Chairman’s report
More entries, more judges … more quality DAVID WILLIAMS
This year’s competition was our biggest yet. We had the highest number of entries, the highest number of judges and, thanks to a record number of Highly Commended prizes, the highest number of wines coming away with an award. But we hope you’ll agree that – in a reverse of what’s usually true of wine retail – this biggest of years was also one of the best. We are enormously proud of the quality of the list of winners featured over the next 60-plus pages, which includes some of the greatest, most historic names in some of the world’s classic wine regions, alongside the usual Wine Merchant Top 100 selection of exciting rising stars and delicious esoterica. This is a list where Grande Marque Champagne and Grand Cru Burgundy rubs shoulders with Greek Malagousia and Croatian Malvazija, and where Barossa Shiraz and Barolo mingle with Cap Classique, PX Montilla and Madeira. It’s a vivid snapshot, in other words, of the independent wine retailing scene, and, as ever, we hope this supplement doubles up as a buyer’s guide to what’s currently available specifically for independents from the UK’s best suppliers. We like to think a shop exclusively stocking the 465 Top 100 and Highly Commended winners would be a pretty fun place to buy wines, with something on offer for every conceivable consumer. For that, of course, we have our judges to thank. This was the third year in which we’ve conducted the judging remotely, with our partners Sensible Wine Services collating and distributing the wines to the judges’ homes or shops, all bagged up and numbered for a blind tasting. It’s a way of judging that has clear advantages. It gives the judges the space and time to engage with their selection of wines at their own pace (over a period of two weeks) and takes away the risk of palate fatigue, giving each of the wines a chance to really prove itself. Most of our judges tasted alongside their teams, allowing a broader spread of opinion (even if a single named judge ultimately took responsibility for the final note and score). Some even tried the wines for a second time with food. Put together, this has created what we feel is a remarkably rich and considered set of tasting notes and scores. That makes the achievement of winning a Trophy, a place in the Top 100 or a Highly Commended award all the more impressive. These are wines that our judges really loved. We think you’ll love them too.
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THE WINE MERCHANT TOP 100