Spain leads the way with 626 medals,the majority of which were awarded to wines from the Castilla-y-Leon region and Rioja. France came second with 614 accolades. Merlot proved to be the country’s key grape variety accounting for over 32% of French medals. Italy‘s native grape varieties drove the country’s strong performance, helping it to rank third for the number of medals (383). Sangiovese, Primitivo, Glera and Nero d’Avola scored the highest among Italian wines. Portugal collected 365 medals from the competition, thus securing fourth place. The host county Switzerland picked up 172 awards, with Chasselas wines in the lead, followed by Pinot Noir, Merlot, PetiteArvine and Cornalin.
South Africa shines high with Almenkerk Syrah 2015 receiving the Revelation prize for the highest score among the 43 medals awarded to South African producers. These results grant South Africa a strong position in the Top 10 of participating countries.
The most awarded red grape varieties in the 2019 Concours Mondial de Bruxelles are Merlot (268), Tempranillo (260), Cabernet-Sauvignon (221), Syrah (135) and Grenache (93). Among the white grape varieties, panel favorites were Sauvignon Blanc (102), Chardonnay (91), Chasselas (30), Verdejo (29) and Alvarinho (20).
Only one percent of the wines in the competition received the coveted Grand Gold medal – the highest recognition awarded by Concours Mondial de Bruxelles. Italian wines won the most Grand Gold medals, followed by Spain, France, Portugal and Switzerland.
Over 50% of all awarded wines in the competition sell for under EUR 8.5 (cellar door) which underscores their value for money.
The most surprising revelation this year is undoubtedly the 2014 Chant d'Eole Brut Blanc de Blancs - Cuvée Prestige from Belgium. Domaine du Chant d'Eole managed to outstrip more than 700 international wines, to secure the highest score in the Sparkling Wine category.
The Revelation International Red Wine in the competition comes from the El Cielo winery in Mexico and sports the unusual name of “Caipirinha”. The 2016 vintage is a blend of Cabernet-Sauvignon, Syrah, Nebbiolo & Malbec.
The highest score in the international white wine category was given to the Gorka Izagirre winery in Spain for its 2015 vintage “42 by Eneko Atxa” - a wine from the Hondarrabi Zerratia grape variety, native to the Basque Country.
The winner of the Revelation International Rose Wine in the 2019 Concours Mondial de Bruxelles also comes from Spain, from Castilla-y-Leon. The 2018 Quelias Rosado from Bodegas Sinforiano is a blend of 50% Albillo, 30% Grenache, 10% Verdejo and 10% Tempranillo.
For a second consecutive year the International Organic Wine Revelation goes to Italy. The current winner is the 2015 Fabula Riserva from Azienda Agricola Montebelli in Tuscany. Italy also collected the highest number of medals for organic wines followed by Spain, France and China.
Judges Jean Vincent Ridon, Jolette Steyn, Nkululeko Mkhwanazi & Edo Heyns
This year the South African judges invited to Switzerland were: Dr Winifred Bowman CWM, Jolette Steyn, Maryna Calow, Nkululeko Mkhwanazi, Edo Heyns and Jean-Vincent Ridon.
See all the 2019 Revelations and results
The next Concours Mondial de Bruxelles will take place in Brno, Czech Republic from May 1-3, 2020.