THE WORLD'S MOST ADMIRED WINE BRANDS 2024

BRAND NAME

RANKING

HIGHLIGHTS

Familia Torres, Spain

#1

Officially the World’s Most Admired Wine Brand of 2017, Torres is arguably the most recognizable names in Spanish wine industry.

Since it was founded in 1870, Torres has combined tradition and innovation with the aim of leading the premium quality wine sectors, always producing with the utmost respect for the environment. This family tradition has been scrupulously respected down through the centuries and the company has been passed down from generation to generation.

A leader in the Spanish wine industry and has successfully developed its business around the world, Torres pioneers the internationalization of Spanish wines and exporting its brands to more than 150 countries. The family also owns vineyards and wineries in Chile and California.

Château d'Yquem, France

#5

Château d'Yquem is one of the highly acclaimed wineries in the famous Sauternes region. The pleasure derived from tasting Yquem is difficult to describe. It offers a myriad of well-balanced, complex flavours that generate even more harmonies over time. The impression that remains is reminiscent of a quote from Frédéric Dard "the silence that follows a piece by Mozart, in which the listener remains suffused with the music".

This reflects the fact that Château d'Yquem stays on the palate for a remarkable long time, providing a unique, prolonged pleasure. There is a lovely expression in French to describe Yquem's tremendously long aftertaste: il fait la queue du paon, which means that it spreads out like a peacock's tail.

Vega Sicilia, Spain

#6

It was the great Irish writer Oscar Wilde who said, “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery”. Of course, he didn’t have Spanish wine in mind but the quotation seemed to fit the bill for Vega Sicilia in 2018 when the country’s Civil Guard unearthed a counterfeit wine ring which had the brand high on its list of preferred counterfeit labels with which to attempt to con unwitting hotels and restaurants.

The counterfeiters aren’t the only people to hold Vega Sicilia in high esteem with the votes of the Drink International academy pushing the producer on this year’s Most Admired Wine Brands list to claim a deserved top 6 place.

Domaine de la Romanee-Conti, France

#7

Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, or DRC as it is commonly known, is easily Burgundy's best-known and most collectible wine producer. Based in the Burgundy village of Vosne-Romanée, the domaine sells wines from eight different grand cru vineyards that span the length of the Côte d'Or. The most famous comes from the eponymous Romanée-Conti vineyard, and on average is the most expensive wine in the world.

Château Margaux, France

#8

Château Margaux, archaically La Mothe de Margaux, is one of five wines to achieve Premier cru (first growth) status in the Bordeaux Classification of 1855. Belonging to the Mentzelopoulos family since 1977, this Premier Grand Cru Classé, renowned for its excellent qualities, produces exceptional wines, including the Grand Vin, Pavillon Rouge, Pavillon Blanc and Margaux du Château.

CVNE, Spain

#9

CVNE, also known as Compañía Vinícola del Norte del España, is a renowned winery located in the Rioja region of Spain. The estate has a long history dating back to 1879 and is known for producing exceptional wines that showcase the unique terroir of the region. The vineyards of CVNE cover approximately 545 hectares and are planted with a variety of grape varieties, including Tempranillo, Garnacha, Graciano, and Mazuelo. These carefully selected grape varieties contribute to the complexity and character of the wines.

Château Musar, Lebanon

#13

Few wine producers are more closely identified with the overall fortunes of their country’s wine industry as Château Musar.

Serge Hochar put Lebanese wine on the world map in the 1960s through a non-interventionist winemaking approach and a signature house style that resonated with lovers of the world’s finest wines. The winery has survived civil war and political upheaval in the region to become one of a small band of producers truly worthy of the over-used description ‘iconic’.

Concha y Toro, Chile

#14

One of the world’s three leading wine producers and South America’s single largest exporter of fine wines, Concha y Toro was the first producer to introduce Chilean fine wines made from French grape varieties.

Since its founding 1883, Concha y Toro embarked on an extended period of modernization that continues into the present. The extended wine-making heritage, combined with the ability to meet and adapt to the changing demands of the times, has enabled the company to develop an outstanding portfolio of consistently fine-quality wines, all under the same banner: Concha y Toro.

Château Cheval Blanc, France

#15

This year, Chateau Cheval Blanc continues to be in the top 50 of The World's Most Admired Wine Brands by the prestigious Drinks International magazine.

Cheval Blanc produces the most famous Cabernet Franc-based wine in the world and present régisseur Pierre Lurton is amongst the most talented winemakers working in Bordeaux today.

The House’s savoir-faire, its ability to garner the terroir’s full potential, and its bold choices of grape varieties give Cheval Blanc wine all its freshness, elegance, power and finesse. They provide a unique character and a rare potential for aging: Cheval Blanc wines are excellent at any stage, but improve year after year. This cellaring potential and timeless style, which is recreated every year according to the assets of each vintage, have ensured the supreme distinction of the 1er Grand Cru Classé A classification since 1954.

