38
26
17
14
13
12
11
96
3
3
2
2
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
0
0
0
0
0000000000000000

SilverBronze Commended
419
681
205
261
294
83
207
462
249
165
288
116
166
446
242
87
12939571367946541835
24976151
546613882
15221711107102458763
102359191440301340261214166833012145657
1357
3792219411114623572223121620
24016413203
1021021021010001001001001