The results of the seventh international London Wine Competition, which took place on 18/19 March, are now in.
The competition has become established as the world’s most relevant wine competition, where wines are judged on their quality, value and packaging.; the professional panel of judges included some of the most esteemed and highly-regarded professionals in the hospitality sector.
Members of the judging panel are selected not just for their expert noses, but also for having direct responsibility for wine buying, including Eric Zwiebel MS, Sara Muirhead MW, Matteo Montone MS, David Round MW, Susan Hulme MW, William Lowe MW, Demetri Walters MW, Svetoslav Manolev MS, Christopher Delalonde MS, Annette Scarfe MW, Alvaro Ribalta MW, Beans Boughton MW, Tim Triptree MW, Yves Desmaris MS and Mike Best MW.
The overall winner of the wine competition was the Fat Cat Barossa Tawny produced by Cat Amongst The Pigeons, the independent winery based in Surry Hills, New South Wales.
Tawny was awarded 98 points (out of a possible 100 points) and was also named as Wine of the Year.
The other winners from this year’s competition include:
- Best Winery of The Year 2024: Justin Vineyards & Winery, USA
- Best Wine of The Year (by Value) 2024: 2021 Choosy Beggars Cabernet Merlot, Australia
- Best Wine of The Year (by Packaging) 2024: Mount Pleasant Winery Tawny Port Vol. XXIII, USA
Australia, Italy, Portugal, Spain and France were the top five countries to submit entries this year and the top five grape categories were: Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Merlot.
After the competition the organisers were sent a selection of quotes from the judging panel, all of which reinforce the status that the annual event has achieved:
“The London Wine Competition is uniquely positioned as being business-orientated and the fact that it attracts a lot of Masters of Wine and Master Sommeliers gives it the highest overall standard of any competition when it comes to the quality of judges”, David Round MW.
Beans Boughton MW was similarly impressed: “Seamless organisation” and commented that Moldova was the region that produced his favourite wines.
“I like the fact that the number of wines we needed to taste per day was not exaggerated and it was fair. 70 wines per day with plenty of time to taste was great! I liked the venue, very good light and tasting conditions. I liked scoring by quality, value and packaging”, said Susan Hulme MW.
She added: “There is a very interesting and well organised competition with some new ideas on judging wine, not just on quality. There was a nice friendly, positive atmosphere. I enjoyed the Greek white category and some of the Australian and Mexican red wines were great to discover as well”.
Sara Muirhead MW commented: “It was very well organised. The judges were of a very high caliber. The staff pouring and serving the wines were very professional, helpful and friendly, and a great venue.
“I was particularly impressed by the English sparkling wines, as well as two sparkling wines from Wallonia.
“A flight of red Bordeaux also stood out for me, as well as two aromatic whites from Moldova from the Viorica grape, plus a 2015 Rioja Reserva.”
Commenting on this year’s event, Sid Patel, CEO of Beverage Trade Network, the organisers of the event, said: “The London Wine Competition is becoming more widely known in the trade with each passing year; we plan to make the London Competitions more global with the inclusion of regional ambassadors around the world.
“London still attracts the most sophisticated taste palette when it comes to trade judges making it a solid test ground for both international and domestic brands to get critical feedback, especially on the new products that producers plan to take out in the market.”
The 2024 entrants, as with previous events, also got additional feedback on how the category is performing and if the product is a good fit for on-trade and off-trade especially when it comes to the UK drinks market.
As a media partner of the London Wine Competition, Hand Crafted Drinks Magazine has also had wide ranging independent feedback from various producers that have entered and won awards; without exception, everyone that sent in their comments was universally positive.
View the full list of winners HERE