Sporting battle at World Blind Trials Championship 2022

With a fine score of 139 points, Luxembourg won the 10th edition of the World Blind Tests Championship. Just ahead of Portugal (123 pnt) and Spain (122 pnt) with both Hungary (champion in 2021), Great Britain and Belgium in shared 4th place (all 117 pnt). - TEXT + IMAGE NIJHUIS CONSULTANCY & SERVICES

Sporting battle at World Blind Trials Championship 2022
Luxembourg champion; neat performance Netherlands

In the end, it came down to the last wine, with Luxembourg scoring the most points and taking the title. The Netherlands did well in itself, but did not manage to improve on last year's fine performance (4th place). However, the team showed pride and fighting spirit with the 'promise' of definitely wanting to represent the Netherlands again at the World Cup next year.

Champagne

Hosted by Champagne Ayala, no fewer than 31 teams competed for the title of World Blind Tasting Champion 2023 on Saturday 8 October. This year's tenth edition of this prestigious competition, an initiative of Le Revue du Vin de France, featured a nice mix of enthusiastic newcomers (such as Scotland, Moldova and Kenya) and seasoned veterans such as the French, South Africans and the Belgians. As every year, the results were as impressive as they were surprising, with of course both disappointments and wonderful performances.

Renowned top teams from Luxembourg, Hungary, China, Poland and Sweden (with former or even multiple champions), struggled, while the very experienced teams from Spain, Portugal and Great Britain scored very high, as did outsiders Romania, Belarus and Switzerland. The Dutch team managed to score some good points in several wines, but decisions on the final grading of the wines proved somewhat unfortunate.

Wines such as a marsanne, an older grenache (2001 Chateauneuf-du-Pape), a touriga national, twice a pinot noir and a cabernet blend from Tuscany barely earned many teams points. This resulted this time in a lower average score of 89 points, 10 lower than the then 99.3 in 2021, but still higher than scores in most years before. Such high scores show that the level of tasters has clearly risen in recent years and the competition has only increased.

Difficult

The difficulty of the competition indicates that this is truly a world championship, with only top performances leading to a top ranking. However, it is also a fact that such performances depend on details. Team tasting, for instance, is always tricky because you also depend on the opinion and influence of others. The Romanian team could easily have finished in 2nd place, had the conclusion of 1 of the team members been followed; however, a different option was chosen, so they ended up with a nice score, but fell outside the prizes.

The format of the competition, with the announcement of the results and the wine after each wine, also required a lot from the participants. Concentration between wines was 'a task' and despite a ban on the use of smartphones etc, several tweets, selfies and other social media expressions were spread across the worldwide web during the competition.

The selection

Again this year, praise and criticism for the selection, not unlike during any other competition in the world. Yes, the chardonnay from the Nyetimber was recognised by many, but no one got the origin and producer right, even though it is a world-famous wine. Equally a serious challenge proved to be two other wines, both pinot noir, served in succession and both not from Burgundy, but from Baden and Alsace. At least as tricky were the next two wines, both blends of cabernet with syrah, not commonplace, although of course Château Vignelaure has had a fine reputation for years and can be called a well-known wine.

The second, the Quinto from the new, still unknown producer Tenuta Il Quinto from the Tuscan Maremma, proved (understandably) impossible for many to identify exactly. Those who had read the article on this estate in La Revue du vin de France might have been able to recognise the wine, but most tasters probably missed that edition..... Finally, the South African team was convinced that the final wine could never be a Sauternes: far too sweet and far too little botrytis; alas, alas, the Château de Fargues 2001 was indeed one. Thus, everyone had an opinion about the wines, although we did not hear the winners complain about them.

Netherlands

The Dutch team, with Juliette Zandbergen, Kim van der Linde - Bruggink, Jesper Moonen and Maxime Zandbergen, made more 'less happy' choices this year than last. The technical assessment of the wines was basically good (the strength of this team with four seasoned tasting professionals), but while discussing the wines, they sometimes deviated too much from what they had tasted. As a result, for example, instead of recognisable aromas of marsanne, they chose viognier, mistook a Chateneuf-du-Pape for a Chateau Musar and placed both wines of pinot noir in a different country. Together with some more 'almost right' answers, that unfortunately did not result in a top score this year, although recognising the grapes as chardonnay, pinot noir, cabernet and touriga nacional did lead to overall satisfaction and (afterwards) appropriate pride.

In many cases, the Dutch team was in good company with many other teams, who also often 'missed the mark'; not good for the points, but good for a degree of resignation, self-reflection, humility ánd an excellent reason to perform even better next time. No team could not get over a certain disappointment, because very soon after the match a positive feeling prevailed. Above all, the memories of yet another great event with many other enthusiasts and colleagues cum peers from the most diverse parts of the wonderful world of wine were enjoyed. While enjoying a glass of Champagne from Ayala, everyone toasted to another edition of the World Cup, next year at the beginning of October in Provence.

NK Blind Trials

The selection of the Dutch team for the 2023 World Cup will take place during the CONCOURS LE VIN EN DIRECT, the 2023 NK Blind Trials, on Sunday 4 June at Conference Hotel Kontakt der Kontinenten in Soesterberg.

The NK Blind Trials is an initiative of Nijhuis Consultancy & Services
For more information: www.fred-nijhuis.nl or fred@fred-nijhuis.nl

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