Decanter World Wine Awards 2025: America's Best in Show

At the Decanter World Wine Awards 2025, Clos du Val's Estate Cabernet Franc from Stags Leap District and Kenwood's Six Ridges Cabernet Sauvignon from Alexander Valley each received a Best in Show medal, 97 points apiece, the competition's highest honor, awarded to only a handful of wines from the thousands entered globally. California alone took 143 medals in total. For American wine, this is not a surprise so much as a confirmation: the geographic depth and stylistic range that critics have been tracking for years now has a scoreboard to match.

Decanter World Wine Awards 2025: America's Best in Show Moment

Best in Show at the Decanter World Wine Awards is not a participation ribbon. The DWWA is the world's largest wine competition by entry volume, judged by a panel of leading experts, and Best in Show sits above Platinum and Gold as the rarest tier in the medal hierarchy. That two American wines claimed it in the same year, and from two distinctly different appellations, tells you something specific about where U.S. winemaking stands in 2025.

The Clos du Val Estate Cabernet Franc 2022, sourced from the Stags Leap District within Napa Valley and priced at US$130, drew this description from the DWWA judges: opaque black in colour, with spice, flowers, and damsons on the nose, and on the palate a splendid depth and width offset by what the judges called an aerial grace and a lithe ease of line to the tannins. At 15% alcohol, it is a warm-climate Cabernet Franc that, according to the judges, manages to retain poised and perfumed flesh rather than tipping into the dryness that can afflict the variety in hotter growing seasons. The result, in the judges' words, is memorably drinkable.

The Kenwood Six Ridges Cabernet Sauvignon 2021 from Alexander Valley arrives at a price point, US$17 to US$25, widely available, that makes the Best in Show credential genuinely useful for everyday collectors. The blend includes Petite Syrah, Petit Verdot, and Cabernet Franc alongside the dominant Cabernet Sauvignon, clocking in at 14.5% alcohol.

Judges noted a savoury, mountain wildness to the fruit, with open, affably fruity aromas given depth by what they described as a dry-forest warmth, and plump tannins with a distinctive savoury nuance bringing resolution and balance.

The DWWA panel noted that Alexander Valley offers Cabernet of significantly different style to Napa, amply fleshed but with a different acid emphasis, and this wine, they wrote, joins nine California red-wine peers already featured in Best in Show selections.

Peer Set Snapshot

California Leads the Medal Count, But the Story Is Bigger Than Napa

California's 143 medals at the Decanter World Wine Awards 2025 American wine results represent the state's dominant position in the U.S. tally, but the spread of Platinum and Gold results across appellations beyond Napa is the more instructive detail for collectors building a broader American cellar.

Cupere's Faces 2022 from the Sonoma Coast, a Chardonnay priced at US$65, earned Platinum with 97 points. Judges described rich, ripe aromas of yellow pear and apple with charry oak, a gorgeously creamy and sleek palate oozing panache and charm, bright acidity, a finely tuned texture, and a candied citrus finish that lasts. At 13.2% alcohol, it sits at the cooler end of the California Chardonnay spectrum, which the Sonoma Coast's maritime influence tends to produce.

Further Gold medals went to Exprimere's Mia Pinot Noir 2022 from Sta. Rita Hills (95 points, US$74), New Clairvaux Vineyard's Petite Sirah 2022 from Tehama County (95 points), and Maple & Ash's Chardonnay 2023 from Central Valley (95 points), a spread of appellations that runs from the cool Pacific-facing hills of Santa Barbara County to the warmer inland valleys of Northern California. The picture that emerges is not a Napa story. It is a California story, and a wide one.

Virginia, Washington, and Oregon: The Emerging Regions Turning Heads

Washington state and Oregon both increased their total medal hauls year-on-year at DWWA 2025, according to Decanter, and the Platinum results from each state give collectors specific bottles to track.

Echolands' Blue Mountain Vineyard Cabernet Franc 2022 from Walla Walla Valley earned Platinum with 97 points, priced at US$50 to US$60.

Judges noted black cherry, berry, and plum with an earthy, herbaceous tone, lustrous tannins, juicy acidity, and a smoky finish, at 13.8% alcohol, a Cabernet Franc profile that sits closer to the Loire in structure than to Napa. Walla Walla Valley also produced three Gold-medal wines at 95 points: L'Ecole No.

41's Cabernet Sauvignon 2022 (US$35 to US$54, widely available), Samā Cellars' Bhūmi Syrah 2022 (US$62), and Spring Valley Vineyard's Uriah Red Wine 2022 (US$65).

The concentration of top results from a single Washington appellation in a single vintage is not accidental, Walla Walla's combination of basalt soils, warm days, and cool nights has been producing medal-level reds consistently enough that the 2022 vintage appears to have delivered across multiple producers simultaneously.

Oregon's Platinum came from Domaine Serene's Yamhill Cuvée Pinot Noir 2022, Willamette Valley, 97 points, priced at US$60 to US$85 and widely available.

Judges described crunchy red cherry and raspberry fruit with generous, sweet, oaky spice that unfurls and weaves around supple tannins and texture, with bristling acidity and a lengthy finish at 13.8% alcohol.

The Yamhill-Carlton sub-appellation within Willamette Valley has long been associated with structured, ageworthy Pinot Noir, and this result adds a specific data point for collectors deciding between Willamette and Burgundy at a similar price tier.

A Gold at 95 points also went to Ambar Estate's Lustral Chardonnay 2022 from Dundee Hills (US$230 per magnum), and Watermill's Hallowed Stones Syrah 2021 from the Rocks District of Walla Walla Valley (US$50 to US$55), the latter from one of Washington's most geologically distinctive sub-appellations, known for its cobblestone alluvial soils.

