This is a great year for Croatian wines, said the organisers of the prestigious Concours Mondial de Bruxelles, which is held in a different location every year; this year’s 32nd edition for white and red wines took place in Yinchuan, in the heart of the Chinese wine region of Ningxia. According to the just-published results, Croatian wines won 22 medals, twice as many as last year, and the Grand Gold went to Damjanić Clemente 2020.
The wine is of exceptional structure, complexity and perfect balance. It is layered, superbly crafted, and reveals intense aromas of dark fruit and spice with perfectly integrated oak. The tannins are firm yet ripe, lending elegance to the rich fruit character without overpowering it. The wine unites depth, refinement and precision, and impressed with its remarkable persistence and harmony and a long, elegant finish, the judges said of this blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Teran and Borgonja (Gamay). 
Gold medals went to the wines Santa Lucia Malvazija 2018 Kozlović, Assemblage 2022 Medea, Orange 2024 Belje Plus, Miraz Syrah 2019 Enosophia, Sauvignon 2024 Cmrečnjak, De Gotho Graševina 2021 Kutjevo, Privé 2017 Korlat and Imolata 2022 Katunar Estate Winery. The silver wines are Chardonnay 2024 Poletti, Castello Festigia 2022 Agrolaguna and Syrah Festigia 2022 Agrolaguna, Goldberg Red 2021 Belje Plus and Goldberg Graševina 2023 Belje Plus, Miraz Frankovka 2019 Enosophia, De Gotho Sauvignon 2023 Kutjevo, Syrah 2021 Korlat, White 2023 Vina Čergar, Blanc de Noir 2024 Royal Hill and Sauvignon Blanc 2024 Royal Hill, Martin Albus Silvanac Zeleni 2024 Orahovica and Silvanac Zeleni Vrhunski 2024 Orahovica. 
We congratulate all our wineries whose wines the 375 judges from 56 countries deemed worthy of medals. A total of 7,165 samples from 49 countries were entered for judging. As host of this year’s competition, China took part with a record 663 wines, 280 of which were awarded. Chinese winemakers won eight Grand Gold medals, a hundred golds and 122 silvers. Josip Barišić, Marko Krstačić, Ivan Damjanić and Ivan Marić of Vinistra took part in the judging as members of the Croatian delegation of judges, alongside Ivana Ovčina Čagalj, Ina Bednar Jozinović, Monika Prović, Ksenija Matić and Tomislav Tuđen. 
Photographs: Concours Mondial de Bruxelles
26.06.2025.
