Following this year’s Global Sparkling Wine Masters, we bring you the top-performers of the competition, taking in outstanding samples from Spain, England, Italy and South Africa.

After two days spent assessing samples from a broad array of places in one of the biggest sparkling wine tastings in the world – and the only one to sample all types of fizz side by side with no knowledge as to source region or producer – we have listed the highlights.

All the sparkling wines below achieved a Gold medal or higher in this year’s competition, which saw every entry judged by Patrick Schmitt MW, Michelle Cherutti-Kowal MW, and Simon Field MW.

8. Cava Perelada Stars Brut Reserva, 2017

Offering particularly good value for money in the traditional method sparkling wine category, this Cava delivers plenty of fresh apple fruit flavours complemented by softer notes of honey, cream and brown bread, along with a fine stream of palate-cleansing bubbles. In short, it was the best fizz of the sub £15 samples in this year’s competition.

• Approximate retail price: £10-15
• Dosage: Brut
• Vintage: 2017
• Grapes: Xarello (45%), Parellada (30%), Macabeu (25%)
• Closure: Agglomerated cork
• Medal: Gold

7. Masottina Conegliano Valdobbiadene Brut, Conegliano Valdobbiadene DOCG Prosecco Superiore

If you want to know what top class Prosecco tastes like then this is a great place to start. It may cost a bit more than your average supermarket label, but you won’t be disappointed by the upgrade in quality. it is bursting with ripe, juicy pear and apple flavours, a touch of honeydew melon, and smooth bubbles. Being a Brut style – in contrast to the more common sweeter ‘Extra Dry’ type of Prosecco – this Massotina fizz does have a noticeable dryness, giving plenty of refreshment after all the ripe orchard fruits.

• Approximate retail price: £15-20
• Dosage: Brut
• Vintage: NV
• Grapes: Glera
• Closure: Agglomerated cork
• Medal: Gold

6. Masottina Contrada Granda Brut, Rive Di Ogliano, Conegliano Valdobbiadene DOCG Prosecco Superiore

A notch up in price and quality is this Prosecco, which also hails from Masottina, but this time comes from a special site in the Prosecco region, called Ogliano. As a result, this fizz is one of the few examples to take on the ‘Rive’ classification, which is only used for the best areas of the Prosecco DOCG. The resulting drink is loaded with delicious just-picked fleshy peach and ripe pear with a lovely lingering dry slightly chalky finish.

• Approximate retail price: £20-30
• Dosage: Brut
• Vintage: NV
• Grapes: Glera
• Closure: Agglomerated cork
• Medal: Gold

5. Enborne Vineyards, All Angels, Classic Cuvee

Although bottled under the Enborne Vineyards brand called All Angels, this English sparkling wine is made by respected winemaker Emma Rice at Hattingley Valley – which has a state of the art facility in Hampshire. The grapes however comes from a family-owned vineyard at Church Farm in Enborne, West Berkshire, that was planted in 2010. Gaining a Gold medal, this fizz from the 2014 vintage, dominated by Chardonnay, is delicious and typically English in style. By that I mean it has masses of zesty citrus acidity, along with freshly-sliced apple flavour, along with a complementary note of toasted brown bread.

• Approximate retail price: £20-30
• Dosage: Brut
• Vintage: 2014
• Grapes: Chardonnay (50%), Pinot Noir (28%), Pinot Meunier (11%), Pinot Gris (11%)
• Closure: Agglomerated cork
• Medal: Gold

4. Graham Beck Cuvee Clive

It’s always exciting when something delicious and different crops up in blind tastings, and Graham Beck’s Cuvée Clive was exactly that. With the judges excited by its combination of roasted hazelnuts, pineapple, beeswax and lemon zest, it was clearly an outstanding traditional method fizz, but with more depth and richness than one would normally find in famous European sparkling wine regions. That was because – as we discovered after the tasting – this is a Cap Classique, which is the name for Champagne style fizz from South Africa’s Western Cape. 100% Chardonnay from the 2014 vintage, it’s nutty, fruity and fresh with just a touch of honeyed development, and, while not cheap, it’s a wonderfully indulgent drop for the price.

