Five wines awarded Champion status at the IWC 2014 awards

By Erin Smith

Published: 17 July, 2014

France, Germany, Australia, and Portugal shared the honours last night as the overall Champion Wines were announced at the 31st annual International Wine Challenge awards ceremony in London.

But it was France that led the way with two Champion Wine awards.

Burgundy- based producer Jean Claude Boisset's Clos de la Roche Grand Cru 2012 won Champion Red Wine, with its notes of roasted coffee and cherries wowing judges.

For the second year in a row French Champagne House Piper Heidsieck received the Daniel Thibault Trophy for Champion Sparkling wine of the year for its Rare Millésimé 2002 Champagne.

In a huge coup for the Portuguese wine trade and in recognition of how far its winemaking has come, the 2014 IWC Champion White wine was awarded to the Campolargo 2011 Manuel dos Santos Campolargo.

"Portuguese white wine picking up the top prize for whites was a delightfully unexpected surprise. More people should try Portugal's whites," said Charles Metcalfe, co-chair of the IWC.

The 2012 Escherndorfer Lump Riesling Trockenbeerenauslese was awarded the Alois Kracher Trophy for Champion Sweet wine and is produced by German winemaker Weingut Horst Sauer.

Fifth generation Australian wine producer Morris Wines was awarded the IWC Champion Fortified Wine for its Old Premium Rare Liqueur Tokay (NV).

Metcalfe added: "We have seen some absolutely fantastic wines through the course of the competition, and these five Champion wines represent the crème de la crème. These five wines are truly world-class. France has yet again cemented its position as an unbeatable winemaking nation with two of the top prizes."

The Champion wines were selected following a rigorous judging process, beating thousands of contenders from all around the world. The wines were initially awarded IWC Trophies during two weeks of tasting in April this year at London's Kia Oval.

The best wine in each style from every country was then awarded National Trophies (i.e. Best Australian Red, Best French Red) before being tasted and judged again by the co-chairmen of the IWC which chose the best in class for each of the five categories.

Metcalfe said: "Each of these Champion Award winners has beaten thousands of wines from around the world. For each of them, it's a huge achievement."

The awards were handed out at London's Grosvenor House hotel on July 16.

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