Platinum: The 97 point wines of DWWA 2022

The largest-ever year for entries, an incredible 18,244 wines were judged at the 2022 Decanter World Wine Awards – with just 163 wines awarded a Platinum medal.

‘Winning a Platinum medal is something really exceptional’ said Decanter World Wine Awards Co-Chair Sarah Jane Evans MW. ‘Platinum is like the stratospheric level’ she commented, ‘so it’s really saying to the winemaker: this is a great wine.’

Making up just 0.87% of the total wines tasted at the 2022 competition, Platinum medal winners – alongside the Best in Show – represent the best of the best wines at the Decanter World Wine Awards.

Scroll down to discover the full list of DWWA 2022 Platinum medal winners well worth seeking out, all of which have been awarded 97 points and tasted at least four times across the competition’s meticulous judging process.

Watch – Understanding Platinum: Judging the best of the best at the Decanter World Wine Awards

Decanter World Wine Awards 2022 – Platinum’s best

Championing the most Best in Show medals, France also scored highest on the Platinum table with 38 wines awarded the accolade across nine regions. Burgundy and Champagne were awarded seven Platinum medals each, followed by Bordeaux with six.

Noteworthy highlights from France include second-ever Platinum medals awarded to Jura for Domaine Badoz, Vin Jaune, Côtes du Jura 2015 and to a Loire sparkling wine for Cave de Montlouis, Cuvée Laudacius Brut Nature, Montlouis-sur-Loire NV.

Italy was awarded 24 Platinum medals with Montepulciano, often regarded a workhorse grape, proving its worth with two medals awarded to wines from Abruzzo and Marche, including Mazzarosa, Vere Novo Montepulciano d’Abruzzo 2020 and Moncaro, Nerone, Conero Riserva 2017. Marche saw a second Platinum awarded to Velenosi, Querciantica, Lacrima di Morro d’Alba Superiore 2021, a wine produced with the indigenous and aromatic red grape variety, Lacrima.

Emilia Romana also impressed with three Platinum medals awarded – a first for the region – including a Value Platinum for Cantina Sociale di Gualtieri’s Il Ligabue, Lambrusco Reggiano Secco 2021. The first Lambrusco to receive such a prestigious accolade in the competition, and priced at less than £15 retail, the judges noted its ‘rich and full body with plenty of dark berry fruits with floral notes, violets and decent mousse. Delicious with the right sorts of food and a great example at this price.’

In Spain, 22 Platinum medals were awarded with 13 regions represented, including a first-ever Platinum for Vino Espumoso de Calidad (Quality Sparkling Wine) to Torelló, Corpinnat Collectión Brut Nature 2011 – one of the nine sparkling wine producers in Penedès, Catalunya to quit the Cava denomination in 2019 and bottle under the fairly new, quality-focused label called Corpinnat.

Best in Show: The top 50 wines of DWWA 2022

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Platinum medal countdown

Intriguing Platinum results can be found across the globe with 21 countries making the list. After France, Italy and Spain, Australia, then Argentina, saw the most Platinum medals awarded with 15 and 13 medals respectively.

Portugal, South Africa, Chile and Switzerland received five medals each, followed by Germany, Hungary, Greece and New Zealand with four apiece. Of these, a large majority were awarded to white wines from benchmark examples of Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc and Pinot Gris to lesser-known Savagnin, Petite Arvine, Encruzado and Olasz Rizling.

White wines also impressed from Austria with all three of its Platinum medals awarded to cool-climate white varieties, and again in Croatia for its three Platinums. Produced with Riesling and Manzoni Bianco, Dvorska Šoškić’s Haiku, Plešivica, Continental 2019 is of particular note. This skin-contact wine is the first orange wine to receive a Platinum medal at the competition with the judges noting its ‘interesting herbal details, broad spicy tannins and charming creamy texture.’

North Macedonia and Slovenia made the Platinum list too, with one wine awarded each to Tikveš, Merak Vranec-Merlot-Plavec, Tikvesh, Povardarje 2021 and Ščurek, Zero Brut, Goriška Brda, Primorska 2019.

Further afield, Japan was awarded a Platinum medal with a first-ever win from the country’s south island Kyushu for Sanwa Shurui, Ajimu Moroya Koshu 2021, and back in the UK, the nation also won a first-ever Platinum from Essex for Vagabond Winery’s Chardonnay 2020.

In North America, Canada was awarded one Platinum for its world-renowned Icewine, and in the United States California topped charts for its internationally recognised red wines from Napa Valley, with four Platinum medals awarded to wines from Rutherford, Los Carneros and Oak Knoll District AVAs, including varietal Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc and Pinot Noir.

On judging at the 2022 competition, Co-Chair Michael Hill Smith MW said, ‘There’re a lot of wine competitions in the world, so winning a Platinum at Decanter is quite important because it’s not just a Gold medal-winning wine, which is hard enough to win.

‘It’s one of the very best of the Golds in the competition. So I think if you win Platinum it shows that wine is of exceptional quality.’

See below for the full list of DWWA 2022 Platinum medal winners. Search all results at awards.decanter.com