The families defining excellence at Decanter World Wine Awards 2025
Wine list and tasting notes:
Alta
Alella, Mirgin Exeo Evolució+ Brut Nature, Cava 2007
Gold, 95 points
60% Pansà Blanca, 40% Chardonnay
Gorgeous roasted hazelnuts, almonds, baked bread and biscuits set the tone with
a permeating lemon and lime freshness besetting the mousse and a crunchy
mineral finish. Alcohol 12%
Cherubino
Valsangiacomo, deSantJaume Malvasia, Valencia, Spain 2024
Value Gold, 95 points
85% Malvasia, 15% Merseguera
Tantalising pear, apple, apricot and peach aromas underscored by tingling notes
of grapefruit, lemon and lime. Bright and crisp with a linear structure and
lengthy herbal finish. Alc 12.5%
Bodegas
Alvear, Tres Miradas Paraje De Riofrío Alto 3er Año, Montilla-Moriles 2021
Platinum, 97 points
100% Pedro Ximenez
A formidable style, enchanting the nose with fennel, dried almond and herb
characters and imbedding the palate with a mineral structure and an intriguing
textural grip. Quenching, salivating and saline with swathes of toasted nuts on
the finish. Alc 13.5%
Bodegas
Valdemar, Conde Finca Alto Cantabria Viñedo Singular, Rioja 2023
Gold, 95 points
100% Viura
White peach, apricot and grapefruit aromas tumble over the glossy sheen of oak
that cushions the embracing acidity. Creamy and plush with a piquant finish.
Alc 13%
Bodegas
Rodríguez Y Sanzo, Palo Norte Verdejo, Rueda 2020
Gold, 95 points
100% Verdejo
Intricately laced with dried chamomile, dried herbs and mace on the nose, with
a flourish of delectable lemon peel acidity and a long nutty finish. Alc 13.5%
Bodegas Y
Viñedos Verum, Ilusioverum Cdvin Garnacha, Rioja 2022
Gold,
95 points
100% Garnacha
Bedecked with redcurrants, red cherries and raspberries with a sizzling lick of
black pepper. Softly structured with supple, plummy acidity and a boundless,
spicy length. Alc 14.5%
Vall
Llach, Mas de la Rosa Gran Vinya Classificada, Priorat 2023
Best in Show, 97 points
100% Carignan
Priorat has been almost as successful in our Best in Show pantheon as Barolo –
this concrete-aged Carinyena is the region’s sixth laureate. This purity and finesse of this wine makes a
convincing case for Carinyena as the pre-eminent variety for Priorat – and,
contrariwise, for Priorat as the world’s greatest location for Carignan. It’s also a plaudit for concrete ageing,
whether in egg or otherwise. The wine is
a dark black-red in colour, and the aromas are less fruity than most; it’s one
of those wines which seems to smell as much of a landscape as of fruit. It’s only two years old, yet the ageing has
been so successfully managed that it has the seamlessness and harmony of a much
older wine. On the palate, it is
refined, graceful and shawl-like, full of lingering dark-fruit intensity but
counterbalanced by the wine’s unstrenuous cashmere tannin and insinuating,
palate-lapping acidity: extraordinary finesse for a variety often regarded as
workmanlike elsewhere. Alc 15.5%
González
Byass, Del Duque V.O.R.S, Amontillado, Sherry NV
Best in Show, 97 points
100% Palomino
Like the other Amontillado in this year’s Best in Show, this VORS (Very Old
Rare Sherry) Amontillado is formidable.
It’s slightly deeper in colour: a deep orange amber. Its aromas, too, are fuller and weightier
than its peer, reminding the fortunate drinker of antique furniture and
generously endowed college libraries – as well as the scents of dry places in
high summer, with their warm stones, path-trodden, sun-dried figs and tough,
scruffy herbs. On the palate, it is a
little less savagely pure, aerial and vaporising, with more depth and bottom to
it; it has dark corners and recesses of flavour, whereas its sibling was all
light and air. Technically, in fact, it
has a few grams of residual sugar, though you won’t notice those as the wine’s
sheer power of flavour and acid cut more than offset any sweetness. A remarkable drink; a wine-world reference.
