Spain's organic winegrowers: 5 times Grand Gold, 23 times Gold, 7 times Silver and two recommendations

May 29, 2022

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Excellently integrated PIWIs, more stability in the category of natural wines and seldom 100 points rating. Figures and development within the international organic wine community.

Frasdorf, May 2022 - A total of 28 PAR® Master tasters from several European countries came together on the second weekend in May.*)to taste the 15th ORGANIC WINE AWARD INTERNATIONAL with 543 organic wines from 19 countries. For the first time, two quality inspectors were part of this master team, specially appointed by WINE SYSTEM to validate each score. This is a response to the ever-increasing stylistic complexity of the tasting. Thus, the Frasdorf award professionals once again raised their strict standards and awarded 51 times Grand Gold, 264 times Gold and 199 times Silver in the spring edition. 27 wines received a recommendation. The overall winner this spring is a natural wine at the top of the ranking: the 2021 Oniric Brisat Xarello Vermell from the Entre Vinyes winery in Catalonia. The Qvevri wine from the autochthonous Xarello Vermell vine achieved 100 out of a possible 100 PAR® points.

Nearly two-thirds of GranGold awards (32 medals out of 51 in total) went to the most represented wine countries – Germany, Italy and Austria. The 100-point overall winner, meanwhile, comes from Catalonia in Spain and also Portugal, France and the Switzerland are represented at the top. Other countries with top scores are the Lebanon, Argentina, Greece, the Turkey, and Hungary.**)

**) Note to the editor: The hyperlinks lead to the respective Grand Gold Lists of the countries.

Spain's organic winegrowers: 5 times Grand Gold, 23 times Gold, 7 times Silver and two recommendations

With the 2021 Oniric Brisat Xarello Vermell in the white wine category, the Catalan winery Entre Vinyes not only delivers the overall winner of the tasting, but also one of the rare 100-point scores from the renowned WINE SYSTEM jury.

All other Grand Gold medals are in the red wine category: Best in class, with 98 points, is here the 2018 Solar de Urbezo Crianza Tinto from the Bodegas Solar de Urbezo in Aragón. He is followed by the 2020 Vega Valterra Selección with 97 points and the 2015 Cepas y Bobales with 96 points - both from Bodegas Proexa in the Utiel-Requena region. Also scoring 96 points and Grand Gold is the 2021 PAISAJES EMBOTELLADOS DE VIÑEDOS RUIZ JIMÉNEZ JOVEN from La Rioja.

The best Spanish rosé was awarded 95 points and gold: the 2021 Monastrell Rosé Ancestral from the Bodega La Encina in Alicante.

The highest-ranked sparkling wine from Spain comes from Catalonia. The 2021 Cava Brut Rosé Pinot Noir Reserva Familia from the U MES U winery scores 94 points and gold.

Best integrated PIWIs and stabilisation in the natural wine sector

Among the tasting conclusions of the WINE SYSTEM jury is the observation that the natural wine trend of the last few years is not only consolidating in terms of quantity, but is also showing a more stable level of quality than was the case in past rankings. Of the 31 natural wines submitted, i.e. those from the category "nothing in, nothing out", 7 achieved Grand Gold, 17 Gold, 6 Silver and one a Recommendation.

It was also noted that the PIWIs are now fully integrated in the organic wine scene in terms of quality. The knowledge advantage of the former PIWI pioneers has been caught up by the competitors. In the spring tasting, wines made purely from the young varieties account for just over 11 percent. Two of them are right at the top with Grand Gold. 25 others achieve Gold, 18 Silver, 2 a Recommendation. The international PIWI community will have the next opportunity to present their wines at the PIWI WINE AWARD INTERNATIONAL in October 2022. Registrations are already possible.

The WINE SYSTEM quality assurance - tastings with the highest standards

The WINE SYSTEM Awards are becoming more and more complex as the international orange and natural wine scene becomes more and more professional. With the PAR® tasting scheme, which basically examines the wines individually as well as according to origin, climate and style, the jury is well prepared for this complexity. Since especially the orange and natural wines, the Qvevris and PetNats often show aromas and characteristics that are rather undesirable in the still predominant modern style, the desire arose internally for a kind of second instance that validates results and, in case of doubt, discusses them with the tasters. Thus, the two newly appointed quality inspectors from the ranks of the Certified PAR® Masters act both as specialised back-up and as advocates for the winemakers, ensuring that every single score corresponds to the fully traceable PAR® standard, which is repeatedly put to the test.

Free telephone counselling for participants on 30 May

In order to be able to read the PAR® sheets better and to use them for the further development of the wines, WINE SYSTEM offers a seminar on 30 May, after registration at buero@winesystem.deWe offer a free telephone consultation on the wines of the participants.

 

Supplementary Information

*) For the hybrid tasting in spring 2022, part of the jury was again connected virtually. The submitted wines were thematically assigned to the PAR® Certified Masters according to climatic, stylistic and analytical parameters, anonymised and numbered before they were unpacked on site and presented to the jurors in a predefined order. As envisaged in the PAR® methodology, the assessors also acted online in teams of two, first tasting each wine separately before discussing the result and only recording it once a consensus had been reached.

 

WINE SYSTEM - Trust your Senses with its three fields of activity - consulting, training and PAR® quality competitions - has been a competent partner for winegrowers, the trade and the specialist public in the field of wine and sensory analysis since 1999. Since 2019, the company has been under the management of board members Brigitte Wüstinger and Martin Darting and has been organising renowned wine quality competitions for many years - including the ORGANIC WINE AWARD INTERNATIONAL, the WINE AWARD INTERNATIONAL, the PiGUNDY WINE AWARD INTERNATIONAL, the PIWI WINE AWARD INTERNATIONAL and many smaller competitions. The WINE SYSTEM database with over 40,000 items is the basis for the PAR® evaluation system developed by Martin Darting. It is appreciated in the professional world as a comprehensive information portal and serves as an important tool in many areas. www.winesystem.de

contactt

WINE SYSTEM - Trust your Senses
Brigitte Wüstinger and Martin Darting
Daxa 8
83112 Frasdorf
Phone +49 8032-91633-20
buero@winesystem.de

Media contact

WINE SYSTEM - Trust your Senses Sonja Hartung
Daxa 8
83112 Frasdorf
Phone +49 8032-91633-0
presse@winesystem.de

 

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