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Best chardonnay of the world 2009
The 16th annual Chardonnay du Monde® wine competition was held March 11-14, 2009 at Château des Ravatys, the wine estate of the Pasteur Institute at Saint-Lager in the Burgundy wine (France)
The Chardonnay du Monde® international competition recognises the world’s best Chardonnay wines by awarding them with reliable and representative medals. This competition is based on a single conviction: distinctive marks of quality are the key to real differentiation and therefore enhancing the value of the awarded wines in this highly competitive market where the array of products becomes more vast each day. Award-winning wineries can use this recognition for sales purposes by placing medal stickers on their bottles.
This event is unique in terms of its scope, its method and its ambition:
- International in scope and a seldom reached diversity: 923 wine samples, 37 countries, 300 international expert judges.
- A strict method with the focus on quality: compliance with international competition standards, rigorous selection of expert judges, and the use of scientific criteria for tasting, and secure processing of computer results.
- Optimal tasting conditions: sensory isolation, number of samples limited to 17 per panel, expert judges do not add up their scores allowing them to focus on evaluating the wines, and wines are tasted at an appropriate pace.
As part of these Quality Assurances, all new judges must participate in a one-day training session before being admitted to the tasting panels. For each judge, this session includes sensory profile determination, Chardonnay aromas identification and various exercises to familiarise themselves with methods used in international wine judging competitions.
Chardonnay du Monde® has progressively distinguished itself from other international competitions thanks to quality standards that are much stricter than the norm and by remaining faithful to its founding principles, which have driven its success over the years: diversity, quality and high standards.
After four days of judging, the panels awarded medals to 307 participants.
| Medals distribution |
| Grand Gold Medal |
1
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| Gold medals |
54
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| Silver medals |
187
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| Bronze medals |
54
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| Top 10 Best chardonnay du Monde® 2009 |
| Gold medals |
| Country |
Product |
Winery |
France |
Champagne 1er Cru Blanc de Blancs 2004 |
Champagne Mandois |
Spain |
Navarre d.o - Albret Chardonnay 2008 |
Finca Albret |
France |
Mâcon-Villages - Cuvée de la Saint Martin 2007 |
Cave Coopérative d’Azé |
South Africa |
La Motte Chardonnay - - Franschhoek Valley 2007 |
La Motte Vineyard |
Canada |
Icewine Chardonnay - VQA Niagara Peninsula 2000 |
Royal de Maria Wines |
France |
Chablis 1er Cru Fourchaume - Vieilles Vignes 2007 |
Domaine des Malandes |
England |
QSW - Chardonnay Première Cuvée Blanc de Blancs Brut 1998 |
Nyetimber Vineyard |
France |
Viré-Clessé AOC - Vieilles Vignes 2007 |
Earl Domaine les Grands Crays |
Australia |
Mc Williams Hanwood Estate Chardonnay - South Eastern Australia 2007 |
E & J. Gallo Winery |
Italy |
Sicilia IGT - Schietto Chardonnay 2007 |
Azienda Agricola Spadafora |
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The Top 10 ranking
Seven countries appear in the 2009 Top 10 ranking : France obtains a Grand Gold Medal with a Champagne Premier Cru Blanc de blanc (Champagne Mandois). It is also distinguished through a Mâcon-Villages (Cave Coopérative d'Azé), a Chablis Premier Cru (Domaine du Balandes) and a Viré-Clessé (Earl Domaine les Grands Crays). England enters in good standing in the Top 10 list with a Sparkling Chardonnay (Nyetimber Vineyard). Spain (Navarre Do, Finca Albret), South Africa (La Motte Vineyard), Canada (Icewine Chardonnay, Royal de Maria Wines), Australia (E. & J. Gallo Winery), Italy (Azienda Agricola Spadafora) reaffirm their good positioning. The 2009 Top 10 proposes the diversity of the expressions of Chardonnay wines through six still wines, two wines with residual sugars and two Sparkling wines.
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| 2009 GENERAL TRENDS |
- An unique geographical diversity: with 37 countries and 923 wines entered, Chardonnay du Monde® is the strongest concentration of chardonnay wine ever realized. It is the most significant and legitimate qualitative competition for the distinction of best Chardonnay of the World.There was also strong participation from Canada, Italy, Spain, central Europe, Switzerland, Chile, Argentina and the arrival of a new participating country, Russia.
- The country winning the most medals:
The good place of France is noted: Languedoc-Roussillon, Southern Burgundy, Champagnes and sparkling wines were awarded with numerous and beautiful medals
Within Europe, wines from Switzerland, Italy and Spain stood out for their numerous medals.
Outside Europe, Canada, Chile, South Africa and Australia confirmed their successes of earlier years.
- There was a high level of diversity in terms of the sensorial qualities of the wines: Each wine distinguished at Chardonnay du Monde® was judged for its individual quality. A favourable view is granted to the wines showing good typicity and intense Chardonnay aromas. Oakiness is considered a plus when it is discreet and harmonious, but this quality was marked down when it masked varietal aromas.
The presence of sugar at a few grams per litre has a tendency to improve scores. This tendency, already noted in previous years, was confirmed this year with a number of successes for off-dry wines. Wines made from partially dried or lateharvested grapes and those made by selective cryo-extraction received particularly good marks.
Dry wines were judged successful when they displayed harmony in the form of elegant acidity, with aromatic complexity.
- Technical Enrichment: The use of a new Professional Tasting Instrument resulting from applied research. In addition to organising a flawless competition is the desire to improving the reliability of measuring instruments. This resulted in the adoption of a professional wine-tasting glass for the tasting of sparkling chardonnay wines. This new tool tested by judges of Effervescents du Monde® (www.effervescnets-du-monde.com) is an INAO-type tasting glass that contains a precise number of nucleation sites. The objective of this new wine-tasting glass "Fleur d’Effervescence®" is to optimise the tasting of sparkling wines, to calibrate their degree of effervescence, to control the formation of bubbles and to enable ideal expression of the foam…
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