Alc 21.5%
Decanter, the leading global wine media brand, publishes expert reviews, industry insights, and reports on latest trends, produced by its team of regional experts and industry-leading contributors. It’s known for its rigorous panel of experienced judges - including Masters of Wine (MW) and Master Sommeliers (MS) – who evaluate and rate wines from around the world through blind tastings. Decanter also organises events and competitions, such as the flagship Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA), the largest and one of the most prestigious globally. In this session we will taste a selection of wines by Spanish family-owned estates that stood out at the 2025 edition of DWWA.
Wine list and tasting notes:
Alta
Alella, Mirgin Exeo Evolució+ Brut Nature, Cava 2007
Gold, 95 points
60% Pansà Blanca, 40% Chardonnay
Gorgeous roasted hazelnuts, almonds, baked bread and biscuits set the tone with
a permeating lemon and lime freshness besetting the mousse and a crunchy
mineral finish. Alcohol 12%
Cherubino
Valsangiacomo, deSantJaume Malvasia, Valencia, Spain 2024
Value Gold, 95 points
85% Malvasia, 15% Merseguera
Tantalising pear, apple, apricot and peach aromas underscored by tingling notes
of grapefruit, lemon and lime. Bright and crisp with a linear structure and
lengthy herbal finish. Alc 12.5%
Bodegas
Alvear, Tres Miradas Paraje De Riofrío Alto 3er Año, Montilla-Moriles 2021
Platinum, 97 points
100% Pedro Ximenez
A formidable style, enchanting the nose with fennel, dried almond and herb
characters and imbedding the palate with a mineral structure and an intriguing
textural grip. Quenching, salivating and saline with swathes of toasted nuts on
the finish. Alc 13.5%
Bodegas
Valdemar, Conde Finca Alto Cantabria Viñedo Singular, Rioja 2023
Gold, 95 points
100% Viura
White peach, apricot and grapefruit aromas tumble over the glossy sheen of oak
that cushions the embracing acidity. Creamy and plush with a piquant finish.
Alc 13%
Bodegas
Rodríguez Y Sanzo, Palo Norte Verdejo, Rueda 2020
Gold, 95 points
100% Verdejo
Intricately laced with dried chamomile, dried herbs and mace on the nose, with
a flourish of delectable lemon peel acidity and a long nutty finish. Alc 13.5%
Bodegas Y
Viñedos Verum, Ilusioverum Cdvin Garnacha, Rioja 2022
Gold,
95 points
100% Garnacha
Bedecked with redcurrants, red cherries and raspberries with a sizzling lick of
black pepper. Softly structured with supple, plummy acidity and a boundless,
spicy length. Alc 14.5%
Vall
Llach, Mas de la Rosa Gran Vinya Classificada, Priorat 2023
Best in Show, 97 points
100% Carignan
Priorat has been almost as successful in our Best in Show pantheon as Barolo –
this concrete-aged Carinyena is the region’s sixth laureate. This purity and finesse of this wine makes a
convincing case for Carinyena as the pre-eminent variety for Priorat – and,
contrariwise, for Priorat as the world’s greatest location for Carignan. It’s also a plaudit for concrete ageing,
whether in egg or otherwise. The wine is
a dark black-red in colour, and the aromas are less fruity than most; it’s one
of those wines which seems to smell as much of a landscape as of fruit. It’s only two years old, yet the ageing has
been so successfully managed that it has the seamlessness and harmony of a much
older wine. On the palate, it is
refined, graceful and shawl-like, full of lingering dark-fruit intensity but
counterbalanced by the wine’s unstrenuous cashmere tannin and insinuating,
palate-lapping acidity: extraordinary finesse for a variety often regarded as
workmanlike elsewhere. Alc 15.5%
González
Byass, Del Duque V.O.R.S, Amontillado, Sherry NV
Best in Show, 97 points
100% Palomino
Like the other Amontillado in this year’s Best in Show, this VORS (Very Old
Rare Sherry) Amontillado is formidable.
It’s slightly deeper in colour: a deep orange amber. Its aromas, too, are fuller and weightier
than its peer, reminding the fortunate drinker of antique furniture and
generously endowed college libraries – as well as the scents of dry places in
high summer, with their warm stones, path-trodden, sun-dried figs and tough,
scruffy herbs. On the palate, it is a
little less savagely pure, aerial and vaporising, with more depth and bottom to
it; it has dark corners and recesses of flavour, whereas its sibling was all
light and air. Technically, in fact, it
has a few grams of residual sugar, though you won’t notice those as the wine’s
sheer power of flavour and acid cut more than offset any sweetness. A remarkable drink; a wine-world reference.
Alc 21.5%
