The IWSC announces results for 2020

The top wines of the year were announced by the IWSC on the 12th October as it published the 30 trophy winners that stole the show in this year’s judging.

IWSC Trophies are assessed by a panel made up of the competition’s most senior and experienced judges. This year the panel included three members of the IWSC’s Wine Judging Committee – John Hoskins MW, Alex Hunt MW and Dirceu Vianna Junior MW – as well as Freddy Bulmer of the Wine Society, Elizabeth Kelly MW, Alistair Cooper MW and sommelier and restaurateur Isa Bal MS.

“The standard of judges invited to participate in this competition is very high… Judges are strict but fair,” said Dirceu Vianna Junior MW. The judges are responsible for re-tasting each Gold medal-winning wine for final endorsement. Only Gold medal-winning wines are then put forward to contest the overall trophy in their category.

The standout wines came from all corners of the globe, including Australia, France, Hungary and South Africa, with the sparkling and fortified wine categories receiving the highest number of trophies. Producers in the northern hemisphere had a particularly successful year, taking home three-quarters of the total number of trophies.

The Castelli Estate Il Liris Chardonnay 2018 got a gold medal scoring 96 points and took the trophy a week later after the panel reassessed all gold medal winners.

The judges described the wine made with the Denmark’s home block fruit as “Richly-layered cornucopia of aromatic oral pleasure; ripe yellow plum, exotic blooms, woodsmoke, citrus, lime curd, bacon and pineapple. Elegant, refined, controlled with a mouth-watering acidity and a finely textured palate. A superb citrus scented, stone fruit finish. Longevity and grace.”

This year’s IWSC awards ceremony will take place on 18 November as a virtual broadcast on YouTube Premieres, presented by wine and spirit experts Joe Fattorini and Joel Harrison. It is being produced by one of the foremost documentary filmmakers in the UK – a producer who has worked with Pink Floyd, Blur and the Sex Pistols.

The IWSC ceremony will be hosted by IWSC 2020 president, Ridgeview CEO Tamara Roberts, at the picturesque estate in the rolling hills of Sussex.

There will be no physical trophies this year as the Event organisers felt it would be appropriate to donate the money to the Drinks Trust instead, to support individuals who have been most affected by current events.

Twenty-one awards will be presented at the ceremony with three special awards also being presented.

Anyone interested in watching the ceremony can subscribe to attend the virtual event. Viewers will be able to take part in a competition to win one of several cases of 2020 Trophy-winning wines.