OF THE 1120 entries from 23 countries in the 2022 edition of Concours Mondial du Sauvignon, 225 were wooded wines – including the 2021 vintage of The Journal from Diemersdal in Durbanville, one of nine trophy winners as the best of four gold medallists from South Africa. The other SA stars included the Coastal Cuvée 2017 from Delaire Graff in Banghoek, Stellenbosch, Elgin Vintners Sandstone 2021 and the Artisan Blanc Fumé 2019 from Vrede en Lust on the slopes of the Simonsberg in Paarl – all dry wines in a competition that also included sweets, with both single-varietal expressions as well as blends on the tasting bench.

The trophy for best Sauvignon Blanc overall was won by Domaine Jean-Christophe Mandard Blanc 2020 of the Loire, France, and the Best Wooded wooded Sauvignon trophy was awarded for Peter Skoff Sauvignon Blanc Ried Kranachberg Reserve 2015 of Styria, Austria. On the various panels were 75 judges from over 20 countries, including South Africa’s Carien Coetzee (oenologist) and Malu Lambert (wine writer).

Although the Mondial conveners are based in Brussels, Belgium, the competition is hosted in a different country each year and 2022 was the turn of Portugal. For more info and the full results, click here.