• Approximate retail price: £20-30
• Dosage: Brut
• Vintage: 2014
• Grapes: Chardonnay
• Closure: Agglomerated cork
• Medal: Gold

3. Dirupo Brut Valdobbiadene DOCG

Proving that great, layered refreshing fizz can be found within Prosecco – a sparkling made by re-fermenting the wine in a pressurized vat – was this class-leading Brut example from top producer Andreola. Although its winemaking method means it doesn’t have the bready, nutty characters you find in traditional method fizz, such as Champagne, it delivers something else: fresh, aromatic, juicy fruit, from peach and pear to lemon and lime zest, complemented by a lovely mouth-filling creamy textured fizz.

• Approximate retail price: £20-30
• Dosage: Brut (10g/l residual sugar)
• Vintage: 2019
• Grapes: Glera (90%), Bianchetta (5%), Perera (5%)
• Closure: Agglomerated cork
• Medal: Gold

2. Gusbourne Brut Reserve

If you are looking for a really fine fizz and you want to surprise your guests, then English sparkling is always a good option, as long as it’s a great one. And with this Brut Reserve from Gusbourne, you’re sure to get plenty of appreciative comments, followed by a surprised reaction when it’s realised the wine is English. Indeed, sampled blind in the Global Sparkling Masters 2020, it was assumed by the judges that this was fine, if noticeably fresh, Champagne. So, you can expect flavours of pastry, apple, and chalk, along with the sharp, taught character you get with English sparkling, which is what makes it so mouthwatering.

• Approximate retail price: £30-50
• Dosage: Brut
• Vintage: 2016
• Grapes: Chardonnay (40%), Pinot Meunier (33%), Pinot Noir (27%),
• Closure: Agglomerated cork
• Medal: Gold

1. Cava Can Sala

Finally, as previously reported by db, we had a stand out fizz in this year’s Global Sparkling Wine Masters. And, it was from Cava. After two full days tasting fizz from right around the world, it was the Cava from the cellar of Can Sala that achieved the highest overall mark from the judges – making it this year’s Sparkling Wine Master.

As one of the first names in the region of Cava to take on the top classification of Cava de Paraje Calificado, it is a great wine from top vineyards in the region, and, due to the intensity of the fizz, and the richness imparted by the lengthy ageing process, it is sold with no dosage – in other words, no sugar is added to the wine, meaning it is a Brut Nature.

As for the character of the Can Sala 2008, it is a magnificent creamy-textured fizz with layers of flavour from fresh apple and lemon zest to ripe nectarine, complimented by notes of toast and roasted nuts, before finishing with a dry chalky sensation, and a touch of tangy citrus peel.

• Approximate retail price: £70
• Dosage: Brut nature (less than 3g/l residual sugar)
• Production: less than 20,000 bottles annually
• Time on lees: Seven years
• Vintage: 2008
• Grapes: Parellada (50%), Xarello (50%)
• Abv: 12.5%
• Closure: Agglomerated cork
• Medal: Sparking Wine Master 2020

About The Global Sparking Wine Masters

The judges (left to right): Patrick Schmitt MW, Michelle Cherutti-Kowal MW, and Simon Field MW

With high quality judges and a unique sampling process, the Global Sparkling Wine Masters provides a chance for your wines to star, whether they hail from the great vineyards of Europe or lesser-known winemaking areas of the world.

The 2020 competition was judged over two days last month in London, employing experienced sparkling wine specialists and Masters of Wine, who were: Patrick Schmitt MW, Michelle Cherutti-Kowal MW, and Simon Field MW.

A full report on the competition including all the medal winners will appear in the August edition of the drinks business.

Please visit The Global Masters website for more information, or please call +44 (0)20 7803 2420 or email Sophie Raichura at: sophie@thedrinksbusiness.com