With Easter fast approaching, it’s time to bring you all the medallists from this year’s Spring Tasting, which saw Austrian whites and Spanish reds perform strongly, along with some refreshing expressions from Niagara and the Douro. By Patricia Stefanowicz MW

THE SPRING Tasting is always one to anticipate, reminding us of what’s to come in the months ahead as daffodils and Japanese cherry trees blossom, as well as the wines available to drink amid all this new life.

Importantly, it is a chance to taste delicious wines that may fall outside the remit of our Global Masters categories (Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay, etc), or expressions that may not have been released in time for a specific tasting.

Kicking us off was a diverse selection of sparkling wines, including myriad grape varieties and blends. Busi Jacobsohn’s Blanc de Blancs from East Sussex won a Gold, and there were Silvers dished out for Cava, as well as fizz from the Veneto, the Loire, Austria, Canada and South Africa.

Then came the white wines, both oaked and unoaked, which impressed the judges. Austria is, perhaps, the shining star this year for still whites. Leth (Wagram), for its Riesling, and Spusu Wein (Niederösterreich), for its blend of Riesling, Grüner Veltliner and Weissburgunder, were both awarded Master medals.

Riesling golds were also bagged by Müller (Kremstal), Preiss (Traisental), and Gritsch (Wachau), and a couple of gently oaked Sauvignon Blancs from Kodolitsch in Südsteiermark also made the cut. A Muscat Ottonel from Crama Gabai (Romania), a Raw Chenin Blanc from Lipinski (Canada) and Undurraga’s Viognier/Riesling/Weissburgunder blend from Chile added more delight. There were a few wines from the Iberian Peninsula, and Quinto do Noval’s Blanco, made from Viosinho and Gouveio grapes grown in the Upper Douro signals the possibilities for excellent white wines from those regions.

Moving onto red wines, and judges found a fair few easy-drinking, crowdpleasing unoaked reds for under £10, including Félix Solís’ Mucho Más and The Guv’nor VIP from La Mancha. It seems, however, that most red wines benefit from careful ageing in some form of wood. In the oaked red section, Keringer (Burgenland) and Arnáiz (Castilla-León) are affordable, quaffable wines.

Real excitement among the oaked red wines, though, starts at £20–£30, where there were Gold winners from Hare’s Chase (Shiraz) in the Barossa, VIK (Cabernet Sauvignon) in Chile, and Leth (Pinot Noir) in Burgenland.

Above £30, the reds we tasted were fantastic and hailed from a wide range of areas, including Rioja (Bodegas Remírez de Ganuza and Viña Pomal) and Stellenbosch (Koehlenhof). Viña Maquis and VIK are two Chilean producers showing particularly high quality at this price point. Santa Carolina’s VSC, a fascinating blend based on Petite Sirah, is another intriguing wine. And it is only fair to mention Lipinski Family Wines’ Pinot Noir from Ontario, a beautifullyrendered example of that notoriously fickle variety.

At stratospheric prices, Tuscany stands out. There was an outpouring of Master and Gold medals for some rather wellrecognised producers. Banfi Poggio alle Mura Brunello di Montalcino DOCG and its Riserva wines, plus Ruffino Riserva Ducale and Romitorio di Santedame, were all brilliant examples.

We finished off with some sweet wines. Sonnenmulde’s Scheurebe TBA is an exceptional wine from Neusiedlersee; another is a little gem from Nottinghamshire, Eglantine’s North Star, made from Madeleine Angevine grapes. Either would be exquisite with apricot tart or creamy goat’s cheese to mark the Spring Equinox on 20 March.

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The best white wines for Spring

White Sparkling

Rosé Sparkling

Still White Unoaked

Still White Oaked

Still Rosé Unoaked

Still Rosé Oaked

Still Red Unoaked

Still Red Oaked

Still Red Oaked continued

Sweet White Wine

White Sparkling Sweet (12g/l+) –  No Alcohol (<0.5%)

Rosé Sparkling Sweet (12g/l+) –  No Alcohol (<0.5%)

Rosé Sparkling Sweet (12g/l+) –  Lower Alcohol (<11%)

Unoaked Still White –  No Alcohol (<0.5%)

Unoaked Still White –  Lower Alcohol (<11%) 

Unoaked Still Rosé –  No Alcohol (<0.5%) 

Unoaked Still Rosé –  Lower Alcohol (<11%) 

Unoaked Still Red –  No Alcohol (<0.5%) 

Unoaked Still Red –  Lower Alcohol (<11%) 

Oaked Still Red –  Lower Alcohol (<11%) 

Spring tasting: beers

About the competition

With high-quality judges and a unique sampling process, The Spring Tasting Masters provides a chance for your wines to shine. The 2024 competition was judged on Thursday, 8 February at Great Scotland Yard Hotel, London, employing experienced judges. The top wines were awarded Gold, Silver or Bronze medals according to their result, and those expressions that stood out as being outstanding received the ultimate accolade – the title of Spring Tasting Master. This report features the medal winners only. Please visit the Global Masters website for more information or, to enter future competitions – giving you the chance to feature online and in print – please call: +44 (0) 20 7803 2420 or email Sophie Raichura at: sophie@thedrinksbusiness.com