Marimar Estate La Masía Chardonnay 2023 Awarded Gold at the International Wine Challenge

 Marimar Estate, the renowned Californian winery founded by Marimar Torres and her daughter Cristina—representing the fourth and fifth generations of the Torres Family—has secured one of only four gold medals granted to North American wines at the esteemed 2025 International Wine Challenge with its La Masía Chardonnay 2023.

Scoring an impressive 95 points, the judging panel praised the wine’s “modern Californian character, with a delightful and vibrant finish”, noting its freshness even within a riper style, and its beautifully integrated oak.

La Masía Chardonnay was the inaugural wine of Marimar’s Californian venture in the 1980s. Sourced from the organic Don Miguel vineyard in Green Valley—the coldest and most fog-laden area of the Russian River, just 15 km from the Pacific Ocean—this elegant wine is matured for nine months in French oak barrels.

Now in its 41st year, the International Wine Challenge is regarded as one of the UK’s most rigorous wine competitions. Thousands of wines from 40 countries were blind-tasted and assessed by a panel of international experts, including many Masters of Wine.