2022 Wine Judging – deliberations from our judges #3

As we round up day 3 of our 2022 wine judging, we catch up with Wine Judging Committee member, John Hoskins MW to talk all things France:

“Today I was overseeing the judging of the France panels, and beyond what are considered the usual classic regions - Bordeaux, Burgundy and Champagne – we were tasting the less recognised classic regions of Alsace and Rhone. The wines from these regions as per last year’s judging, once again showed a consistency of quality.

Particular highlights I want to remark on include the Alsace Riesling flights and the Gewurztraminers from Alsace too. They were both incredibly impressive.  

As I’ve already touched upon, the wines we tasted from the Rhone today were all strong and similarly the Languedoc showed well too, in both cases these regions had flight after flight of well-made wines. The reds of the Languedoc in particular were noteworthy though there were some good whites amongst the entrants.

“Part of the judging process this year includes providing feedback for non-winning wines and I wonder if that will result in a change in the feedback given to the wines that win medals too. It’s all very interesting, the discussions following tasting each flight are more involved and I certainly feel there is even more consideration going into this years’ judging.

“A final comment from me for today is that today is the first day I've been back at the IWSC since the pandemic and it is great to be back – I know we had judging in 2021, but I feel that we are back to how it should be, with people moving around the room, discussions happening across the panels and people really working collaboratively to taste the wines. There is a real sense of teamwork – of judges working collaboratively. This community of judges and the atmosphere here today really showcases our longed-for return to normality and highlights what the IWSC is all about.”


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