London Wine Fair 2026 Icon Tasting
May 20, 2026 — In what has been billed as a “celebration of Chardonnay”, the results of London Wine Fair’s third Icon Tasting – The Greatest Chardonnay Showdown – were announced this morning, on the show’s Centre Stage, on the eve of International Chardonnay Day (21st May). Billed as a benchmark tasting to assess the finest Chardonnay from classic and emerging regions, across different styles, including sparkling, the results firmly favoured Australia, which took both poll and runner-up positions, for Tolpuddle Vineyard and Vasse Felix, respectively. In the “Top 10” the results were evenly split 50:50, between Europe and non-European regions. England also triumphed with a third place for Danbury Ridge.
The Greatest Chardonnay Showdown was judged by 18 of the UK industry’s most talented and influential palates, more than two thirds of whom were either Masters of Wine or Master Sommeliers, including Jancis Robinson MW OBE; Dawn Davies MW; Tony Lécuroux MS; and Pierpaolo Petrassi MW.
The results
- The Overall Greatest Chardonnay of the World: Tolpuddle Vineyard 2023 Chardonnay, Coal River Valley, Tasmania
- Best Classic Region Chardonnay: Dom Ruinart Blanc de Blancs 2013, Champagne, France
- Best Emerging Region Chardonnay: Danbury Ridge Octagon Block Chardonnay 2023, Essex, England
Top 10 Greatest Chardonnays of the World
- Tolpuddle Vineyard 2023 Chardonnay, Coal River Valley, Tasmania, Australia
- Vasse Felix Heytesbury Chardonnay 2020, Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia
- Danbury Ridge Octagon Block Chardonnay 2023, Essex, England
- Dom Ruinart Blanc de Blancs 2013, Champagne, France
- Bâtard-Montrachet 2022, Domaine Henri Boillot, Burgundy, France
- Bell Hill 2020, Limeworks, North Canterbury, New Zealand
- Shaw Smith M3 2021, Adelaide Hills, South Australia, Australia
- Felton Road, Chardonnay Bannockburn 2021, Central Otago, New Zealand
- Cervaro della Sala 2023, Castello della Sala, Antinori, Umbria, Italy Domaine Donatsch, Unique Chardonnay Malans 2024, Graubünden, Switzerland
Best Value Chardonnay (based on the highest points per £RRP)
- Familia Deicas Juanico, Preludio Barrel Select Lote No 29 2020, Canelones, Uruguay
- Ataraxia Chardonnay 2024, Hemel-en-Aarde, Walker Bay, South Africa
- Shaw Smith M3 2021, Adelaide Hills, South Australia, Australia
- Storm, Ridge Chardonnay 2024, Hemel-en-Aarde, Walker Bay, South Africa
- Sol de Sol Chardonnay 2024, Viña Aquitania, Traiguén, Valle de Malleco, Chile
The Wines Tasted (in order, and by groupings)
Dom Ruinart Blanc de Blancs 2013, Champagne, France
Graham Beck CH14:227 Blanc de Blancs, Robertson, South Africa
Storm, Ridge Chardonnay 2024, Hemel-en-Aarde, Walker Bay, South Africa
Sieur d’Arques Toques & Clocher, Haute Vallée Chardonnay 2024 Limoux, France
Ataraxia Chardonnay 2024, Hemel-en-Aarde, Walker Bay, South Africa
Domaine Donatsch, Unique Chardonnay Malans 2024, Graubünden, Switzerland
Yoichi-Nobori 2024 Chardonnay, Domaine Takahiko Soga, Hokkaido, Japan
Dr. Heger Ihringer Winklerberg 2023 Chardonnay, Baden, Germany
Danbury Ridge Octagon Block Chardonnay 2023, Essex, England
Kit’s Coty Chardonnay 2023, Chapel Down, Kent, England
Familia Deicas Juanico, Preludio Barrel Select Lote No 29 2020, Canelones, Uruguay
Tolpuddle Vineyard 2023 Chardonnay, Coal River Valley, Tasmania, Australia
Shaw Smith M3 2021, Adelaide Hills, South Australia, Australia
Vasse Felix Heytesbury Chardonnay 2020, Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia
Kistler Les Noisetiers 2022, Sonoma Coast, USA
Belle Côte 2021 Chardonnay, Peter Michael Winery, Sonoma, USA
Penfolds Yattarna Bin 144 Chardonnay 2019, Australia
Sol de Sol Chardonnay 2024, Viña Aquitania, Traiguén, Valle de Malleco, Chile
Bell Hill 2020, Limeworks, North Canterbury, New Zealand
Bourgogne Blanc 2020, Domaine Coche-Dury, Burgundy, France
Chablis Montee de Tonnerre Premier Cru 2021, Domaine Francois Raveneau, Burgundy, France
Chassagne Montrachet Les Chenevottes Premier Cru 2022, Alex Moreau, Burgundy, France
Bâtard-Montrachet 2022, Domaine Henri Boillot, Burgundy, France
Cervaro della Sala 2023, Castello della Sala, Antinori, Umbria, Italy
Kthma Katcapoy Stella Chardonnay 2020, Kranias Olympus, Greece
Felton Road, Chardonnay Bannockburn 2021, Central Otago, New Zealand
Torres Milmanda 2018, Conca de Barberà, Spain
Format
The 30 participating wines were 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 wines were tasted double-blind; flighting the best chardonnays from around the world according to style, terroir, winemaking technique, oak aging, cultural lens or heritage.
The tasting took place over the course of three hours under strict examination conditions in a private room at London Wine Fair. All the wines were decanted and served in Jancis Robinson X Richard Brendon glasses, and the condition of each wine was checked beforehand by Abbott and Sayburn.
Sarah Abbott MW commented: “This rigorous assessment, undertaken by expert palates, showed that fine Chardonnay is a global language for the best of wine. The top-rated wines, from Australia, England and France, reflect the staggering adaptability of this iconic grape variety.”
Ronan Sayburn MS commented: “The results of this tasting offered an interesting snapshot of contemporary Chardonnay preferences rather than a definitive ranking of the world’s greatest wines. Many of the highest-scoring wines were modern Australian examples sealed under screw caps, showing remarkable freshness, precision, and consistency.”
Head of London Wine Fair, Hannah Tovey said: “Now in year three, our annual Icon Tasting is firmly established as a highlight of London Wine Fair. Our Greatest Chardonnay Showdown has been highly anticipated by both the judging panel and the wider global wine industry. We are delighted for Tolpuddle Vineyard, for their exceptional result, which shines a spotlight on Tasmanian Chardonnay. Thank you to Sarah and Ronan for their superb orchestration and for the brilliant judging panel for their time and palates.”
JUDGING PANEL
- Susie Barrie MW, wine writer
- Emily Brighton MW, North South Wines
- Oz Clarke, wine writer
- Dawn Davies MW, Speciality Drinks
- Sarah Jane Evans MW
- 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, Le Cordon Bleu
- Victoria Mason MW, The Wine Society
- Charles Metcalfe, wine writer
- Rebecca Palmer, Corney & Barrow
- Pierpaolo Petrassi MW, Waitrose
- Peter Richards MW, wine writer
- Jancis Robinson MW OBE, wine writer
- Patrick Schmitt MW, The Drinks Business
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