The catch-all wine appreciation day, Global Drink Wine Day is held annually on 18 February.
Familiar favourites like Champagne, Riesling or Pinot Noir might spring to mind as your celebratory wine of choice – and there are many top examples to choose from when searching DWWA results – but to narrow down the selection, we have put together a list of some of the competition’s highest-scoring wines from classic regions and grape varieties, as well as some perhaps less familiar styles to discover.
Tasted and rated by our expert judges at DWWA 2024, here you can explore a selection of 97-point sparkling, white, rosé, red, sweet and fortified wines from across the globe well worth seeking out.
Global Drink Wine Day: 15 wines to discover
Sparkling
Charles Heidsieck, Blanc des Millénaires Brut, Champagne, France 2014
Best in Show, 97 points
The 2014 vintage was a mixed one in Champagne – a cool, wet July lingered into an indifferent August – and some parts of the region (notably the Marne Valley) struggled as they coped with twice the normal rainfall total. It soon became apparent, though, that the Côtes des Blancs was a winner zone in 2014, and time has only amplified the merits of this coolish but ultra-classical year for Blanc de Blancs from well-sited vineyards. Here’s a great example. Pale and fine-beaded, with a sumptuous aroma of cream, flowers, nuts and quiet orchard fruits – though it’s stealthy as yet, and further cellar time will certainly amplify the charm. On the palate, the wine is crystalline in terms of its focus and balance, while the flavours evoke the plant world – pressed spring leaf and sweet angelica – as much as fruit. The structure is impressive for a Blanc de Blancs, too. Stylish and assured Champagne. Alcohol 12%
Hambledon, Première Cuvée Brut, Hampshire, United Kingdom NV
Platinum, 97 points
Spectacular layers of brioche, toast, lemon curd and spiced golden apple unfurl onto the creamy, nutty texture, elegant flow of bubbles and super zippy thread of acidity. Wonderfully fresh and eloquent with a harmonious grilled almond length. Alc 12%
Monte Rossa, Cabochon Brut, Franciacorta, Lombardy, Italy 2016
Platinum, 97 points
Bewitching layers of melon, apple and lemon cradled in a creamy, buttery richness. Supple and stylish with a fine drive of acidity and ravishing mousse to delight and inspire. A little salty lift on the long finish. Alc 12.5%
White
Dr Loosen, Ürziger Würzgarten Reserve Riesling, Grosses Gewächs, Mosel, Germany 2012
Best in Show, 97 points
Here’s the perfect companion bottle to our Nahe Erste Lagen – a Grosse Lage (meaning that the wine has been grown in one of Germany’s finest vineyards of all) from the Mosel. And, moreover, with ample age: at 12 years old, this Mosel classic is well into its stride, though it will last well from here onwards, too. It’s still a youthful green-gold in the glass. The meadow grass, sweet fruits and flowers of youth are now beginning to settle and meld, though without any loss of definition and charm. On the palate, there is an almost spicy wealth of flavour combined with succulent textures, suggesting a warm site; but the wine’s orchestral acidity and stony depth carries that wealth effortlessly, and it leaves the mouth clean and longing for more. It has just a little sugar – 9 g/l. That’s enough to soften the blade of acidity – but still leave it as a useful partner for richer though delicately framed savoury dishes. Alc 12.5%
Canava Chrissou Tselepos, Vieilles Vignes, Santorini, Aegean Islands, Greece 2021
Platinum, 97 points
A benchmark Assyrtiko exuding breath-taking aromas of fresh peach, pear and wild spring flowers which set the tone and intersperse nicely with the underscore of vibrant crushed stone minerals and spine-tingling bite of acidity. Magnificent! Alc 13.5%
Birgit Eichinger, Ried Grub Grüner Veltliner, Kamptal, Niederösterreich, Austria 2022
Platinum, 97 points
An intoxicating swirl of delectable apricot, pear, pineapple and starfruit inspire and delight with a discreet underpinning of chervil, basil and gentle spice fragrance. Bold and generous with a finely chiselled acidity cutting through. Long and entrancing. Alc 13%
Rosé
Bodega Hacienda López de Haro, Classica Gran Reserva, Rioja, Spain 2012
Best in Show, 97 points
A unique and compelling proposition, with alluring orange peel, dried fig and baked strawberry aromas which combine superbly with the honeyed walnut and vanilla charm on the palate. Weighty and opulent with a lush, toasty length. Alc 13%
Bastide de La Ciselette, Bandol, Provence, France 2023
Platinum, 97 points
Sensational perfumed red berries, citrus blossom and dried herbs cascade over the sumptuous core of lush orchard fruits. Inviting and creamy with a grapefruit pith acidity and a ribbon of saline minerals holding everything together. Alc 13.5%
