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