April 16, 2026 — London Wine Fair has announced the theme for the third iteration of its annual Icon Tasting, which will take place at Olympia on Monday, 18th May, the first day of the show. Following “Judgement of London” in 2024, and “Battle of the Bubbles” in 2025 – which garnered trade and consumer interest from around the world – this year the focus will be “The Greatest Chardonnay Showdown”.
As with the previous Icon Tastings, the participating wines will be selected by Sarah Abbott MW, Wine Marketing Consultant, Co-Founder of The Old Vine Conference and IWSC Committee Judge, and Ronan Sayburn MS, CEO of The Court of Master Sommeliers. The Greatest Chardonnay Showdown format will be a double-blind tasting, flighting the best chardonnays from around the world according to style, terroir, winemaking technique, oak aging, cultural lens or heritage. 30 chardonnays will be tasted over three hours under strict examination conditions in a private room at London Wine Fair.
The Greatest Chardonnay Showdown will be judged by around 20 of the UK industry’s most discerning palates, spanning Masters of Wine, Master Sommeliers, fine wine buyers and wine writers with a speciality in Chardonnay. Judges confirmed to date: Emily Brighton MW (North South Wines); Susie Barrie MW (wine writer); Oz Clarke (wine writer); Dawn Davies MW (Speciality Drinks); Tina Gellie (Decanter); Sunny Hodge (aspen & meursault and Diogenes the Dog); Laura Jewell MW (Wine Australia); Elizabeth Kelly MW (Tesco); Tony Lécuroux MS (Sommelier & Wine Consultant); Jiachen Lu (Head Sommelier, Le Cordon Bleu); Victoria Mason MW (The Wine Society); Rebecca Palmer (Corney & Barrow); Pierpaolo Petrassi MW (Waitrose); Peter Richards MW (wine writer); Jancis Robinson MW, OBE (wine writer); Patrick Scmitt MW (The Drinks Business).
All the wines will be decanted and served in Jancis Robinson X Richard Brendon glasses, and the condition of each wine will be checked beforehand by Abbott and Sayburn. The scoring system – which will be rigorous – will point to key findings such as: The Overall Greatest Chardonnay of the World; Top 10 Greatest Chardonnays of the World; Best Classic Region Chardonnay; Best Emerging Region Chardonnay; and Best Value Chardonnay (based on the highest points per £ RRP). The results will be announced on Centre Stage at London Wine Fair, on Wednesday, 20th May at 11h45. Sarah Abbott MW commented: “Our first challenge has been narrowing the selection: Chardonnay is the lingua franca of fine white wine, and even our long-list read like a kind of poem. I know that our judges will relish tasting and assessing these iconic wines.”
Ronan Sayburn MS commented: “Great Chardonnay doesn’t just reflect where it’s from – it reveals how it tastes when the winemakers judgement and precision balances the climate, soils and techniques to make the wines come together in a single glass.”
Head of London Wine Fair, Hannah Tovey said: “London Wine Fair’s Icon Tasting is now an eagerly anticipated fixture in the wine industry, shining a spotlight on the world’s finest wines, as judged by the UK’s finest palates. London’s standing as the fine wine capital of the UK is an historic and enduring one; London Wine Fair’s platforming of the Icon Tasting reaffirms this. Thank you to Sarah, Ronan and our panel of illustrious judges for their expertise and support. I can already feel the anticipation and excitement for this building!”
London Wine Fair 2026 will take place from 18th to 20th May at Olympia. Visitor registration is now open via: www.londonwinefair.com
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