Red
Carpineto, Brunello di Montalcino Riserva, Tuscany, Italy 2018
Best in Show, 97 points
The 2018 vintage in Brunello di Montalcino didn’t echo the baroque warmth experienced in many of Europe’s other fine-wine regions. Here in southern central Tuscany it was a slightly cooler vintage than normal, and summer rain punctuated the growing season – a relief for the vines, in fact, after the fierce ‘Lucifer’ heat of 2017. The Riserva category in Brunello enables producers to select their very best wines, in any case, and to skip vintages if they feel the quality doesn’t merit a Riserva. This wine clearly justified selection, and the additional ageing it implies. It’s relatively dark in colour, and generously aromatic – great breadth of fruit in ripe style, though now well beyond the primary phase of direct allusiveness; instead your nose bathes in a glowing orchestral wealth – fruits and nuts eaten outside on a scent-breathing summer evening. On the palate, the wine is firmly structured and again amply proportioned, almost driving in style, with a long, resonant finish. A confident example of the most masterful of all Tuscany’s great Sangiovese-based wines. Alc 14.5%
Santa Carolina, Herencia Carmenère, Los Lingues, Colchagua, Chile 2020
Best in Show, 97 points
For the second year running, Carmenère is Chile’s flag-bearer in our Best In Show selection. This one hails from Los Lingues, up on the northern border of the Colchagua Valley – a small sub-valley in its own right, nestling under the grandeur of the Andes, and a noted Carmenère hotspot. Dark black-red in colour, the wine has lively, spicy, meadow-like scents supporting ample red fruit. On the palate, it’s vivid, fresh and vibrant, the fruit tones achieving unusual subtlety and complexity and with soft, coaxing tannins helping to fill the palate out further and lend the finish a savoury allure. If you prize drinkability, though, you’ll find this a fine wine with classic ease and grace in the glass. Alc 14.5%
Domaine Histoire D’enfer, L’Enfer du Calcaire Pinot Noir, Salquenen, Valais, Switzerland 2019
Platinum, 97 points
Enchanting raspberry, strawberry and freshly picked cherries charm and delight with a delicious infusion of sumptuous red liquorice, clove and star anise rippling alongside. Capacious and warming with a simmering gravelly undertone of mineral tannin. Superb! Alc 13.9%
Peter Lehmann, Stonewell Shiraz, Barossa, South Australia 2018
Platinum, 97 points
Striking cassis compote, raspberry and blueberry notes unfurl and spill over onto a richly textured palate with deep-seated tannins and a whisper of smoked charcuterie evolution. Engaging and mouth-filling with a lush fruit cake ending. Alc 14.5%
Fortified & Sweet
Krohn, Vintage, Port, Portugal 2017
Best in Show, 97 points
The low-yielding, dramatically concentrated 2017 Port Vintage is already something of a legend, so we’re delighted to have an example of this in our Top 50 Best In Show this year. As you’d expect, the wine is still a dense and saturated midnight black in colour, with powerful aromatics of bramble, damson and sloe. It still has a perfumed quality, too, almost as if wild flowers and citrus skins had been macerated in the must. The peppery violence of just-bottled Vintage Port, by contrast, has now dissipated and the wine is beginning to seem calm. It’s splendidly thick, weighty and concentrated on the palate, with rich tannins, low acidity and medicinal, apothecary notes reminiscent of the cistus and other herbs of the Douro biotope. For those who love to age Vintage Port, this will be a mid-term bet; the tannins need to soften a little, but catch it while the very ripe brambly fruits are still opulent, prominent and flower-freighted. Alc 20%
Balassa, Tokaj, Hungary 2021
Platinum, 97 points
Truly exceptional, encompassing the graceful elegance of chamomile and soft, supple spice with the mouth-filling intensity of peach compote, candied mango and honeyed lemons. Decadent and sleek with a glow of pulsating acidity and a pure, cleansing finish. Alc 9%
Reif Estate Winery, Grand Reserve Icewine Vidal, Ontario – Niagara Peninsula, Canada 2019
Platinum, 97 points
Mesmerising layers of dried apricot, mango, poached pear and apple blossom entwine with succulent buckwheat honey. Rich, decadent and voluptuously sweet with a contrasting brisk cut of acidity and lush twist of orange peel on the finish. Alc 10%
Related articles
Going Lower: Award-winning wines 12% abv and under
Rhône inspiration: South Australia’s take on bold reds
How we judge wine at Decanter World Wine Awards
The post Global Drink Wine Day: 15 wines to discover appeared first on Decanter.
