‘Platinum is very hard-fought’ says co-chair Sarah Jane Evans MW. ‘It’s like something in the Premier League’, she adds, ‘but getting there means it’s going to be something special.’
The Decanter World Wine Awards judging process for Platinum begins after a meticulous first round of tasting, where all entries – this year a record 18,250 – are examined by regional specialists to determine Bronze, Silver, Gold or no award.
All wines awarded 95 points (a Gold medal) are re-confirmed by the co-chairs before moving onto round two, whereby all are re-categorised and re-tasted.
‘You start with wines already awarded 95 points and then you say, well this is pretty good, we’ll take it to 96,’ explains Evans, ‘and then you’ll say, this has an extra finesse, it has something that just makes it stand out from the crowd. With Platinum we’re talking about real individuality; we’re talking about wines of exceptional quality.’
The rigour of DWWA judging is put into perspective with a look at the 2023 results, where 18,250 wines judged resulted in just 125 Platinum medals, translating to a mere 0.68% of the total wines tasted.
‘You can imagine this huge pyramid of wines, with every wine getting tasted and judged and slowly moving through the process if it’s a good wine,’ says co-chair Ronan Sayburn MS.
‘A wine can slowly move up through several tasters’ palates to make sure that it really is deserved of its Gold, until it reaches the very, very top of that pyramid where it will come out, if it’s an amazing wine, as either a Platinum or one of the Best in Show,’ he adds.