Virginia's contribution is the sharpest detail in the entire U.S. results. Early Mountain's Petit Manseng 2022 earned Gold with 95 points, and it follows Virginia's first-ever Gold at DWWA in 2024.

Two consecutive years of Gold-level results from a state that most European collectors would not place on their radar suggests that Virginia's winemakers, working with varieties like Petit Manseng that are better suited to the state's humid continental climate than Cabernet Sauvignon, are finding their register.

Judges described Early Mountain's wine as richly flavoured and gastronomically textured, with honeyed ripe apple, fresh peach, and perfumed herbal notes enlivened by zingy acidity and a bright mineral finish at 13.9% alcohol.

What the DWWA 2025 Results Mean for Collectors and Wine Buyers

The Decanter World Wine Awards 2025 American wine medal tiers function as a practical buying hierarchy. Best in Show, awarded to Clos du Val and Kenwood, sits above Platinum (97 points, awarded to Echolands, Domaine Serene, and Cupere) and Gold (95 points, awarded to Early Mountain and others). Each tier carries a different implication for the cellar.

The Kenwood Six Ridges at US$17 to US$25 is the most accessible Best in Show on the list by a wide margin, and its wide availability means allocation is not the constraint. For collectors who want the credential without the hunt, this is the entry point. The Clos du Val at US$130 is a different proposition, a Stags Leap Cabernet Franc at Best in Show level is a wine with a specific regional identity and a tannin structure the judges described as lithe and graceful, which suggests it will reward a few years in the cellar rather than immediate consumption.

At the Platinum tier, Domaine Serene's Yamhill Cuvée at US$60 to US$85 is widely available and represents the clearest Oregon buying signal from the 2022 vintage at this level. Echolands' Blue Mountain Vineyard Cabernet Franc at US$50 to US$60 is distributed through Elliott Bay Distributing Co., which means availability is more regional, worth sourcing directly if you are building a Washington state vertical. Cupere's Faces Chardonnay at US$65 is produced at Grand Cru Custom Crush in Sonoma, and given the 97-point score, allocation may tighten as the result circulates.

For the collector tracking emerging appellations, the Early Mountain Petit Manseng from Virginia at 95 points is the wine to add to your watchlist. Two consecutive DWWA Golds from the same state, in a variety that suits the terroir rather than fighting it, is a pattern that deserves a place in your cellar planning before the rest of the market catches up.

From the Judgement of Paris to DWWA 2025: A Half-Century of American Ambition

The Decanter source article places California's 2025 performance in the context of the 1976 Judgement of Paris, the blind tasting in which California wines placed ahead of top Bordeaux and Burgundy, nearly 50 years before these DWWA results. The parallel is not just rhetorical. In 1976, the shock was that California could compete at the highest level at all. In 2025, the question is no longer whether American wine belongs in the conversation, it is which appellations, which varieties, and which vintages are producing the most compelling bottles right now.

The answer from DWWA 2025 is more geographically distributed than any single vintage result has previously suggested. Two Best in Show medals from California, one from Napa's Stags Leap District, one from Sonoma's Alexander Valley, confirm that the state's quality is not concentrated in a single corridor. Platinum results from Walla Walla Valley, Willamette Valley, and the Sonoma Coast, alongside Gold results from Dundee Hills, Sta. Rita Hills, Tehama County, and Virginia's Blue Ridge foothills, sketch a map of American fine wine that extends well beyond the appellations that defined the category in the 1970s and 1980s.

For collectors and oenophile travelers, that map is the most useful thing the Decanter World Wine Awards 2025 American wine results have produced.

It is not a single buying tip, it is an itinerary: Walla Walla in October for harvest, Willamette Valley for Pinot Noir in the spring, Virginia's Monticello-area wineries for a Petit Manseng that the DWWA judges called fabulous, and California's Sonoma Coast for a Chardonnay that punches well above its price.

The 2022 vintage, which dominates the medal list, appears to have been a strong year across multiple U.S. regions simultaneously, a detail worth keeping in mind as you plan both your cellar purchases and your next wine-focused trip.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which American wines won Best in Show at the Decanter World Wine Awards 2025?

Two American wines claimed Best in Show at the Decanter World Wine Awards 2025: Clos du Val's Estate Cabernet Franc 2022 from Stags Leap District and Kenwood's Six Ridges Cabernet Sauvignon 2021 from Alexander Valley. Both received 97 points, the competition's highest honor.

How much does the Kenwood Six Ridges Cabernet Sauvignon cost after winning at the Decanter World Wine Awards 2025?

The Kenwood Six Ridges Cabernet Sauvignon 2021 is priced between US$17 and US$25 and is widely available. This makes its Best in Show credential at the Decanter World Wine Awards 2025 particularly valuable for everyday collectors seeking quality American wine at an accessible price point.

How many medals did California win at the Decanter World Wine Awards 2025?

California took 143 medals in total at the Decanter World Wine Awards 2025 American wine results. The medals were spread across multiple appellations beyond Napa, including Sonoma Coast, Sta. Rita Hills, Tehama County, and Central Valley.

What is the difference between Best in Show, Platinum, and Gold at the DWWA?

Best in Show is the rarest tier in the Decanter World Wine Awards medal hierarchy, sitting above both Platinum and Gold. It is awarded to only a handful of wines from the thousands entered globally each year, making it the competition's highest honor.

What Sonoma Coast wine earned a Platinum medal at the Decanter World Wine Awards 2025?

Cupere's Faces 2022 Chardonnay from the Sonoma Coast earned a Platinum medal with 97 points. Priced at US$65 and clocking in at 13.2% alcohol, it represents the cooler, maritime-influenced end of the California Chardonnay spectrum.