One of the greatest measures of a wine’s quality and style can usually be achieved when lining up the finest creations in a blind line-up against all one’s global peers. If you want to be the best, you need to pit yourself against the best. This philosophy applies equally in business, sport and of course fine wine and it was this simple principle that inspired the original “Judgement Tastings” many years ago… the first popularised benchmark exploration being the Judgement of Paris held by the late Steven Spurrier back in 1976, pitting the best of California against the best of France.

In the same pioneering spirit of competition, a group of London fine wine enthusiasts set out, some years ago, to compare the finest Grenache wine expressions from around the world in a rigorous blind comparative tasting. Roll on several years, and not only have the finest offerings from around the world increased in number, but the “Grenache fine wine category” itself has evolved dramatically to include some incredible new expressions, primarily from Spain and South Africa.

So with the latest 2023 edition of the Judgement of Wimbledon held recently with one of the most impressive line-ups to date, the results were always going to be highly anticipated. This year, the 14 wine blind flight included 3 wines from Sierra de Gredos, the mountainous region west of Madrid, 4 wines from Priorat in Catalonia, 1 wine from Monsant next door to Priorat, 1 wine from Vinos de la Tierra Castilla y Leon, 3 old vine wines from South Africa, 1 wine from Rioja and 1 from the USA. Where possible, the latest releases were included covering vintages 2020 to 2014.

The Judgement of Wimbledon 2023 tasting featured seven judges, 14 wines double decanted, tasted blind and rated using the 100-point scoring system. With regards to the wine selection, a more elegant, classical, mineral and pure fruited aesthetic was followed in conjunction with high critical scores from international reviewers for the vintages on the tasting, or else for previous vintages if the latest releases had not been rated yet. Previous Judgement tastings have including more “obvious” riper expressions of Grenache from Australia, the USA, and Chateauneuf du Pape (Rayas), so these were excluded from this years selection as a point of difference.

My personal tasting notes and scores were as follows, followed by the group average results.

The Judgement of Wimbledon Tasting Line-up: (including Greg Sherwood MW’s blind notes)

Wine 1 – Terroir al Limit Les Manyes 2019, Priorat, Spain

Light translucent colour reveals an aromatics of tar and leather, freshly tilled earth and bramble berry spice. Very sappy, smoky with a deep peppery spicy seam. Quite phenolic and very spicy on the palate with quite a dense glycerol mouthfeel, plenty of crushed peppercorns, austere liquid minerality and wood spice on the finish.

(Wine Safari Score: 92/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Wine 2 – Comando G Rumbo Al Norte 2020, Gredos, Spain

Very pale colour in the glass before a nose of vermouth spices, strawberry reduction, tomato juice, dried orange peel, tangerine and blood orange. The palate is taut and incredibly saline with a very polished textural feel, tight knit tannins and a quite exotic finish of red berries, Xmas spices and granitic minerality.

(Wine Safari Score: 94/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Wine 3 – Telmo Rodriguez Pegaso Granito 2018, Vinos de la Tierra Castillo y Leon, Spain

A darker, deeper expression on the eye and the nose, showing complex layers of black currant pastille, cassis and salty blueberry. The tannins are pure silk showing a powdery texture, a tight grained minerality, pear notes and a long focused harmonious finish. Impressive and immediately hedonistic.

(Wine Safari Score: 95/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Wine 4 – Naude Family Wines Grenache 2019, Darling, South Africa

Another light, translucent coloured expression. The nose shows a delicate smoky elegance layered with sapidity, crushed granitic spice and dried herbs. On the palate there is a supremely elegant mouthfeel, pinpoint acids, delicate freshness and a wonderfully cool, focused saline precision on the finish. Very harmonious and classy despite its evident youthfulness.

(Wine Safari Score: 96+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Wine 5 – Terroir Sense Fronteres Guix Vermell 2019, Monsant, Spain

A much riper, denser opulent expression with plenty of sun dried red berries, hints of diesel rag, and sweet grilled herbs. On the palate there is a plush texture, plenty of fleshy red berry fruits, red bruised apple, notes of raspberry coulis and wood spice. The entire package is very impressive with a sleek texture and compact mouthfeel. Very classy.

(Wine Safari Score: 94+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Wine 6 – Mas Martinet Els Escurcons 2019, Priorat, Spain

Another dense, darkly coloured expression. On the nose the aromatics show a nervy, crushed gravel, limestone mineral dustiness mixed with sweet grilled herbs, sweet leaf, red cherry, orange peel and sweet vermouth botanical notes. There is impressive ripeness on the palate with a fleshy richness, Poire William and balancing acidity complimented by supremely creamy chalky tannins. An impressive wine with red and black berry fruits and a deliciously creamy persistence.

