Italy: Central - Red, including Montepulciano d’Abruzzo
2018 Gold 3 Silver 7 Bronze 5 Commended 9
2017 Gold 4 Silver 6 Bronze 3 Commended 7
Red fruit, cheerful rusticity and good pricing. Those would be the watchwords for this part of Italy when it comes to red wines. This year our tasters found two out of three. Guess which was missing? Of course: value. This is Italy after all.
To be fair, the Montepulciano d’Abruzzos weren’t too bad – more than half the medals were priced below £10, which is amazing for Italy – but overall this area wasn’t the rich gastropub hunting ground that it has been in the past.
There were ‘modern’ and ‘traditional’ styles to go at, and while our teams could see a use for both, it’s probably fair to say that they generally preferred the latter.
FROM THE TASTING TEAMS
‘The Umbrians were quite interesting. They were bolder, more masculine, and with more substance. They’re practically useful wines, and were good prices for the quality.’ Christoph Hons, Park Chinois
‘You come to the conclusion here that there are two worlds – that of the traditionalist, and that of the modernist. And you need both styles on your list.’ Chris Delalonde MS, Bleeding Heart Group
‘This part of Italy has been a stalwart of the lower end of the list. It was disappointing not to see more value.’ James Fryer, Woodhead 17
‘From Montepulciano d’Abruzzo I look for deep red to black fruit, some spices from oak ageing, deepness of colour, but with acidity to balance everything. It doesn’t need to be complex, just a bit of fruitiness and spiciness – that’s the classic style.’ Davide Dall’Amico, Royal Automobile Club
‘There weren’t that many cheap wines – I was expecting more at the by-the-glass level – most were £10 and over, though when they were good I enjoyed them. The more successful ones were more authentic and less international. They can have a bit of rusticity – that can be a good thing.’ Hamish Anderson, Tate Catering