97/100 and a Best in Show award at the world’s largest wine competition: Coppo’s Pomorosso is one of only six Italian wines honored among almost 17,000 labels from 58 countries
Canelli, August 27th 2026 — Pomorosso 2022 Nizza DOCG has been named Best in Show at the Decanter World Wine Awards 2026, with 97 points out of 100. It is the first time in the competition’s history that a Barbera has entered the Best in Show selection, the absolute summit of the competition: 50 wines out of almost 17,000 entries, or 0.3% of the total.
The Decanter World Wine Awards are the world’s largest wine competition. The 2026 edition saw almost 17,000 wines from 58 countries tasted blind and assessed by 245 international experts — among them 63 Masters of Wine and 24 Master Sommeliers — from 35 countries. Alongside the 50 Best in Show wines, 196 Platinum and 924 Gold medals were awarded.
Pomorosso 2022 is one of only six Italian wines to enter the Best in Show selection for 2026, and the only Nizza DOCG. The result confirms Pomorosso as an ambassador for Piedmont around the world and brings Barbera, for the first time, into Decanter’s shortlist of the 50 finest wines on the planet.
The Decanter tasting note
«We’ve never welcomed a Barbera to our Best In Show selection before – and pow! Here it is. Fittingly it’s a Nizza wine, this DOCG having come into being in 2014 to showcase a Barbera-only subzone formerly included in DOCG Barbera d’Asti Superiore and centred around the town of Nizza Monferrato. It’s not a shy wine, and it left our judges excited: powerful black fruits with orange and blueberry scents layered into spicy, creamy oak. On the palate it’s rich, deep and heady, with more orange and black fruit partnered with voluptuous tannins from both skins and oak. It has all the athleticism of the variety – but if you’re one of those who have found Barbera’s acidity to be almost too aggressive and attacking in the past, this wine may reassure; it’s balanced and vivacious here, thanks to the overall richness and wealth of the whole.»
Comments
«Seeing a Barbera enter Decanter’s Best in Show for the first time is a recognition that goes well beyond our own winery: it says how far this variety has come, and how much the Nizza territory is worth today. Pomorosso was born in 1984 out of the idea that Barbera could be a great wine for aging, at a time when few believed it. Forty years on, that gamble has been rewarded in the most authoritative way possible. »
Rossano Savoia, Chief Executive Officer, Coppo
«The judges’ comment captures exactly what we look for in Pomorosso: depth and richness, without losing the tension and vivacity that are the soul of Barbera. Acidity is not simply to be tamed: it has to be balanced with ripe fruit, the right use of oak, and time, which, as it passes, refines and integrates. The 2022 vintage was marked by a tendency towards concentration and ripeness; our work in the vineyard and in the cellar was directed at preserving freshness and drinkability.»
Gianmario Cerutti, Winemaker and Technical Director, Coppo
«For Nizza this is a very high honour, one that places the appellation among the world’s most important red wines. Pomorosso has historically been a benchmark label for the 100-plus producers of Nizza, but above all such an authoritative comment from Decanter tells us that the path the appellation has taken is the right one for the future, and for winning over ever more wine lovers in Italy and abroad.»
Stefano Chiarlo, President, Consorzio NIZZA DOCG
Pomorosso
The name comes from a red apple tree that grew at the top of the original vineyard. When the first vintage was released in 1984, Barbera was still regarded as an everyday, popular wine: selecting the finest grapes and ageing them in barrique was a gamble. Pomorosso would become one of the crus that rewrote the history of the variety, taking it from everyday wine to great red for ageing — the path that, twenty years later, would lead to the recognition of Nizza DOCG, a subzone created in 2014 and dedicated entirely to Barbera.
It comes from historic vineyards at Agliano Terme, Castelnuovo Calcea and Nizza Monferrato, at 200 meters above sea level, facing south to south-south-east, on calcareous marl and clay soils with gypsum and ferrous conglomerates. 100% Barbera, hand-harvested into 20 kg crates, aged 14 months in barrique. Among its accolades, 16 vintages were awarded Tre Bicchieri by Gambero Rosso.
About Coppo
Founded in Canelli in 1892 by Piero Coppo, Coppo is among the oldest Italian wineries still in operation and was recognized as a Historic Italian Winery by Unioncamere in 2012. Beneath its present-day offices lie the Underground Cathedrals: more than 5,000 sqm of cellars carved into the tuff to a depth of 40 meters, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2014.
The estate owns over 85 hectares of vineyards across Monferrato and the Langhe. Barbera is the signature of the house: Pomorosso, first vintage 1984, is among the crus that rewrote the history of the variety, taking it from everyday wine to great red for ageing. Alongside it: Nizza, Barolo, Barbaresco, Barbera, Gavi, Moscato and Alta Langa Metodo Classico. www.coppo.com