Alliances du Monde^®
International Wine & Barrel Competition 

The first international Mark of Quality about the harmony of wines matured in oak barrels

The Harmony of the oak aged wine at the top of the 2014 award of Alliances du Monde^®
International Wine & Barrel Competition: The world's top 2014 award for the best wines aged in oak barrel in competition.

8 October 2014, Abbey of Noirlac, France. In the heart of the most beautiful European oak forests, on the edge of the forest of Tronçais, international expert judges, specially identified for their expertise in sensory analysis about oak-aged wines, have tasted wines from the whole world having all in common to be matured in oak barrels.

The quality of the oak-aged wines is much higher than the global average: the unexpected proportion of gold medals won by the wines in competition confirms the exceptional qualitative level of wines matured in oak barrels in the whole world. For its second edition, Alliances du Monde^® occupies a special place amongst international competitions. Less than 25% of the wines judged during international competitions, get the "gold medals" level, while, on the same basis of rating, more than 35% of the wines tasted at Alliances du Monde^® 2014 get gold medals.

The oak ageing of wines is both a state of mind and an incomparable art: the experts-jurors' tasting comments clearly demonstrates the wealth and generosity of the aromatic expressions attributed to the aged oak wines. The alliance between wine and wood highlights subtle balances, full of nuances harmonies and the complexity of unique aromatic pallets.

Wineries from around the world presented to Alliances du Monde^® the best of their prestige wines matured in oak barrels. 17 countries have entered into competition. They thus put forward the excellence of their production: the oak selection, the heating quality, and all know-how of the aged oak wine. 11 countries won medals in 2014 award list: Australia, Armenia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Spain, France, Italy, Portugal, USA, Slovakia and Switzerland.

The Top Ten ranking Alliances du Monde^®, of the wines that obtained the best notes, is synonymous of an extremely high quality level. Five countries appear at the Top 10: Australia, Spain, France, Slovakia and Switzerland. The France obtains six gold medals. A wine from the Côtes de Gascogne (Domaine de Pellehaut) is classified at the top of the Top 10 list.

The wines with the best expressions of the harmony between wine and oak are now officially identified thanks to the "International Wine & Barrel Competition" medals.

Birth of the Circle Science & Culture Alliances du Monde^®: The Circle support research and culture for the best wine/oak harmonies. This annual meeting devoted to the quality of the aged-oak wines has been an opportunity for the expert-judges and wine professionals to deepen their identification process of the best wine/oak expressions.

Several high quality speakers helped the expert-judges to deepen their knowledge and their skills for multi-sensory assessment of the "harmony" applied to wine/oak alliances. 

This program began with the discovery of the mérandier work present by Jean-Jacques Nadalié. Then Gabriel Lepousez, PhD in Neuroscience at the Pasteur Institute has presented how our brain perceives the world of smells and how new advances in Olfactive Neuroscience can enlighten the perception of the interactions and balances between wood and wine. Jean Lenoir and Lea Desportes allowed us to experiment with inputs of a tool like the "Nez du Vin – New Oak barrel » on the construction of the neuronal smell cartographies. Presented by Jean-Marcel Jaegle, the concert the Irish singer Gillie McPherson accompanied by string instruments allowed continuing the exploration through the music of the wide fields of possible harmonies.

The cultural program is supported by the French Cooperage Federation (FFT - Fédération Française de la Tonnellerie) that is keen to invest around Alliances du Monde ® in the reflection about the sensory perceptions of the oak/wine alliance.

Timeless place, the Cistercian Noirlac Abbey, uncluttered and serene, invites to a privileged concentration to evaluate wines slowly matured in the quiet of the finest cellars of the world. Imbued with the spirit of the place, the international expert judges College, worked under ideal tasting conditions.

Alliances du Monde^® Results 2025

Top 10 Alliances du Monde^® 2013*

Country	Product	Winery
France	Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise - Bois Doré 2007	Vignerons de Balma Venitia
Australia	Fox Creek Reserve Shiraz 2011	Fox Creek Wines
France	Pouilly-Fuissé L'Exception - Vieilles Vignes 2007	Domaine Corsin
Bulgary	Syrah - Le Photographe 2012	Minkov Brothers Wine Cellar/Sis Industries
France	Crozes-Hermitage - Cuvée Christophe 2011	Cave Desmeure/Domaine des Remizieres
Spain	Rioja Doc - Beronia Tempranillo - Elaboracion Especial 2011	Gonzalez Byass
France	Crozes Hermitage - Domaine de Thalabert 2011	Paul Jaboulet Ainé
Australia	Taylors St Andrews Shiraz 2010	Taylors/Wakefield Wines
France	Quincy - Cuvée Sucellus 2010	Domaine du Tremblay
Switzerland	Valais AOC - Syrah de Sion - Fût de Chêne 2011	Dubuis et Rudaz
Switzerland	Valais AOC - Syrah - Elevé en fût de chêne - Grandmaître 2012	Gregor Kuonen - Caveau de Salquenen
France	Pays d'Oc IGP - Champ de la Tour 2011	Domaine de Sauzet
France	Champagne Prestige Brut	Champagne Salmon
* Some wines are rigorously equal thus the TOP 10 2013 includes 13 wines.