Pressroom

News of the vineyard

27 medals awarded during the 35th Chablis Wine Competition

25/01/2021

A special edition with social distancing.

27 medals awarded during the 35th Chablis Wine Competition

The 35th edition of the Chablis Wine Competition was held in Beine, in the Salle des Beauroy, on January 23, 2021. Due to uncertainty to the last minute, the event had no formal president this year. It was adapted to current health measures by the use of a reduced panel of jurors.
There were 46 tasters this year and 27 medals were awarded based on the 321 samples submitted.

The competition followed a strict protocol ensuring every taster’s safety; a large tasting area, masks made mandatory, antibacterial solution readily available, each juror seated alone at a table with an individual spittoon, special ventilation in the room and an adapted pouring system avoiding any handling of the bottles by the tasters. The traditional closing luncheon was cancelled.

This year, the competition focused on vintage 2019 for the Petit Chablis, Chablis and Chablis Premier Cru appellations and on vintage 2018 for Chablis Grand Cru.

Organised by the Chablis tourist office and the Bourgogne Wine Board (BIVB), a distinctive feature of this event is that professionals having submitted wine samples may not become members of the jury. The tasters are journalists, restaurateurs, sommeliers, wine brokers, oenologists and enlightened amateurs.

The tasting goes through two stages: only the samples that received the best marks when tasted by all the jurors in the first round then get submitted to the Grand Jury, which alone can award medals.

The winning wines will be ambassadors for Chablis over the coming year and will be featured by the Bourgogne Wine Board (BIVB) in its promotional events both domestically and abroad.