Château Haut-Brion, France

#17

The historical fame of the only Graves producer on the list of First Growth Bordeaux wines is unquestionable.

The history of Château Haut Brion, the oldest of Bordeaux’s Grands Crus, lasted five centuries. Its name refers to the Gascon toponym “Haut Brion” which designates a gravelly terrace. In 1855, Haut Brion rose to the rank of Premier Cru Classé. In 1935, Château Haut Brion was acquired by the American banker Clarence Dillon who modernized the property. Since then, the property is still part of the same family.

Château Pétrus, France

#22

In recent years, Petrus’s prestige status has flourished relentlessly and it is now routinely the most expensive claret on world auction markets.

The Pétrus estate occupies a mere 11.5 ha of Merlot vineyards, yielding only around 30,000 bottles each year and with no second wine to act as a consolation prize to those who can’t get their hands on the iconic label. As one of the longest-lived Bordeaux wines, the best vintages of Petrus demand 20-30 years before they become fully mature and begin displaying their true essence, showing the reason why extremely wealthy wine lovers pay thousands of dollars for a single bottle of Pétrus.

E. Guigal, France

#23

Guigal has leapfrogged many outstanding rivals to become one of the top French brands on this year’s Most Admired chart. A regular in the upper echelons of the list, it preserves a solid international reputation by virtue of the consistent quality of its wines, assisted by keeping control firmly within the Guigal clan.

The top three wines from Guigal are affectionately referred to as the LA LA’s, which is short for either La Landonne, La Mouline or La Turque. This trio also consistently garner top ratings from critics, including Robert Parker who once proclaimed, “Guigal’s single vineyard Côte-Rôties are other-worldly in nearly every vintage. I have given these offerings more perfect scores than any other wines in the world.” Until now, these three wines have received 35 perfect 100-point scores from Parker.

Villa Maria, New Zealand

#29

Villa Maria is proud to be New Zealand's Most Awarded Winery. This year marks the brand's 10th consecutive year to be named among the World's Most Admired Wine Brands.

Villa Maria is known for making bold, pioneering moves, like switching to 100% screwcap, and embedding sustainable practices in every aspect of company- from vine to wine and beyond.

Planeta, Italy

#30

The family behind Planeta has been farming the dry & hot land of Sicily for 17 generations, leading at the start of the 20th century the renaissance of the entire wine industry on the island. That work has also seen it helping to champion local grapes such as Nero d’Avola and Grillo, which are increasingly establishing a distinct identity for Sicily in the wine world and finding favour on more and more wine lovers’ hearts.

Ornellaia, Italy

#31

Ornellaia is an Italian wine producer in the DOC Bolgheri in Toscana, known as a producer of Super Tuscan wine. Ornellaia is considered one of Italy's leading Bordeaux-style red wines.

Marques de Riscal, Spain

#33

Founded in 1858 in the medieval town of Elciego (Álava), Marqués de Riscal is the oldest winery in the Rioja region. For many wine lovers, a visit to this iconic winery in Rioja is a bucket list item. They want not just to taste the delicious wine, but to stay overnight in their masterpiece hotel designed by Frank Gehry. With swirling patterns of pink, purple and silver, the famous architecture feat appears to be a decadent piece of salt-water taffy floating on a sea of green vineyards.

The pioneering Rioja producer became the first non-French wine to win a diploma of honour at the 19th-century Bordeaux Exhibition when it did so in 1895. It was an important milestone in establishing the brand on the international stage and, over 160 years since its first vines took root, it has gone on to be one of the World’s Most Admired Wine Brands and won the heart of millions of wine lovers.

Château Mouton Rothschild, France

#35

The youngest of the Bordeaux First Growths, having been promoted from Deuxième Cru Classé in 1973, Château Mouton Rothschild makes up in artistic proclivities what it lacks in seniority among the five elite châteaux (also including Lafite, Latour, Haut-Brion and Margaux). This legendary Left Bank producer distinguishes itself not only by its stratospherically priced clarets, but also its collaboration with celebrated artists on the design of its labels.

Château Latour, France

#42

One of the most iconic names in Wine, Château Latour is in a class of its own, even among the other four Bordeaux First Growths. It has been the most consistent of them all for over one hundred years, producing wines of incredible depth, power and longevity.

One of the oldest properties in the Pauillac appellation, its history goes back to the 14th Century, when a fortress was erected there during the Hundred Years War. With many legendary vintages under Latour's well-worn belt, the wines being currently produced are, nonetheless, said to be their greatest yet.

At the heart of the 78-hectare vineyard are 47 hectares known as l'Enclos, the source of Latour's Grand Vin and considered by many to be the finest terroir in all of Bordeaux.

Château Lafite, France

#49

In 1815, Guillaume Lawton said of Château Lafite, “I consider it to be the the most elegant and delicate, with the finest substance of the three (Premier Crus). The location of its vines is one of the finest in the Médoc”. In 1855 the Château was ranked as a Premier Grand Cru in the famous classification that was prepared for the Universal Exhibition of that year.