Liverpool Life: Wine: Try some medal-winning Reds to mark the Olympics

HURRAH to fellow Lancastrian Danny Boyle for a splendid Olympic opening ceremony and now what better way to celebrate the world’s finest sporting event than with medal-winning wines.

You may have seen gold, silver and bronze awards alongside wines. The most common are from the International Wine Challenge (IWC) and the Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA). Among others, there’s also the International Wine and Spirit Competition (IWSC).

Each spring tastings begin; weeks later awards are announced. But a tip – as it’s happened to me – make sure that you buy the winning vintage. More than once I’ve been tempted online by an award-laden wine, only to receive another vintage – not the prize winner.

This year the 29th IWC saw 425 gold medals awarded, 1,637 silver medals and 2,715 bronze medals. Browse winning wines at www.internationalwinechallenge.com

The Decanter World Wine Awards was in its 9th year this year and had its largest ever entry of 14,119 wines. Find a winner at www.decanter.com/dwwa/2012/

Winners of the IWSC – after blind tastings and chemical analysis – can be seen at www.iwsc.net/search2012/wine

Read on as, with the help of a tasting team, I try to whet your Olympic tastebuds. This week, favour gymnastics with reds – but both reds and whites as the Games progress.

Marks & Spencer Chianti Classico Riserva Castello della Paneretta 2008 (RRP £13.99. Bronze, Decanter. Gold, IWC) Made from Sangiovese and Canaiolo grapes, this hearty chianti was aged for a year in French oak to lend texture and roundness. A garnet colour with a light, red cherry aroma, it has a complex flavour dominated by fresh blackberries, which linger agreeably on the palate. MT

Marks & Spencer Mattiske Road Barossa Valley Shiraz 2010 (RRP £16.99. Silver, Decanter. Gold, IWC.) Balanced, ruby-rich Australian shiraz. A bright sharp nose gives way to refreshing blackberries and lingering cocoa flavours, this hedonistic shiraz is matured for 18 months with minimal interference in oak resulting in a beautifully rounded wine, satisfying without being overbearing. SO

The Society’s Exhibition Malbec ( £9.99 www.thewinesociety.com Silver, IWC. Gold, Decanter.) Malbec is a grape that thrives in the high altitudes of Argentina’s Mendoza region and this is an excellent example of this rich, fruity wine. Despite the full body of its 14% alcohol, there’s a light, raspberry flavour at first tasting which deepens to a fuller, plummy finish. It has a more complex structure and flavour than many supermarket Malbecs. BM

Novas Colchagua Carmenere Cabernet Sauvignon Gran Reserva 2009 (£9.99, www.virginwines.co.uk Gold, IWC 2011) Bold yet soft, rich but gentle, this fruit-laden wine is a blend of one of my new-favourite grapes carmenère and cabernet sauvignon. A grinding of pepper runs through its full body and it was stunning with spice-roasted lamb. JC

Leyda Pinot Noir, Las Brisas Vineyard, Leyda Valley 2010 (www.tanners-wines.co.uk, £16.30 Bronze, Decanter. Gold, IWC.) This wine exhibited in A Taste of Gold in June, celebrating the winners from IWC 2012. The thin-skinned pinot noir grape produces light-bodied wines but with an earthy flavour and fruity complexity. This is a classy and classic example. JC