Burgundy shines in IWSC French results

Wine news

Tue 12 Jun 2018

By Laurel Bibby

The two great Burgundy vintages of 2014 and 2015 have been lauded by IWSC judges with a cascade of top medals at IWSC 2018.

The white wines of the two vintages – and Chablis especially – were lavishly praised by critics when they were first released for tasting. Now that they are readily available to consumers, the IWSC has given them the seal of approval with the publication of its 2018 French results.

There’s also strength as usual in Champagne, with almost 60 wines achieving the top Gold Outstanding, Gold, and Silver Outstanding awards, but the real draw comes from Burgundy as the wines of the amazing 2014 and 2015 vintages continue to impress.

A notable four Chablis wines were awarded Gold medals – La Chablisienne Chablis Grand Cru Château Grenouilles 2014, La Chablisienne Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos 2015, UVC Chablis Grand Cru 2014, and La Chablisienne Chablis Grand Cru Preuses 2015 – while La Chablisienne Chablis 1er Cru Beauroy 2015 won a prestigious Gold Outstanding medal.

Judges described this 2015 wine as an “impressive chablis showing pear and apricot aromas, with floral and hints of toasted notes which all follow on to the palate. Minerality comes through with time in the glass that add a lovely tension to the wine. There is much complexity and weight here with a mouthwatering zesty finish.”

This marks a large increase in high wins for Chablis this year, following only one gold medal winner from the region in the IWSC 2017.

Today, Tuesday 12 June, the IWSC will also be attending the Sud de France Annual Trade Tasting in London, where over 25 producers from the regions of Occitanie/Pyrénées-Mediterrannée will be showcasing over 200 wines.

Search the full winners' listing here.

Featured image: La Chablisienne