Abrau-Durso Ranked First among the Best Russian Sparkling Wines According to RATINGTELLING

Imperial vintage sparkling wine by Abrau-Durso Russian wine house led the rating of the largest study on the classic Russian sparkling wines conducted by RATINGTELLING. The top 10 included 6 sparkling wines of Abrau-Durso Group. A total of 11 sparkling wines made by the winery were on the list — the most numerous group that represented one manufacturer. Therefore, Abrau-Durso reconfirmed its leadership in the Russian sparkling wines market.

RATINGTELLING conducted the largest study on the classic Russian sparkling wines. The company is known in the market for its flagship product — Wineincognito, which is a professional digital wine assessment questionnaire allowing the detailed analysis of results. In its 7-year history RATINGTELLING has conducted over 1,000 studies and over 16 tasting contests, and invited over 270 top-level experts to assess the products of the Russian manufacturers.

The jury of the classic sparkling wines rating examined 145 samples presented by 24 manufacturers from the key winemaking regions — the Krasnodar Territory, Rostov Region, North Ossetia, and Crimea. The sugar content categories included extra brut, brut, dry and semi-sweet wines, and the vintages varied from aged wines of 2014 to 2023 harvest.

The examination in the form of a blind tasting was carried out for 4 days. All wines for the study were selected by the organizers and bought in the retail stores or restaurants. The samples of different styles were carefully selected by the specialists to get a complete picture of the Russian sparkling wines produced according to the classical method. The bottles of both well-known manufacturers and new market players were offered for the tasting.

The analysis was conducted on the basis of a new version of the Wineincognito questionnaire and the international scoring system of OIV (International Organisation of Vine and Wine). A 100-point score system was used to evaluate the samples and provided a single standard of comparison for quality of the wines.

The sparkling wines by Abrau-Durso scored the highest points, of which 2 entered the top 5 list. Winning the first place, the collectible wine Imperial Brut Vintage 2020 was awarded the Best Sparkling. This wine was repeatedly noted by the professional judges at the most famous competitions, particularly it won a gold medal of the 2024 Author’s Guide by Artur Sargsyan. The single-varietal sparkling wine Brut d’Or Riesling 2021 ranked fourth.

The wines produced by the main star of the Don wine region — Vedernikov Winery, which is a member of Abrau-Durso Group, were at the focus of attention and got the high points from the jury. The sparkling wines Winery Vedernikov Tsimlyansky Cherny/Sibirkovy of 2019 and Winery Vedernikov Tsimlyansky Cherny Rose Brut of 2020 from the same name autochthonous grape varieties ranked second and fifth respectively. Such significant results once again showcase the achievements of Vedernikov Winery’s pioneering approach to the traditional Russian grape varieties.

“The classic sparkling wines of Abrau-Durso Group are the absolute leaders in the large study conducted by RATINGTELLING, during which the jury has tasted more than 140 wine samples from various Russian regions. We are very glad to receive such high points from the famous industry experts, especially on the eve of the most sparkling holiday — New Year! The first place of our Imperial is another eloquent evidence that the sparkling wines by Abrau-Durso are the best in Russia”, noted Pavel Titov, President of Abrau-Durso Group.

Detailed results of the contest are available at: https://ratingtelling.com/reseach_18_12_24