Spain’s best-known wine regions, Rioja and Ribera del Duero, are well established on the international stage. But beyond them lies a much broader map of producers working in varied and often challenging conditions.
The 2025 Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA) results offer a window into this wider picture, showcasing a number of standout wines from lesser-known areas across the country.
In the far northwest, Ribeira Sacra and Bierzo are known for their dramatic landscapes and Atlantic influence, producing fresh, structured reds often from old vines and on steep, terraced vineyards. Over in Catalonia, in the northeast, Priorat and neighbouring Montsant show a more Mediterranean character – Priorat especially known for its slate soils and concentrated, ageworthy wines.
Inland regions such as Calatayud and Campo de Borja in Aragón, and the arid plateaus of Castilla-La Mancha in the central south, combine continental climates with high elevations, supporting robust reds and increasingly polished winemaking, although in Somontano, where producers often explore a mix of local and international grapes, this year’s standout is a youthful red built around fresh aromatics and vibrant fruit.
Further south, Jumilla and Montilla-Moriles, the latter in beyond Rioja and Ribera Andalucía, demonstrate how varieties such as Monastrell and Pedro Ximénez thrive in dry, sun-drenched conditions, producing bold yet balanced wines.
Scroll down to discover 14 top DWWA 2025 winners
White wines also feature in this year’s selection, with strong examples from Penedès, in Catalonia, and Valencia further south on the Mediterranean coast.
Indigenous varieties such as Xarel.lo and Merseguera are used to make textured, mineral-driven whites that offer freshness and character. Together, these regions illustrate the diversity and dynamism of Spanish wine beyond its most famous names.
The range of styles, grape varieties and growing conditions reflects a country still deeply rooted in tradition but increasingly confident in its regional expression.
See this year’s DWWA 2025 results and discover the world’s best wines at awards.decanter.com
Best in Show
Don Bernardino, La Capona, Amandi, Ribeira Sacra, Galicia 2019
Best in Show, 97 points
donbernardino.com
Anyone who’s seen images of (or, better still, visited) the extraordinarily steep granite vineyards of Ribeira Sacra will open this bottle with a sense of reverence: it’s likely to have been made with more sweat, effort and muscle than any other wine in our Best in Show selection (though no doubt Priorat runs it very close). The Mencía grape variety doesn’t always give deeply coloured reds, though a measure of this wine’s concentration and force can be read in its black-red hue. Despite the two years it has passed in oak, it’s still the powerfully peppery red fruits that dominate the aromas of this nearly six-year-old. It’s deep and almost apothecary in flavour – meaning that its wild damson and sloe fruits have a herbal or root-spice note to them. The acidity remains bright and juicy, and the peppery tannins bring further life to this hard-won gift of nature. Alcohol 14.5%
Vall Llach, Mas de la Rosa Gran Vinya Classificada, Priorat, Catalonia 2023
Best in Show, 97 points
vallllach.com
The purity and finesse of this concrete-aged wine makes a convincing case for Cariñena as the pre-eminent variety for Priorat; and, contrariwise, for Priorat as the world’s greatest location for Cariñena/ Carignan. It’s also a plaudit for concrete ageing – in egg or otherwise. The wine’s aromas are less fruity than most; it’s one of those wines that seem to smell as much of a landscape as of fruit. It’s only two years old, yet the ageing has been so successfully managed that it has the seamlessness and harmony of a much older wine. On the palate, it’s refined, graceful and shawl-like, full of lingering dark-fruit intensity but counterbalanced by the wine’s unstrenuous cashmere tannin and insinuating, palate-lapping acidity: extraordinary finesse for a variety that’s often regarded as workmanlike elsewhere. Alc 15.5%
Bierzo
Almazcara Majara, Demasiado Corazón 2023
Gold, 95 points
almazcaramajara.com
Exuberant layers of white stone fruit, green apple and grassy herbals are enriched by a pervading freshness and quenching grapefruit acidity. Fleshy, supple and long. Alc 13.5%
Catalayud
Las Pizarras, Viña Castejón Garnacha 2023
Gold, 95 points
raicesibericas.com
Classic plum and raspberry fruit with smatterings of wild herbs and violet florals. Vanilla toast marks the palate, underscored by brisk acidity and a long, savoury finish. Alc 14.5%
Campo de Borja
Alto Moncayo, Veraton Garnacha 2022
Gold, 95 points
bodegasaltomoncayo.com
Plentiful notes of cherry blossom, red plum, cinnamon and cocoa submerge a palate that boasts vivid acidity, pliant tannins and a shiny backbone of oaky charm. Alc 16%
Castilla-La Mancha
Dehesa del Carrizal, Petit Verdot, Vino de Pago 2022
Gold, 96 points
dehesadelcarrizal.com
An illuminating array of plum, blueberry and mulberry fruit furnished with pencil shaving and liquorice depth. Mouthfilling and plush with bright acidity and fine mocha tannins. Alc 14%
Jumilla
Casa de la Ermita, Monastrell-Petit Verdot Roble 2024
Value Gold, 95 points
casadelaermita.com
Robust plum and blue and black berry fruit aromas with a herbal, floral undertone cushioned by a lipsmacking chocolate oak core. Very fresh, elegant and juicy. Alc 14.5%
Montilla-Moriles
Alvear, Tres Miradas Paraje de Riofrío Alto 3er Año 2021
Platinum, 97 points
alvear.es
A formidable style, with fennel, dried almonds and herbs, a mineral structure and an intriguing textural grip. Quenching and saline, with swathes of toasted nuts on the finish. Alc 13.5%
Montsant
Cellers Unió, Perlat Garnatxa 2023
Value Gold, 95 points
£15.50 Decántalo
Awash with juicy, mouthwatering flavour: fresh strawberry compote interlaced with dark berries, cherries and plums, underpinned by savoury, earthy tones. Long, well defined and pure. Alc 14.5%
Penedès
Vallformosa, Cultivare Xarel.lo 2020
Gold, 96 points
vallformosa.com
Bold, ripe peach and apricot notes with flecks of camomile and white flowers. Textured and broad with a fine beam of acidity and a fleshy fruit finish. Alc 12%
Priorat
Familia Torres, Salmos, Porrera 2021
Gold, 96 points
POA £ John E Fells
A punchy perfume of cranberries, plums and strawberries steeped in aromatic thyme, marjoram and rosemary. Supple and weighty, with a mineral structure and a persistent finish. Alc 14%
Somontano
Leo & Niné, Compartir Joven 2024
Value Gold, 95 points
leoninewines.com
Enticing violet and rose petal aromatics are followed by an exciting crunch of early- season bramble fruit, garnished with white pepper. Well structured, with a long finish. Alc 13.5%
Valencia
Vegamar, Huella de Merseguera 2024
Value Gold, 95 points
vegamar.es
Brilliant floral, crunchy apple and zesty white grapefruit aromas leap out of the glass, endorsed by the citrus acidity, limpid texture and enveloping herbal finish. Alc 12.5%
Cherubino Valsangiacomo, De Sant Jaume Malvasía 2024
Value Gold, 95 points
valsangiacomo.es
Tantalising pear, apple, apricot and peach aromas underscored by tingling notes of grapefruit, lemon and lime. Bright and crisp, with a lengthy herbal finish. Alc 12%
