Best chardonnay of the world 2026
A unique international awards list

The 33rd annual Chardonnay du Monde® wine competition was held March 10-12, 2026 at Château des Ravatys, 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: 471 wines samples, 25 countries, 200 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 20 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 three days of judging, the panels awarded medals to 155 participants.

Medals distribution
Gold medals
74
Silver medals
81

Top 10* Best chardonnay du Monde® 2026
Country Product Winery

Japan
Kikuka Night Harvest - Kobushino 2023 KUMAMOTO WINE FARM CO LTD

France
Vin de France - Vendange de la St Martin CAVE COOPERATIVE D'AZÉ

Japan
Château Mercian - Hokushin - Right Bank Chardonnay Rivalis 2023 CHÂTEAU MERCIAN

Spain
Somontano DOP - Idrias - Chardonnay Organic 2024 BODEGAS SIERRA DE GUARA

France
Pays d'Hérault IGP - Pays de Bessan - Le Petit B Blanc 2025 LE ROSÉ DE BESSAN

Lebanon
Château Ksara - Chardonnay - Cuvée du Pape - Élevé en fûts de chêne 2024 CHÂTEAU KSARA

Italy
Lazio IGT Casale del Giglio Chardonnay 2025 CASALE DEL GIGLIO AZ. AGR. SRL

France
Côtes de Thau IGP - Saint-Peyre Chardonnay 2025 CAVE COOPERATIVE LES COSTIERES DE POMEROLS

France
Pouilly-Fuissé Premier Cru AOP « Vers Cras » 2024 LES VINS GEORGES DUBŒUF

Australia
Wakefield - Jaraman - Chardonnay 2025 WAKEFIELD TAYLORS WINES

Australia
Taylors - Special Release - Chardonnay 2024 WAKEFIELD TAYLORS WINES

France
Côtes de Thongue IGP - Chardonnay Vieilles Vignes - Élevé en fût de chêne 2024 EARL DU DOMAINE SAINT GEORGES

France
Champagne Éric Isselée - Grand Cru - Le Mont Aigu - Blanc de Blancs - Brut Nature 2015 EARL ISSELÉE ÉRIC
* Some wines are rigorously equal thus the TOP 10 2026 includes 13 wines.
2026 GENERAL TRENDS

An unique geographical diversity

With 25 countries and 471 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 South Africa, Brazil, Canada, France, Spain, Hungary, Italy, Japan and Switzerland.

The country winning the most medals

The good place of France is noted with 47 medals. The Burgundy Region, the Southern France and the Champagne were rewarded by numerous and beautiful medals.

Many sparkling Chardonnay were in competition: Champagne gains very beautiful medals. Belgium and Brazil received also very good notes.

Within Europe: Hungary, Moldavia, Spain, Hungary and Switzerland stood out for their numerous medalled wines.

Outside Europe: Brazil, Canada, Japan and South Africa 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.

Expert-judge gave severe notations for the wines whose flavours of chardonnay are masked by too much wood and Sauvignon flavours; they thus privileged the Chardonnay expression.

The presence of sugar at a few grams per liter 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.

Dry wines were judged successful when they displayed harmony in the form of elegant acidity, with aromatic complexity.

International expert judges trained: a unique level of quality and rigor for the evaluation of the Chardonnay wines of the world

More than 700 international expert judges were admitted to evaluate the wines in competition after a specific training.

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.effervescents-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…

Organisation
Chardonnay du Monde is an oganisation of the association Forum Oenologie
Forum Œnologie also organizes:
Alliances du Monde wines Competition: Alliances du Monde®

International Syrah wines Competition: Syrah du Monde®

International Sparkling wines Competition: Effervescents du Monde®

International Competition between the best Muscats of the World®
The international Wine and Vine films Festival OENOVIDEO

Partnership
La Revue des Œnologues
International technical Magazine about Wine and Vine - Technical and Communication partner.
SAQ - Services Actions Qualité
Expert Translation Services for the Wine and Grape Industries - Technical partner.
www.oeno.tm.fr
Internet technical support partner.
SAQ logistic
Official partner for international deliveries.
Chardonnay du Monde 2027
March 2027
PRESS CONTACT
Henri-Laurent ARNOULD

Tel. : 333 85 37 43 21
Fax : 333 85 37 19 83
infos@chardonnay-du-monde.com

THE 2026 RESULTS

  • 471 wine samples from 25 countries were tasted. The judges tasted in accordance with the International rules, and they strictly followed Quality Assurance procedures.

  • 25 percent of the judges were from outside France.
    After three days of judging, the panels awarded medals to 155, on 471 wines entered. The distribution of medals is as follows:

  • Medal Distribution
    • Gold Medals 74
    • Silver Medals: 81

    All the results by countries and by Medals

THIS PRESS RELEASE IN PDF

Press release

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PARTICIPATING COUNTRIES

Australia

Austria

Belgium

Brazil

Bulgaria

Canada

Chile

China

England

France

Greece

Hungary

Italy

Japan

Lebanon

Morocco

New Zealand

Portugal

Romania

Slovenia

Slovakia

South Africa

Spain

Switzerland

Uruguay
Reproduction allowed when original source mentioned.
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