ITALY: North-East – Trentino, Alto Adige & Friuli Venezia Giulia – Red

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Winner Details

Italy: North-East – Trentino, Alto Adige & Friuli Venezia Giulia - Red

2017 Gold: 2 Silver: 4 Bronze: 2 Commended: 5
2016 Gold: 3 Silver: 5 Bronze: 5 Commended: 1

Last year, astonishingly, Mezzacorona totally bossed this category, with all three of the Gold Medals (and all around the £8 mark). Unsurprisingly, they couldn’t do it again, but our teams did find a reasonably priced Refosco and a winsome Pinot instead.

Without a resonant region behind them, these might be a hand sell, but there was an elegance and perfume here that makes them worth a look.

FROM THE TASTING TEAMS

‘These sorts of wines are “sommelier wines”; they’re fun and dynamic and you can do a lot with them. You can upsell them and 90% of the time you’ll have a very happy customer. Most people can’t afford Burgundy any more, so for Pinot Noir lovers it’s a new and fun discovery.’ Stefan Kobald, Jason Atherton Group

‘Some of the top price points would be a hard sell, but the quality was excellent.’ Angela Reddin, team leader

‘From the client’s perspective it’s reassuring to see an Italian wine on the list and they often give better value for the same money than French wine.’ Frédéric Billet, Luton Hoo Hotel Golf & Spa

‘You can easily sell it in a restaurant, it’s better value than Burgundy. They could be very trendy, Friuli wines…’ Tanya Mann, Linden House Stansted

Award winners

Found 13 wines

Italy: North-East - Trentino, Alto Adige & Friuli Venezia Giulia – Red

Alois Lageder, Krafuss, Pinot Noir 2012, Alto Adige, Italy

Judges had nothing but praise, and a Gold medal, for this Italian Pinot. Tanya Mann of Linden House Stansted ‘loved it’ with its ‘autumnal forest leaf aromas, violet floral notes and many layers’, while Coq d’Argent’s judge Andrés Ituarte found a ‘sense of terroir, with pepper notes on a ripe but delicate palate’. Markus Dilger of MAD F&B Consulting enjoyed ‘pomegranate notes and fine tannins’, recommending this be served alongside venison dishes.

£23.00 Bibendum

Eugenio Collavini, Pucino, Refosco 2015, Friuli Colli Orientali, Italy

‘Floral and elegant with balanced acidity,’ began Tanya Mann of Linden House Stansted in praise of this worthy Gold winner, adding that it would be a good food match for duck, but also has ‘great ageing potential’. ‘Runs the spectrum well, with violets, Morello cherry, olive and coffee on an expressive palate,’ added team leader Angela Reddin. ‘Lots of intrigue, with an elegant, perfumed palate – long, fragrant and mineral,’ concluded Tate Catering’s Hamish Anderson.

£11.30 Hallgarten & Novum Wines

St Michael-Eppan, Sanct Valentin, Pinot Nero 2013, Alto Adige, Italy

Stefan Kobald of Jason Atherton Group was impressed, finding it ‘very pleasant, with strawberry, raspberry, milk chocolate and hints of oak on the nose, strawberry patch earthiness and well-controlled acidity and tannins, with chalky minerals for a youthful wine with good potential’.

£22.25 Eurowines

Bastianich, Vespa Rosso 2012, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy

‘Earthy, mushroomy style with good fruit, blackberries and a touch of vanilla, white pepper and nice acidity,’ said Frédéric Billet of Luton Hoo Hotel Golf & Spa, who also found ‘mint and violets on an elegant, balanced palate’.

£18.71 Bibendum

Mezzacorona, Castel Firmian, Marzemino 2015, Trentino, Italy

A good-value ‘crowd pleaser’ for Stefan Kobald of Jason Atherton Group, with its ‘dark fruits, blueberry and Ribena aromas, oaky vanilla with clove and a juicy, complex palate with medium tannins’. ‘Good balance, good wine,’ added team leader Angela Reddin.

£6.79 Berkmann Wine Cellars

Franz Haas, Pinot Nero 2014, Alto Adige, Italy

A ‘light and delicate’ style for Stefan Kobald of Jason Atherton Group, who found it appealing, with its ‘strawberry, meaty aromas and red fruit earthiness on a gently oaked, balanced palate’, while Andrés Ituarte of Coq d’Argent enjoyed its ‘crushed berries, cranberry, earthy floral notes’.

£18.12 Liberty Wines

Mezzacorona, Castel Firmian, Teroldego Rotaliano Riserva 2013, Trentino, Italy

Offering a different range of flavours and textures, with Coq d’Argent’s Andrés Ituarte finding ‘wet stone, rustic body and tomato leaf, plush and pure, balanced red fruits’ and team leader Angela Reddin pointing to ‘cherry, cassis and plum-scented woodsmoke, autumn forest notes, showing refinement and elegance’.

£8.63 Berkmann Wine Cellars

Mezzacorona, Castel Firmian, Lagrein Riserva 2013, Trentino, Italy

‘Iodine and sweet fruit on the nose, cherry stone bitterness on the palate but the tannins are soft and smooth, with great length and balance,’ said team leader Angela Reddin, and it was ‘great value’ for Coq d’Argent’s Andrés Ituarte, with ‘plum, red cherry, earth and tobacco showing through’.

£8.63 Berkmann Wine Cellars

Masi, Fojaneghe, Bossi Fedrigotti, Vigneti delle Dolomiti Rosso 2012, Trentino-Alto Adige, Italy

£16.45 Berkmann Wine Cellars