2022 Wine Judging - deliberations from our judges #6

As we wrapped up our first week of wine judging, we caught up with John Hoskins MW to hear how the entrants were looking from Burgundy and Beaujolais, as well as Canada and Corsica! 

“I’m delighted to share the news that it was an exciting day for Burgundy wines today. Typically, at competitions, some of France’s more renowned regions – Burgundy, as well as the likes of Champagne and Bordeaux – can be a problem. Understandably it tends to be the brands with bigger budgets which enter competitions from these heavy hitting regions. The smaller, more esoteric, and often quality-focussed producers simply don’t have the budget, marketing requirement or the stock availability to enter. The reputations of these regions mean when it comes to judging, you can occasionally be disappointed with the entrants on show. Not today however!  

“We've had some really, really, top-quality entries on show today and I believe this is because of a couple of things: the warmth of recent vintages that we've had, although some people may be panicky about that and say that it's hard to make really fine wine in a warm vintage. What it also means is that some of the slightly less well-known areas within the Burgundy region have been able to do well. I think it also means that some of the bigger producers have been able to make solid, decent wine in volume from the 2019 vintage.

“Beaujolais also put on a good show. The ripeness of the grapes meant that alcohol was a little higher than you would usually see but because the wines were so opulent, the panel tasting these wines were surprised by the higher alcohol levels because the wines were balanced and tasting great. Another good meal performance form this category.

“Canada was also tasted today and a bit of a hit and miss performance here which was disappointing, especially given the solid performance form other emerging regions like Austria, Switzerland, Mexico and Japan this week.

“But ending today’s judging on a high, Corsica – what can I say – we had an unexpected gold medal from a Corsican wine which is very exciting. Delighted by what we tasted from here.”

The IWSC’s 2022 Wine Results will be available from 23 May 2022. Discover other deliberations from this series on our News page here.