Can every iteration of Decanter’s Wines of the Year be ‘the best ever’? I wasn’t convinced we could top last year’s tasting, which included a perfect 100 score from one judge, but it does seem to be the case with 2022’s crop.
Our Sparkling, White and Red Wines of the Year each earned 99 points from this year’s three experts, and half of the 125 bottles in the stellar line-up scored 95pts or more – up from 40% last year. ‘Hands down the best wine tasting I’ve ever done,’ enthused Amanda Barnes, a sentiment shared by her fellow judges.
To select the wines, Decanter World Wine Awards Regional Chairs, key contributors and staff nominated the three wines that most impressed them in 2022. These had to be under the categories of Classic (a premium, textbook wine style), Offbeat (unusual grape, region, winemaking method, or unearthed gem) and Value (under £25). While a few, sadly, had sold out or couldn’t be sourced because of low stock or shipping issues, 125 arrived at Decanter’s offices in London’s Paddington, courtesy of generous producers and importers, to be judged blind over two days.
PURE QUALITY
Neither the category nor price was revealed to the judges, so all the wines were assessed purely on quality. While they appreciated this, Pedro Ballesteros Torres MW and Vincenzo Arnese said it gave the tasting an added challenge. ‘With a blind tasting of 125 wines of the same grape, country or style, you create a mental map of references and it makes it easier to rank your scores from higher to lower. Here the challenge was the diversity, so we had to assess them based on sheer complexity and pleasure.’
‘It’s a rare opportunity to be able to compare and contrast a vertical of different regions, styles and grapes, with the common line between them being high quality,’ added Arnese.
The fact that entries are hand selected by Decanter’s experts makes the Wines of the Year tasting unique, said Barnes, who applauded the fact that this wasn’t just a reprinted list or retasting of top wines that featured in Decanter during 2022. ‘This is a personal recommendation by wine lovers who want to share amazing classic wines, great value wines and exciting new discoveries with other wine lovers – Decanter’s readers.’
Italy was the overwhelming star of the two days of judging, boasting five of the top eight red wines (including Red Wine of the Year) and the runner-up in both the White Wine of the Year and Value Wine of the Year.
Arnese was particularly proud to see his motherland fare so well. ‘Especially some less well-known grapes and regions, like the Nerello Mascalese from Etna or the Aglianico from Irpinia, standing alongside some very reputable, classic regions such as Bordeaux, Bolgheri, Barolo, Brunello and Rioja.’
In the whites, it was Chardonnay that astounded the judges. ‘A truly wonderful flight,’ marvelled Ballesteros Torres. ‘The amazing thing was that there was nothing from Napa or Burgundy. Despite this, our White Wine of the Year was absolutely of an equal quality.’
He also singled out the Champagnes. ‘In trying to decide our Sparkling Wine of the Year there were two we discussed a lot because they were quite different styles, but both completely incredible.’ The eclectic ‘offbeat’ wines always intrigue our Wines of the Year judges, keen to make new discoveries in an ever-expanding wine world. All three highlighted the ‘unique and surprising’ 94pt Blaufränkisch red from Japan’s Camel Farm Winery (see p30), the ‘characterful and exciting’ unfortified Jerez white, and the Pinot Meunier from Australia – ‘a funky, original wine with a postmodern voice, it was a great joy,’ said Ballesteros Torres.
While the lack of dry Riesling, red and white Burgundy and ‘rosé of any real quality’ surprised the panel, the sheer diversity and quality throughout the 125 wines was evident.
‘So many good
