Argentina Wine Awards marks 10th year

The winners of this year’s Argentina Wine Awards 2016 have been announced, marking the competition’s tenth year.

This year’s winners

Organised by the Wines of Argentina and the Argentine Wine Corporation, more than 300 winery owners, winemakers and journalists attended the ceremony, held at the Bodega Lagarde in Mendoza on 19 February.

A total of 133 wineries participated presenting a total of 672 samples to a panel of international and national judges which included Sarah Jane Evans MW (England), Jennifer Luk (Hong Kong), Göran Klintberg (Sweden), Paul Hobbs (USA) and Phil Crozier (England).

“The Argentina Wines Awards allows us to actively shape the future and share our passion with the world”, said Guillermo Barzi, president of wines of Argentina.

“Over the past 10 years the presence of our wines has grown hugely, gaining new markets which now know our winemaking philosophy, the variety of our terroirs and our varietal star: Malbec. The national industry has experimented, innovated and perfected to create a bright future of excellence with the AWA accompanying this growth.”

A total of four regional trophies, 10 trophies, 16 gold medals, 257 silver medals and 317 bronze medals were awarded.

This year two new awards were introduced: best young winemaker and personality of the past 10 years.

The title of best young winemaker went to Germán Berra of Bodega Finca Flichman. The aim of this award was to recognise the work of a new generation of professionals under 40, with each winery putting forward a wine produced by their  winemaker. The winemaker responsible for the highest scoring wine won the prize.

The award for personality of the last 10 years was awarded to Dr. Nicolas Catena Zapata, in recognition of his work to help put the Argentine wine industry on the map.

Click onto the next page to see the results of the regional and trophy categories….

Argentina Wine Awards: the results 2016

Regional Trophies, which seek to encourage the participation of wineries from all regions, the winners were:

• Valles del Norte, Serie Fincas Notables Tannat 2013, Bodega El Esteco,
• Valles de San Juan, Pyros Single Vineyard Malbec 2013, Pyros Wines.
• Valles de Mendoza, Numina Gran Corte 2013, Bodegas Salentein,
• Valles Patagónicos, Riccitelli Old Vines Semillon 2015, Riccitelli Wines.

Chardonnay Trophy – Retail US$13–19.99, Medalla Chardonnay 2014, Bodega Trapiche.

Torrontés Trophy – Retail $13–19.99, Ciclos Torrontés 2015, Bodega El Esteco.

Cabernet Sauvignon Trophy – Retail $30-49.99, Viña Cobos Bramare Luján de Cuyo Cabernet Sauvignon 2013.

Malbec Trophy – Retail: $13-19.99, ‘The Apple Does Not Fall Far From The Tree’ 2014, Riccitelli Wines.

Malbec Trophy – Retail: $20-29.99, Ben Marco Malbec 2013, Dominio del Plata.

Malbec Trophy – Retail: $30-49.99, Dedicado Malbec 2014, Finca Flichman.

Malbec Trophy – Retail: $50+, Bramare Touza Vineyard Malbec 2013, Viña Cobos.

Red Blend Trophy – Retail: $6.99–12.99, Altaland Tinto Histórico 2015, Bodegas Esmeralda

Red Blend Trophy – Retail: $30-49.99, Porvenir Icon 2013, El Porvenir de Cafayate.

Red Blend Trophy – Retail: $50+ Anthology XXXVIII 2012, La Rural Viñedos y Bodegas.