Italy: Central - Red, including Montepulciano d’Abruzzo
2017 Gold: 4 Silver: 6 Bronze: 3 Commended: 13
2016 Gold: 3 Silver: 6 Bronze: 4 Commended: 7
If there’s one area of Italy that you’d think absolutely HAS to be able to produce good-value wines, it’s here, what with no big appellations to shout about and a grape variety (Montepulciano) that has a ‘cheap and cheerful’ reputation for the most part.
Well, the good news is that, atypically for Italy, we had plenty of decent-priced medals; the bad news is that only one – the rather good Il Faggio – made the step up to Gold status. Plus our tasters had to weed out an awful lot of nasty stuff to get there. A solid rather than inspiring performance.
FROM THE TASTING TEAMS
‘There are people in less prestigious parts of Italy and they end up with a “cleavage” wine or a “six-pack” wine – just trying too hard. Nothing that was confident in being what it’s supposed to be.’ Simon Woods, team leader
‘The tannins were all over the place. A very difficult flight.’ Charles Van Wyk, FJB Hotels
‘There was lots of winemaking – and they shouldn’t need to over-complicate the winemaking in this region.’ Andre Luis Martins, Cavalry & Guards Club
‘When it comes to Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, the overall feeling is the less oak, the better. It’s got enough freshness and vibrancy to stand out without needing tannins from new oak.’ Andrea Briccarello, team leader
‘They’re all trying too hard to make big brutish wines.’ Neil Tabraham, Paris House
‘I wanted expressive fruit, some sense of ripeness and that slightly rustic note, not complexity necessarily. I had high expectations in terms of accessible, ready-to-drink wines, but overall they lacked charm.’ Martin Lam, team leader
‘A Montepulciano for £30? Not at my place – I wouldn’t be able to sell it.’ Rustem Mingaleev, Bovey Castle