2022 Wine Judging - deliberations from our judges #4

Another day of judging our entrants from South America and so back to our expert these regions, and Master of Wine, Ali Cooper.

“We had three panels tasting through the wines from Argentina today, one panel in particular seemed to be tasting wines from the value end of the spectrum. These wines were well crafted however there was very little that was hugely ambitious or inspiring.

“Another theme from Argentina again today was another solid performance from Malbec - again good consistency - a good array of bronze medals. The trend with Malbec, particularly at the good value end of the range is to create solid examples of generic Malbec. Almost a brand in its own right, with each wine ticking off the aromas and flavours we’ve all come to associate with the varietal - good for consumers are they know what they’re going to get. It's going to do exactly what you hoped it would do - a little bit of oak, good fruit, good concentration.

“That said, we also saw some Malbec’s at the higher end of the price spectrum. Some exceptional wines showing a real sense of place, highlighting the altitude, showcasing the sight and expressing the terroir. These wines were great to see and I think together with the value Malbec, they illustrate a fair reflection of where Argentina is at the moment. A focus on producing solid, typical examples that are quality focused and exciting and also a the other end of the spectrum the ongoing drive to deliver at the lower price point.

"Chile today was a little underwhelming which is disappointing when I know how exciting some of the wines coming from this country can be. Hopefully we'll see some star performers on other days, but this hasn't really born out today."


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