(Wine Safari Score: 96/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Wine 7 – Alvaro Palacios Quinon de Valmira 2020, Rioja, Spain

Medium dark colour with some transparency. The nose is quite lifted and perfumed with notes of cherry cola, herbal tea, cherry tobacco and leafy spice. The palate is as attractive as the aromas, showing deliciously vibrant acids, a glycerol textured breadth but also lovely complexity, a smoky minerality, and a long, powdery tannic finish. Very powerful and intense making for a serious wine indeed.

(Wine Safari Score: 97/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Wine 8 – Torres Mas de la Rosa 2018, Priorat, Spain

Another dark coloured wine, the aromatics are expressive and perfumed with raspberry herbal tea, red cherry, cherry cola and subtle vermouth herbal spices over a subtle blueberry muffin spice. There is a lovely fleshy richness that offers breadth and depth with a sweet / sour acidity but also incredible precision and balance. Some ripeness here but also a beautiful acid balance.

(Wine Safari Score: 97+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Wine 9 – Mas Martinet – Cami Pesseroles 2019, Priorat, Spain

This is a more lush, plush opulent expression with plenty of depth and breadth both on the nose and palate. The nose reveals warming stewed black plum, dark orchard fruits and subtle sweet vermouth and grilled herb spices. The palate is medium to full with an intense fruit concentration tempered by an earthy tart sweet / sour acidity, and a very sweet tannin profile. Lovely concentration on a wine that leaves a little less to the imagination but delicious nevertheless.

(Wine Safari Score: 97+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Wine 10 – Sadie Family Wines Soldaat 2021, Piekenierskloof, South Africa

Light and translucent in colour, this youthful expression is smoky and reductive with saline maritime notes over black currant pastille and purple rock candy and subtle musk notes. The palate is salty and spicy, tart yet rich, taut and nervy with plenty of red berry fruits, tart red apple, and a sweet plummy complexity.

(Wine Safari Score: 94/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Wine 11 – 4 Monos La Isilla 2019, Gredos, Spain

A more classical rendition of Grenache with all the archetypal notes of grilled herbs, smoky black berry, hints of salty cassis, oyster shell and subtle tar and roses complexity. The texture is dense and fleshy, bristling with more red fruits, bright acids and sweet and sour Victoria plum notes. Tight knit, polished and very impressive indeed.

(Wine Safari Score: 97+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Wine 12 – Comando G El Tamboril 2020, Gredos, Spain

A taut, classical note with plenty of herbal aromatics, hints of plum and tar, smoky railway yard and earthy black berry. The palate shows a hint of saline flinty reduction but also massively mineral drying tannins, chalky grip and immense power. This is muscle in a bottle, one for the cellar, but a potential block buster. Very impressive.

(Wine Safari Score: 98/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Wine 13 – Naude Family Wines Grenache 2020, Darling, South Africa

Light and ethereal in colour, the nose shows sweet sappy red berry fruits, cool red cherry, earthy red plum and grated red apple skins. The palate is liquid lazerbeams, saline and tart yet mouth-wateringly salty and mineral. This is elegance with extreme precision and power but all delivered so deftly. A really incredible expression.

(Wine Safari Score: 96/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Wine 14 – A Tribute to Grace Morro View Vineyard Santa Barbara County County Grenache 2014, California, USA

Rich and ripe with sur-maturité notes on the nose with hints of sweet figs, caramel, stewed plums and earthy savoury cherry liquor. The tannins are rasping and dry, mouth puckering and grippy with dried fruits that indicate the grapes were picked perhaps a bit too late.

(Wine Safari Score: 92/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

The Group Tasting Score Averages and Rankings:

Conclusions and Observations:

One thing you can be sure of when you do blind tastings like this is that the results will never conform to preconceived expectations. Indeed, that was certainly the case with the 2023 Judgement of Wimbledon tasting. Some of the obvious surprises were the low ratings for both the Comando G Rumbo Al Norte 2020 and the Les Manyes 2019, though this could be down to their youthfulness. Equally, a big surprise was the dominant performance of another Sierra de Gredos wine, the El Tamboril 2020, that shone incredibly brightly and seduced all the tasters.

Also, taking previous critical ratings and retail prices into consideration, all three South African Grenache wines performed incredibly well, with purity, precision and balance in the face of stiff competition from wines that were sometimes close to 10 times their price. The Naudé Family Wines Grenache was one of the original wines that inspired the Judgement tastings all those years ago, so hats off to an impressive 4th and 5th placing for Ian Naudé’s two incredible reds. World class in every sense of the word! Until next year and the 2024 Judgement… cheers!