Abrau-Durso Wines Win Four Platinum Medals from Artur Sarkisyan's Guide

The twelfth issue of the Guide to Russian Wines by Artur Sarkisyan and RBC has been published. The Guide's highest platinum awards were given to three classic Abrau-Durso sparkling wines: Cuvée Alexander II 2022 Magnum of 1.5L and traditional 0.75L, Brut Vintage 2021 Impériale, and one still wine, aged red "Vedernikov Winery Reserve. Krasnostop Zolotovsky" 2020. A total of 28 sparkling and still wines of the Abrau-Durso Group were included in the new Guide and received medals of various denominations: 4 platinum, 2 gold and 22 silver medals.

Artur Sarkisyan's annual Guide to Russian Wines is a unique original guide to the best wines of the country. In preparation for the twelfth issue, the author visited more than 140 wineries and tasted over 5,700 examples from key wine-growing regions of Russia.

The platinum medals, which were awarded to four wines at once, became a special pride of this year for the Abrau-Durso Group. The highest score of the Guide and 94 points were won by the proprietor's Cuvée Alexander II 2022 Magnum, which confirmed the corporate style of Georges Blanc, Head of Winemaking, in working with vintages, as well as the collectible sparkling wine Brut Vintage 2021 Impériale— a brilliant example of the high school of classic sparkling wine. Notably, Abrau-Durso is the only company in this year’s Guide to have two wines score 94 points. Sparkling Cuvée Alexander II 2022 of 0.75L and aged still red wine "Vedernikov Winery Reserve. Krasnostop Zolotovsky" 2020 from the same-name variety, which annually collects awards at reputable competitions, received a high score of 92 points and platinum.

Among the gold medalists is the new flagship of the Rostov winemaker from the Abrau-Durso Group— "Vedernikov Winery. Tverdy Znak" 2020 (91 points) and Brut d'Or Riesling 2022 (90 points) by Abrau-Durso itself, which conquered the tasters with freshness and varietal purity. Other sparkling and still wines also performed strongly, earning silver medals— 22 wines in total from Abrau-Durso’s portfolio.

"The highest awards in the main wine guide of the country are a brilliant result of 2025. For Abrau-Durso, four platinum medals are a new confirmation that the skill of our winemakers, rich wine-making traditions combined with modern technological solutions allow for creating the best examples of sparkling wines worthy of the most festive occasions. For Vedernikov Winery, this is a triumph of a special sort: the platinum award of the legendary Krasnostop Zolotovsky proves once again that it is here, on the Don, that the main guardians of Russian indigenous varieties continue to create outstanding world-class wines," said Elena Zaritskaya, CEO of PJSC Abrau-Durso.

The twelfth issue of the Guide is a selection of the best wines of Russia and neighboring countries, all scoring 88 or more points according to the international hundred-point system. Artur Sarkisyan personally selects examples during a two-stage tasting: the first round takes place at wineries, followed by a check tasting of wines available in retail. In 2025, the project team traveled more than 13,000km, visited 149 wineries, and inspected 125 vineyards with a total area of 52,000hectares.

All awards

Abrau-Durso's Awards:

• Sparkling Cuvée Alexander II 2022 Magnum— 94 points (platinum);
• Sparkling Vintage Brut 2021 Impériale— 94 points (platinum);
• Sparkling Cuvée Alexander II 2022— 92 points (platinum);
• Sparkling Brut d'Or Riesling 2022— 90 points (gold);
• Sparkling Victor Dravigny Extra Brut 2021— 88 points (silver);
• Sparkling Brut d'Or Blanc de Blancs 2022— 89 points (silver);
• Sparkling Brut d'Or Blanc de Noirs 2022— 89 points (silver);
• Sparkling Brut d'Or Rosé 2022— 89 points (silver);
• Still Riesling Abrau-Durso 2024— 89 points (silver);
• Still Chardonnay Abrau-Durso 2024— 89 points (silver);
• Sparkling Brut Rosé 2022 Impériale— 89 points (silver);
• Sparkling Victor Dravigny Brut Rosé 2022— 88 points (silver);
• Sparkling Victor Dravigny Red Semi-Sweet 2022— 88 points (silver);
• Still Pinot Noir Abrau-Durso 2024— 88 points (silver).

Vedernikov Winery's Awards:

• Still Vedernikov Winery Reserve. Krasnostop Zolotovsky 2020— 92 points (platinum);
• Still Vedernikov Winery. Tverdy Znak 2020— 91 points (gold);
• Sparkling Vedernikov Winery Reserve. Sibirkovy-Aligote 2021— 89 points (silver);
• Sparkling Vedernikov Winery Reserve. Sibirkovy 2017— 89 points (silver);
• Sparkling Vedernikov Winery Reserve. Tsimlyansky Cherny-Sibirkovy 2022— 89 points (silver);
• Sparkling Vedernikov Winery Reserve. Tsimlyansky Cherny 2022— 89 points (silver);
• Still Vedernikov Reserve Winery Red 2021— 89 points (silver);
• Still Vedernikov Winery Reserve. Tsimlyansky Cherny 2023— 89 points (silver); Still Don Collection, White Dry 2024— 88 points (silver);
• Still Vedernikov Winery. Sibirkovy 2024— 88 points (silver);
• Still Vedernikov Winery. Assemblage 2024— 88 points (silver);
• Still Vedernikov Winery White 2024— 88 points (silver);
• Still Vedernikov Winery Reserve. Rkatsiteli 2023— 88 points (silver);
• Still Vedernikov Winery Rose 2024— 88 points (silver).