Home Winners > Winners 2018 > ITALY: North-East – Trentino, Alto Adige & Friuli Venezia Giulia – Red

Winner Details

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

2018 Gold 0       Silver 5                Bronze 6              Commended 5
2017 Gold 2       Silver 4                Bronze 2              Commended 5 

This, I guess, is what happens when you make red wine in a cool climate: you can get great years (with lots of medals) and years like this when pickings are a bit slimmer. In truth, there were a good number of eminently decent wines here (11 medals is about average) but none that our teams at the second round of tasting felt merited a place on the final Gold List.

Were they too harsh? Possibly. Call in some samples of these other medal winners yourself to find out. You could start with the Mezzacorona wines – they had a fine performance in both whites and reds; something they seem to do year after year.

FROM THE TASTING TEAMS

‘Surprisingly, there was a lot of extraction and oak. It’s a broad area with a lot of styles. If you’re being harsh, you’d say it’s poor winemaking.’ Chris Delalonde MS, Bleeding Heart Group

‘There were two trends in terms of style here, from the more fragrant to those that were more structural and ripe, with tannins. There’s space for both styles on a wine list.’ Mattia Mazzi, Lutyens Bar & Restaurants

‘With Pinot Noir, these guys can’t compete any more. New Zealand and the US have taken over that upper end alternative to Burgundy. You’ll get better wines for the same price or even cheaper now.’ Simone Fadda, Roka Aldwych

‘There was a range here, from the lighter, more fragrant wines to the deeper, riper examples. They’re not super-cheap, but they’re OK if you’re able to explain what they are to customers.’ Laurent Richet MS, team leader

Award winners

Found 16 wines

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

Cantina Bolzano, Taber, Riserva, Lagrein 2015, Alto Adige, Italy

Silver medal winner

Elisa Soggia of Kai Mayfair was taken with this wine’s ‘intense structure, full body and high tannin, balanced by lots of black plum and black cherry, cinnamon spice notes with tobacco and earthy hints, chocolate and leather with peppery spice’, while Mattia Mazzi of Lutyens Bar & Restaurants felt it was ‘built to last, still young but definitely approachable now, with concentration and minty freshness, succulent black fruit and graphite, firm yet very balanced’.

£32.38 Cantina Bolzano

Cantina Bolzano, Mumelter, Riserva, Cabernet 2015, Alto Adige, Italy

Silver medal winner

Simone Fadda of Roka Aldwych liked the ‘vibrant bouquet of black and red fruits, blackcurrant and cherry, then a silky mouthfeel with firm tannins’, while Stefano Barbarino of Chez Bruce Restaurant felt it was ‘good to go with venison or beef, with its dark fruit, nice liquorice notes in the background and long finish’.

£27.22 Cantina Bolzano

Mezzacorona, Castel Firmian, Nerofino 2014, Trentino, Italy

Silver medal winner

A wine of ‘lovely structure’, said Stefano Barbarino of Chez Bruce Restaurant, finding it ‘quite peppery on the nose with a smooth, pungent, spicy background’, while Bleeding Heart Group’s Chris Delalonde MS noted ‘savoury, crushed red fruit and stone fruit aromas with spicy meat and tarry oak notes’.

£9.00 Berkmann Wine Cellars

Mezzacorona, Castel Firmian, Merlot 2016, Trentino, Italy

Silver medal winner

Simone Fadda of Roka Aldwych enjoyed this wine’s ‘red and black fruits on the nose with herbal hints, then black berries and sweet liquorice hints on the palate’, while for team leader Andrea Briccarello it was ‘clean, juicy, soft and round, easy-drinking and a good by-the-glass option’.

£7.20 Berkmann Wine Cellars

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

Silver medal winner

Full-bodied and packed with flavours, revealing ‘blackberry, blackcurrant, black cherry, plums, violets’ on the nose, said Cristian Sánchez of Hotel du Vin Cambridge, as well as ‘clove spice and anise, leather and graphite, hints of vanilla, ripe tannins and a long, pleasant finish’. ‘A wine to enjoy with game or pâté,’ added team leader Laurent Richet MS.

£18.06 Berkmann Wine Cellars

Masut da Rive, Pinot Nero 2015, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy

Bronze medal winner

For Stefano Barbarino of Chez Bruce Restaurant this was ‘very floral on the nose, quite toasty on the palate but with nice freshness to match with food’, and he thought it ‘would be lovely with cheese’. Meanwhile Bleeding Heart Group’s Chris Delalonde MS found ‘spicy, savoury notes and chocolate aromas, but a savoury palate’.

£13.00 Jascots Wine Merchants

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

Bronze medal winner

‘Great, deep and concentrated, but not in a too-much kind of way,’ began team leader Laurent Richet MS, who found it ‘balanced, well crafted, with dark fruit and meaty notes, delicate tannin, great for food with rich sauces’, while Mattia Mazzi of Lutyens Bar & Restaurants noted ‘distinctive pine needle and rosemary, fleshy style, fresh and charmingly fruit-forward, but with balance and nerve’.

£20.13 Bibendum

Mezzacorona, Castel Firmian, Riserva, Lagrein 2014, Trentino, Italy

Bronze medal winner

Cristian Sánchez of Hotel du Vin Cambridge enjoyed this wine’s ‘sweet black cherries, black plum, blackberry jelly and liquorice notes on the nose, clove and vanilla spice hints, good ripe tannins and high concentration of flavours, with lovely acidity and a long, sweet finish’.

£9.00 Berkmann Wine Cellars

Mezzacorona, Castel Firmian, Teroldego Rotaliano 2016, Trentino, Italy

Bronze medal winner

‘An approachable style,’ began Stefano Barbarino of Chez Bruce Restaurant, who found it ‘delicate and floral on the nose, slightly less so on the palate – a wine for a feast’. ‘Plenty of blueberries and cherry notes, and a good smoky back-palate,’ added team leader Andrea Briccarello.

£7.95 Berkmann Wine Cellars

Collavini, Pucino, Refosco 2016, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy

Bronze medal winner

While Elisa Soggia of Kai Mayfair highlighted ‘pronounced cherries and plum on this wine’, team leader Laurent Richet MS felt it would be ‘a lovely wine to showcase by the glass, with gentle aromas of spice and fruit – red, black and cherry – and hints of black pepper and sandalwood’.

£11.38 Hallgarten & Novum Wines

Cavit, Bottega Vinai, Pinot Nero 2015, Trentino, Italy

Bronze medal winner

‘Light, crunchy and fragrant, the fruit is red and wild with a tendency to freshness rather than ripeness, but complexity and a charred aftertaste,’ began Mattia Mazzi of Lutyens Bar & Restaurant, with team leader Laurent Richet MS adding that it was ‘a dangerous wine, as you’d go for a second bottle!’

£8.75 Boutinot

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

Commended medal winner

Mezzacorona, Castel Firmian, Cabernet Sauvignon 2016, Trentino, Italy

Commended medal winner

J Hofstätter, Meczan, Pinot Nero 2016, Trentino-Alto Adige, Italy

Commended medal winner

Franz Haas, Pinot Nero 2015, Trentino-Alto Adige, Italy

Commended medal winner

£18.12 Liberty Wines

Alois Lageder, Krafuss Estate, Pinot Noir 2013, Alto Adige, Italy

Commended medal winner

£26.70 Bibendum