Just 0.3% of wines tasted at the Decanter World Wine Awards 2018 won one of the prestigious Best in Show medals.

A total of 16,903 wines were tasted this year, with 50 wines awarded the Best in Show accolade, having previously made it through to the Platinum level.

France scooped up the Best in Show awards this year with 12 medals, ahead of Spain with nine accolades. Italy and Australia scooped six each, with other Best in Show medals heading to several other countries around the world, from New Zealand, South Africa and the US to Canada and Greece.

Among some of the more surprising winners in the top echelon of DWWA 2018 was an Assyrtiko from Artemis Karamolegos winery on the Greek island of Santorini. Judges credited it as ‘an outstanding summary of this unique terroir’.

Further west, a Cabernet Franc from Thirty Bench Wines added more evidence that wine lovers should be taking note of what is happening in Canada.

Karen MacNeil, Regional Chair for the USA and Central America, said: ‘Wines at the DWWA are given an enormous amount of consideration and thoughtfulness. Among all wine competitions in the world, this is the competition producers would want to be part of.’

The Best in Show winners, ordered by country:

Argentina:

• Bodegas Fabre, Viñalba Gran Reservado Malbec, Uco Valley, Mendoza, Argentina 2015. Stockist: Majestic Wine Warehouses, £16.99 – www.majestic.co.uk

Australia:

• Tapanappa, Tiers Vineyard Chardonnay, Piccadilly Valley (Adelaide Hills), South Australia, Australia 2016. Stockist: Edencroft Fine Wines, £52 – www.edencroft.co.uk
• Brown Hill Estate, Perseverance Cabernet-Merlot, Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia 2014
• McGuigan, Vineyard Select Sémillon, Hunter Valley, New South Wales, Australia 2005
• Mr. Riggs, Shiraz, McLaren Vale, South Australia,  Australia 2015
• Calabria Family, Saint Petri Grenache-Shiraz-Mataro, Barossa Valley, South Australia, Australia 2016
• Annie’s Lane, Copper Trail Shiraz, Clare Valley, South Australia, Australia 2016

Austria:

• Gritsch Mauritiushof, Kalkofen Riesling Smaragd, Wachau, Niederösterreich, Austria 2016. Stockist: Savage Selection, £33 – www.savageselection.co.uk
• Wieninger, Ulm-Nussberg, Wiener Gemischter Satz, Wien, Austria 2016. Stockist: Liberty Wines, £29.99 – www.libertywine.co.uk

Read More at Source: Decanter