SWA trophy winners revealed
We are delighted to announce the trophy-winning wines from this year’s Sommelier Wine Awards, presented to a very select group of wines that our judges felt represented the ‘best in class’ in their respective categories.
All Gold medal-winning wines are eligible to win a trophy and, after a final blind tasting conducted by a team of judges headed up by our competition chair, Isa Bal MS, these seven standout wines were selected.
In our House Wine category (for wines with a trade price of £10 and under), there were some strong contenders from the south of France, Rioja and Italian regions in particular. But the House White Wine of the Year trophy goes to Calmel & Joseph’s Villa Blanche Chardonnay 2023 from the Languedoc (£9.18 @ LWC Drinks). Noble Rot’s Stephanie Wangui remarked on its “great tension, with well-integrated acidity and ripe yet well-balanced fruit”, while Isa Bal MS felt that “a lot of care has been taken to make something that is enjoyable, and for the price point it offers very good drinking”.
Our second trophy winner is Rioja’s Beronia, Crianza Edición Limitada 2019 (£10.00 @ Gonzalez Byass UK), which takes the House Red Wine of the Year trophy, Kai Mayfair’s Mateusz Kowalczyk praising its “good typicity, complexity and ageing potential”. Harpers Wine & Spirit editor Andrew Catchpole noted that the diversity and quality for the price in the House Red category was particularly impressive, but that this wine “had the most immediate appeal and also gave a little more in terms of interest”.
Coming in at just a slightly higher price point, Gaia’s Notios 2022 from Santorini (£12.51 @ Hallgarten & Novum Wines) wins this year’s Gastropub Wine of the Year trophy. This Greek white was “an easy-drinking option, with crisp lemon and grapefruit”, according to Giancarlo Cuccuru of Lutyens Grill at The Ned, while Noble Rot’s Joshua Castle described it as “clean and moreish”.
In the fine wine category (wines at £20.00 and above), Burgundy’s Domaine Vrignaud is the worthy recipient of the White Fine Wine of the Year trophy, for its Chablis 2022 (£21.69 @ Liberty Wines). Vincenzo Arnese of Raffles London at The OWO praised its “nice citrus uplift and developed aromas of golden apple”, while freelance sommelier Elly Owen found “a delicious line of savoury salinity running through the palate”.
Meanwhile, the Red Fine Wine of the Year goes to Cipressi, Barbera d’Asti Superiore Nizza 2021 (£21.26 @ Hallgarten & Novum Wines) from Italian producer Michele Chiarlo. The wine was much admired by our judges, with Chris Goodale of Julie’s restaurant describing it as “a great all-round Barbera, with lots of potential for ageing”, and The Dorchester’s Matteo Furlan finding it “very good value for money, with bright fruit character, beautiful floral components, and very elegant and refined tannins”.
Among our sparkling wine award winners, we had very strong examples from both Champagne and elsewhere, so it was decided that two separate trophies should be awarded. Laurent-Perrier takes the Champagne of the Year trophy for its Alexandra Rosé Millésimé 2012 (£264.05 @ Matthew Clark), which was described as “racy and razor sharp” by Moor Hall’s Matthew Davison, with Chris Goodale finding it to be “an endlessly complex wine that only gets better with air”.
Outside Champagne, it’s England’s chance to shine, with the Sparkling Wine of the Year trophy being awarded to Ridgeview in East Sussex for its Bloomsbury Magnum NV (£43.64 @ Ridgeview Wine Estate). According to Dinner by Heston’s Nikos Emner, this had a ‘beautifully developed nose, with bright fruits and complexity on the palate’, while Andrew Catchpole described it as ‘a very satisfying wine, with enough texture to stand up to food’.
When it came to choosing this year’s top trophy, the Overall Wine of the Year, it “wasn’t an easy decision as we tasted a lot of remarkable wines”, commented Isa Bal MS. There could only be one winner, however, and the judges were unanimous in their decision to hand the trophy to our triumphant Red Fine Wine of the Year, Michele Chiarlo, Cipressi Barbera d’Asti Superiore Nizza 2021. “This wine stood out for its overall balance and fruit intensity,” said Bal. “It’s simply a delicious glass of wine that one can drink now or put away in the cellar for a number of years.” Bravo!
As well as announcing our trophy winners, we can also unveil our Merchant and Producer of the Year special award winners, which were revealed at Imbibe Live. These special awards recognise the best-performing wine merchants and producers in this year’s competition, and the results are determined by a weighted points system based on overall performance of their entry, taking into account the medals, extra awards and trophies received.
Many of our wine merchants submitted entries covering a wide range of styles, regions and price points, while others focused more on one particular area. It’s worth noting that some were shortlisted for more than one award here, too. The worthy recipients of our Merchant of the Year awards are as follows:
Large Merchant of the Year: Hallgarten & Novum Wines
(shortlist: Bibendum, Hallgarten & Novum Wines, Liberty Wines)
Small Merchant of the Year: Pol Roger
(shortlist: Gonzalez Byass UK, Jascots, Pol Roger)
Fine Wine Merchant of the Year: Liberty Wines
(shortlist: Alliance Wine, Hallgarten & Novum Wines, Liberty Wines)
Value Merchant of the Year: LWC Drinks
(shortlist: Bibendum, Gonzalez Byass UK, LWC Drinks, Majestic Commercial)
New World Merchant of the Year: Bibendum
(shortlist: Bibendum, Liberty Wines, Pol Roger)
Classic Regions Merchant of the Year: Alliance Wine
(shortlist: Alliance Wine, Hallgarten & Novum Wines, Liberty Wines)
We also recognise those producers who have put in a particularly strong performance at the Sommelier Wine Awards. Again, these results reflect the number of medals, extra awards and trophies received, as part of an overall entry. Well done to this year’s high-achieving Producers of the Year:
Sparkling Wine Producer of the Year: Laurent-Perrier
(runners up: Fox & Fox, A-Nobis)
European Producer of the Year: Ramón Bilbao
(runner up: Alpha Estate)
New World Producer of the Year: Kaiken
(runners up: Stella Bella and Neudorf)
Fortified Producer of the Year: Valdespino
The SWA team would like to offer huge congratulations to all the trophy and special award winners in this year’s competition. For more details of all the winning wines, including full tasting notes and stockist details, visit sommelierwineawards.com.