All the medallists from the Autumn Masters 2024

The Autumn Tasting always offers a diverse selection of wines from every conceivable origin – and no little quality. Patricia Stefanowicz MW reports.

AS THE leaves turn and conkers fall from the horse chestnut trees, our Autumn Tasting judges anticipated a day of exhilarating tasting with hope of an abundant harvest of awards. It was a chance to taste wines outside the themes of our other Global Masters, and wines that may not have been available for a specific Masters judging. In 2024 we were pleased to have found a clutch of wines worthy of Bronze, Silver, Gold and Master medals.

Sparkling wines are always a diverse group. A couple of Champagnes were awarded Golds: Champagne Alexandre Bonnet’s Rosé Extra Brut and Champagne Jacquart’s Mosaïque Brut. And there were Silver medals for Cava, and from Slovenia and China’s Helan Mountains. Austria was, perhaps, this year ’s white wine star. Kollwentz’s gently oaked Chardonnay Ried Katterstein was awarded a Master, and the producer ’s beautifully balanced Chardonnay Gloria took a Gold. Grüner Veltliner Golds were garnered by Schuster and Steininger, and Gschweicher earned Golds for its Röschitzer Königsberg and ‘Primary Rocks’ Grüner Veltliners. Adding excitement from other regions were Azienda Agricola di San Salvatore di Giuseppe Pagano, with Golds for its oaked and unoaked Fianos from Campania, showing how flexible this variety can be, alongside Silvers for Mayor de Castilla’s Verdejo and Sauvignon Blanc. There were few rosé wines in this year ’s event, but Kylie Minogue Vin de Provence Rosé, produced in association with Château Sainte Roseline, an expressive and affordable Gold medal winner, showed why Provençal rosés are so popular. Among unoaked red wines, judges found a fair few easy-drinking, crowd-pleasing wines, including Vinchio Vaglio’s Barbera d’Asti, and João-Perry Vidal and João-Maria Ramos’ Vinteiro Douro.

With oaked reds, a Pinot Noir from Robert Mondavi, Marqués de Carrión Viña Arnaiz Rioja Crianza, Félix Solís