International Wine Challege 2005 results…Spain and Portugal ROCK!

Annually, for the past 22 years, the [Wine International Magazine->http://www.wineint.com/home.asp] hosts an international blind wine tasting with entrants from around the world. The goal is simple, to see how wines of similar styles and regions stack up against their peers. I’ve cut and pasted some of the top Spanish and Portuguese winners below and I hope you take the time to visit the [International Wine Challenge site->http://www.wineint.com/newsMenu.asp?sectionCode=8&st=&nt=] to see more information on the wines listed below and to see the full results. Also [check out the judging process-> http://www.wineint.com/story.asp?sectionCode=8&storyCode=1932].

These are the very top wines of the year, picked from amongst the Gold medal winners. Individual Trophies don’t have to be awarded each year – a region or a grape variety may not receive one if the quality is not deemed high enough. So the wines below are all something rather special.

• The Red Wine Trophy & Spanish Red Trophy
  Abadía Retuerta Selección Especial 2001, Castilla y León, Spain
• The Fortified Trophy & Sherry Trophy
  Emilio Lustau Emperatriz Eugenia Very Rare Oloroso NV, Jerez, Spain
• The James Rogers Trophy, Portuguese Red Trophy & Alentejo Trophy
  Herdade da Malhadinha Nova Malhadinha 2003 Alentejo, Portugal
• The Len Evans Trophy
  Emilio Lustau, Jerez, Spain
• Bierzo Trophy
  J Palacios Petalos del Bierzo 2003, Castilla y León, Spain
• Douro Trophy
  Quinta do Vallado Reserva 2003, Baixo Corgo, Portugal
• LBV Port Trophy
  Smith Woodhouse Bottle-Matured LBV Port 1994, Douro, Portugal
• Madeira Trophy
  Madeira Wine Company Cossart Colheita Malmsey 1998, Portugal
• Manzanilla Trophy & Great Value Trophy
  Bodegas Hidalgo La Gitana Manzanilla NV, Sanlúcar de Barrameda, Spain
• Port Trophy & Vintage Port Trophy
  Sogrape Offley Vintage Port 2003, Douro, Portugal
• Priorat Trophy
  Bodegas de Cal Grau Les Ones 2002, Priorat, Spain
• Single Quinta Vintage Port Trophy
  Quinta de Roriz Vintage Port 2000, Douro, Portugal
• Somontano Trophy
  Viñas del Vero Secastilla Somontano 2003, Aragón, Spain
• Tawny Port Trophy
  W&J Graham Graham’s 30 Year Old Tawny Port NV, Douro, Portugal
• Touriga Trophy
  Cortes de Cima Touriga Nacional 2003 Vidigueira, Alentejo, Portugal

Popularity: 3% [?]