French wines claimed a remarkable 3,220 medals at the 22nd edition of the Decanter World Wine Awards, the world’s largest wine competition. France took 14 Best in Show titles, 33 Platinum and 140 Gold awards. Two more wine giants follow close behind. Italy secured 2,204 medals, with six wines topping their category to earn a Best in Show title, alongside 30 Platinum and 102 Gold. Spain, fittingly, won 2,025 medals in 2025, including five Best in Show, 16 Platinum and 84 Gold.
Croatia Ranks Eighth Among the Most-Awarded Nations
By total number of awards, only Australia (643), Portugal (554), South Africa (487) and Argentina (428) rank ahead of Croatia. With 386 awards, Croatia finished ahead of far more famous wine nations such as Canada (347), Chile (334), New Zealand (303), the USA (294), Greece (242), and even Slovenia (211) and the United Kingdom, with 188 awards and medals.
Croatia’s highest-scoring wine was the Benvenuti Muškat San Salvatore 2021, which earned 97 points and a Platinum medal. Croatian wineries also collected 14 Golds (which require 95 or 96 points), 115 Silvers (90 to 94 points) and 256 Bronzes, meaning at least 86 points. On that count Croatia outperformed all its neighbours, and only Hungary claimed more Platinum awards.
Moslavac Brings Gold to Hungary
The honours went to the Tokaji wines Béres Aszú 6 Puttonyos 2017 and Grand Tokaj Terroir Selection Amphora Aged Tokaji Eszencia 2013, as well as the sparkling Kreinbacher Classic Brut 2013. The latter is 54 percent Furmint, the variety also known as Moslavac or Šipon and the backbone of Tokaji, with the remainder Chardonnay. Hungarian wines also won 16 Gold, 63 Silver and 70 Bronze.
Vina Koper won Slovenia’s only Best in Show title with its Capris Orange Rumeni Muškat 2015, and also struck Gold with the Capo d’Istria 1072 from 2022. A further 12 Slovenian wines took Gold medals, four of them from Klet Brda: A Plus Special Selection 2019, De Baguer Merlot-Cabernet Franc 2019, Krasno Pinot Bianco 2024 and Quercus Beli Pinot 2024.
Three Golden Slovenian Sparklers
The other Slovenian Golds were the De Baguer Single Vineyard Merlot 2019, Puklavec Family Wines Pinot Blanc Spätlese 1983, Rouna Zelen 2023, Edvard Wines Edward XXI from 2021, Vina Kotolenko Renski Rizling 2023, and the sparkling wines Bjana Rosé Brut, Dveri Pax DP Brut 2014 and Istenič Cuvée Natura Extra Brut 2020. Slovenia also collected 75 Silver and 122 Bronze.
The top-scoring Bosnian-Herzegovinian wine was the Chardonnay 2022 from the Knebu winery, with 94 points, just one shy of Gold. This producer, whose vineyards near Tomislavgrad sit at altitudes between 900 and 965 metres, also took Silver with its White Cuvée 2022.
Silver and Bronze for Wines from Bosnia and Herzegovina
Two Silver medals each went to the Škegro winery, for its Žilavka Krš Bijeli 2023 and Carsus Blatina 2022; to Knebu, for its Chardonnay and White Cuvée white; and to the Puntar winery, for its Saint 2023, made from Žilavka, Pošip and Grk, and its Sinner 2020, from Blatina, Vranac and Trnjak. The remaining Bosnian-Herzegovinian Silvers were the Nuić Selekcija Žilavka 2019, Vilinka Selekcija Žilavka 2021, Ostojić Selekcija Žilavka 2024 and Jungić Cabernet Sauvignon 2021. These neighbours also took 38 Bronze. 
Serbia has 99 medals. Its Golds went to the white wines Erdevik Omnibus Lector Chardonnay 2019 and Virtus Morava 2023, and to six reds: Matalj Bukovski Cuvée 2021, Tarpoš Prokupac 2023, Despotika Krunski Dokaz 2017, Vinarija Jovac Stella Noir 2021, and the Merlot 2023 from the Zvonko Bogdan winery. Serbia also won 38 Silver and 54 Bronze. North Macedonia may not be a direct neighbour, but its winemakers are firm friends of the grape. At this year’s Decanter they claimed 16 Silver medals, nine of them for the Tikveš winery, and 13 Bronze.
Photographs: decanter.com/Nic Crilly-Hargrave and nobilis777.space/Ivo Kozarčanin
20.06.2025.
